Bathsheba, daughter of Ammiel or Eliam, is the wife of Uriah the Hittite, the high-ranking soldier in King David’s army (2Samuel 11, 3) and one of his best men. While Uriah is off fighting his king’s war, David sees Bathsheba and becomes infatuated with her. Blinded by passion, he decides to see what fate holds for his servant, placing Uriah in the center of the battlefront, then withdrawing his army (Uriah himself carries this order to General Joab in 2Samuel 11, 14). Uriah later dies from arrows in the battle of Rabbah, and the king is allowed to marry his widow.

This act proved to be a great sin for the aged King David, and the Bible states, “But what David had done was evil in the eyes of the LORD.” GOD then sends the prophet Nathan to the king to warn him, and David unknowingly passes a death sentence on himself, but Nathan tells him that it is not he who will die, but his son. After seven days David and Bathsheba’s son dies. The woman later conceives again and this time the child will be loved by GOD (12, 24). David and Bathsheba name their son Solomon, but the prophet Nathan calls him Jedidiah (Hebrew: יְדִידְיָה) which means “friend of GOD”. This remains one of the most meaningful stories in the entire Book, simply magnificent and timeless.