Week 16, Lecture David & Michal

Transcription

1 OT Lectures, Week 16, Page 1 of 8 Week 16, Lecture David & Michal Michal, A Pawn between Saul & David, 1 Sam 18: Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David; and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21 Saul thought, "Let me give her to him, that she may be a snare for him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." And Saul commanded his servants, "Speak to David in private and say, `Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you; now then become the king's son-in-law.'" Motivations Michal's motives. We are told that she loves David. We are never told that he loves her. Saul's Motives 1) she may be s snare for him probably "spy" for her father 2) the hand of the Philistines against him. not immediately obvious what this is about Saul's Proposes a Deal, 18:25 David is cautious. He says he is a poor man, and cannot afford to be son-in-law to a king. Then Saul said, "Thus shall you say to David, `The king desires no marriage present except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king's enemies.' Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. Now Saul's 2 nd motive is clear: He is hoping one of the 100 will be a better warrior than David. 100 foreskins: This makes sure the dead guys were Philistines! David Marries Michal, 1 Sam 18:26-29 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. Before the time had expired, 27 David arose and went, along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines; and David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife. 28 But when Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that all Israel loved him, 29 Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy continually. David pays twice the bride price. Saul is afraid of David. Is he completely paranoid? Or is this young man really ambitious? Saul Turns against David, 1 Sam 19:9-10 Then an evil spirit from the LORD came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David was playing the lyre. 10 And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear; but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled, and escaped. Everything good and evil -- comes from the LORD Most Christians would expect the evil spirit to be sent by Satan. But Hebrew thought will not give that job to Satan until after the Exile under the influence of Persian religion. Michal Saves David from Her Father (1 Sam 19:11-17) Michal learns that her father intends to kill David in the morning..... Michal, David's wife, told him, "If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed." 12 So Michal let David down through the window; and he fled away and escaped. 13 Michal took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with the clothes. 14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick." 15 Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him." 16 And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats' hair at its head. 17 Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me thus, and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?" And Michal answered Saul, "He said to me, `Let me go; why should I kill you?'" Michal is a "double-agent!" She is spying for David, not for Dad! 1 Lectures are numbered consecutively. Although this is this week's first lecture, its number reflects its place in the total sequence. 2 All quotes are from the RSV, unless otherwise specified.

2 OT Lectures, Week 16, Page 2 of 8 Michal's Lies After that, she lies to give David even more time to make his getaway. Finally, when her lie is discovered, she lies again, to save herself. Was Saul really taken in by his daughter's lie? Or did he realize that she was on David's side? The whole idea of the marriage came about when he was told that she loved David. Michal's Second Marriage After David flees Saul gives Michal to another man, variously called "Palti" [1 Sam 25:44] or "Paltiel" [2 Sam 3:15] We are not told how Michal feels about this new marriage. This is about politics, not about love: Saul decides he cannot afford to have his enemy as his son-in-law. Ishbaal / Ishbosheth. Several years pass. Saul is killed by the Philistines. His son Ishbaal (Ishbosheth) reigns in his place over Israel, i.e., over the northern tribes. But the tribe of Judah (David's tribe) does not accept the rule of Ishbaal. Tensions that will eventually separate the North from the South are already obvious. Some scribes change Ishbaal (man of Baal) to Ishbosheth (man of shame!). Nobody would really give their kid the name Ishbosheth! David in Hebron. David rules only the tribe of Judah. He is living at the city of Hebron. Ishbaal's general Abner is angry with him (more in a later lecture). Abner decides to hand the kingdom over to David. He would rather be general for a strong king. He asks for a secret meeting. Abner's Betrayal of Ishbaal, 2 Sam 3:12-16 Abner sent messengers to David at Hebron, saying, "... Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring over all Israel to you."...[david tells Abner he won't meet with him, unless he gets his wife Michal back.] 14 Then David sent messengers to Ishbosheth Saul's son, saying, "Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed at the price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines." 15 And Ishbosheth sent, and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. 16 But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go, return"; and he returned. Love and Politics. Paltiel loves Michal. Does David? We have been told that Michal loves David; we have not been told that he lover her. This is not about love; it is about politics. David wants to succeed Saul; he needs to have his daughter as his wife. Paltiel wept over their separation. We are not told how Michal felt about it. Wash she happy to go back to her first love? Was she old enough and wise enough now to realize that David's demand was politically motivated? Note that the bride price is remembered as 100 foreskins, not 200! [I suspect editors are combining sources.] Abner delivers on his promise (2 Sam 3:17-19) He lines up the tribes of northern Israel, including the tribe of Benjamin, Saul's own tribe. He comes to Hebron with 20 representatives. David has a big banquet for them. Everybody is on board with the plan. The Problem: In one of the battles between the forces of David & Ishbaal, Abner had killed Asahel (2 Sam 2:18-23) Asahel was the baby brother of Joab, David's nephew 3 and general. Joab had a long memory. He hears that Abner has come and cut a deal with David, and is on his way back home. He sends messengers to Abner. Joab's Revenge (2 Samuel 3:27) And when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he smote him in the belly, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother. 3 According to 1 Chr 2:16, Zeruiah, Joab's mother, is David's sister.

3 OT Lectures, Week 16, Page 3 of 8 David's Response (2 Samuel 3:31-37) David said to Joab and to all the people..., "Rend your clothes, and gird on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner." And King David followed the bier. 32 They buried Abner at Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept. 33 And the king lamented for Abner, saying, "Should Abner die as a fool dies? 34 Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered; as one falls before the wicked you have fallen." Then all the people came to persuade David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David swore, saying, "God do so to me and more also, if I taste bread or anything else till the sun goes down!" 36 And all the people took notice of it, So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king's will to slay Abner the son of Ner. As he did for Saul & Jonathan (1 Sam 1:19-27), David composes a funeral elegy David's public mourning is successful. He is not blamed for Abner's death. And all Israel. The narrator appears to distinguish David's people (Judah) from "all Israel" Remember: Judah was not mentioned (either as present or as absent!) in the ancient Song of Deborah (Judges 5) A sign of the fragile union between Judah and Israel that will last only 3 generations (Saul, David, Solomon) Baanah and Rechab (2 Samuel 4). Ishbaal hears of Abner's assassination by Joab, and loses heart (2 Sam 4:1) Baanah and Rechab, two captains in his army, see which way the wind is blowing. They assassinate Ishbaal while he sleeps in his bed, and bring his head to David at Hebron, hoping for a reward. David's Response, 2 Sam 4:9b-11 As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, 10 when one told me, `Behold, Saul is dead,' and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and slew him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. 11 How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous man in his own house upon his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand, and destroy you from the earth?" David orders their execution, which is carried out immediately David's Political Acumen David's political goal has been achieved. However, he knows that Ishbaal still has loyal followers. By executing those who assassinated him, David hopes to win over the northern tribes without a fight. It worked! King over all Israel, 2 Samuel 5:1-3 After the death of Ishbaal, all the tribes of Israel come to David at Hebron, and ask him to be their king. He accepts, and is anointed king over all Israel at Hebron (2 Samuel 5). The problem with Hebron: it is in the south of Judah, far removed from Northern Israel. The Move to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5) David & his men succeed in capturing Jerusalem a Jebusite city that had remained unconquered. Jerusalem is not in the territory of any Israelite tribe. It is north of Judah, much closer to the Northern tribes than his first capitol of Hebron. Advantage: it is like Washington, DC, that does not belong to any state. He moves the Ark a religious symbol especially important to Northern Israel-- to Jerusalem to consolidate his authority. Transfer of the Ark 2 Sam 6:16-17 As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. 17 And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in its place, inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. Michal's reaction. Was David's dance the real cause of her attitude? Or were other things going on? We have been told nothing about the reunion of David and Michal. Did they fall into each others arms? Did she miss Paltiel, who wept as she was taken away from him? When she helped David escape from Saul, she was his only wife. Now she is part of his harem.

4 OT Lectures, Week 16, Page 4 of 8 At Hebron David had married: Ahinoam, Abigail, Maacah, Haggith, Abital and Eglah. These six marriages advanced his political career. Furthermore, he had sons be all of these women (2 Sam 3:3-5) David and Michal Quarrel, 2 Sam 6: Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, "How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants' maids, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!" 21 And David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father, and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel,..." 23 And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death. There is no mention of her saving his life years before. David has achieved all the political advantage this woman can help him with. He no longer needs her love. Week 16, Lecture 42. David & Abigail, 1 Samuel 25 The Characters Are Introduced, 1 Sam 25: 1b-3... Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. 2 And there was a man in Maon, whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was of good understanding and beautiful, but the man was churlish and ill-behaved; he was a Calebite. 4 Since David fled from Saul, he has surrounded himself with a band of outlaws. They are hiding out in the wilderness. "Nabal" means "fool." This is a hint that things are not going to go well for him! David's Request, 4-8 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, "Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. 6 And thus you shall salute him: `Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 I hear that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing, all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes; for we come on a feast day. Pray, give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.'" David's language is polite, but in effect, he is running "protection racket." Nabal's Response, David's Reaction Nabal answered David's servants, "Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who are breaking away from their masters. 11 Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men who come from I do not know where?" 12 So David's young men turned away, and came back and told him all this. 13 And David said to his men, "Every man gird on his sword!" And every man of them girded on his sword; David also girded on his sword; and about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage. Polite has not worked. Now David is going to "make him an offer he cannot refuse!" Abigail Informed, But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, "Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed at them. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them; Now therefore know this and consider what you should do; for evil is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is so ill-natured that one cannot speak to him." The servant are aware that Abigail is more "astute" than her husband. This is a patriarchal culture. But it is obvious who is making the important business decisions in this family. Abigail's Response, Then Abigail made haste, and took 200 loaves, and 2 skins of wine, and 5 sheep ready dressed, and 5 measures of parched grain, and 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. 19 And she said to her young men, "Go on before me; behold, I come after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 And as she rode on the ass, and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them. 4 All quotes are from the RSV, unless otherwise specified.

5 OT Lectures, Week 16, Page 5 of 8 From the amount of her "present" to David & his men it is obvious that Nabal & Abigail are well-to-do. David's State of Mind, Now David had said, "Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has returned me evil for good. 22 God do so to David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male [literally, 'one who pisses against the wall'] of all who belong to him." The coarse idiom is a description of males one is angry at. Most translations "tone it down." Abigail Meets David, 23-28a When Abigail saw David, she made haste, and alighted from the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, "Upon me alone, my lord, be the guilt; pray let your handmaid speak in your ears, and hear the words of your handmaid. 25 Let not my lord regard this ill-natured fellow...; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; but I your handmaid did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. 26 Now then, my lord, as YHWH 5 lives, and as your soul lives, seeing YHWH has restrained you from bloodguilt, and from taking vengeance with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now let this present which your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Pray forgive the trespass of your handmaid; Abigail's Prophecy, 28b for YHWH will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of YHWH; and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live And when YHWH has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you prince over Israel, 31 my lord shall have no cause of grief, or pangs of conscience, for having shed blood without cause or for my lord taking vengeance himself. And when YHWH has dealt well with my lord, then remember your handmaid." Appointed "prince" over Israel This refers to the David's secret anointing in a family setting by Samuel (1 Sam 16:13) This was while Saul was still living. The Philistines slay him on Mount Gilboa in 1 Samuel 31. Evidently "word has gotten out" -- because Abigail knows of this "secret" anointing. Note that the word "king" is not used. (Remember there is plenty of anti-monarchical sentiment in Israel!) Remember your handmaid Is she hoping for some lucrative business deals when he becomes "prince"? She has already told him her husband is a fool. Does she have anything more than "business" in mind? David Responds to Abigail, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from avenging myself with my own hand! 34 For as surely as the LORD the God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had made haste and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male." 35 Then David received from her hand what she had brought him; and he said to her, "Go up in peace to your house; see, I have hearkened to your voice, and I have granted your petition." Nabal's Death, Abigail came to Nabal; and, lo, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she told him nothing at all until the morning light. 37 And in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38 And about ten days later the LORD smote Nabal; and he died. It appears he had a stroke when he heard what she had done. Medicine, Ancient & Modern The English word "stroke" refers a blow from a whip or some other instrument. It is related to "strike, struck." When we use the word today, we do not think of the "stroke" as something "personal" 5 I have changed the RSV "the LORD" to "YHWH" in this passage to make it more clear that "my lord" is David.

6 OT Lectures, Week 16, Page 6 of 8 We think "something has gone wrong," not "somebody has struck them." The narrator, thinking in terms of ancient medicine, says that YHWH smote / struck Nabal. David Marries Abigail, When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be the LORD who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from evil; the LORD has returned the evil-doing of Nabal upon his own head." Then David sent and wooed Abigail, to make her his wife. 40 And when the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, "David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife." 41 And she rose and bowed with her face to the ground, and said, "Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord." 42 And Abigail made haste and rose and mounted on an ass, and her five maidens attended her; she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife. (1Sam 25:14-42 RSV) David's Wives, We are told that David also marries Ahinoam of Jezreel, and that Saul has given his wife Michal to somebody else. Having lost Michal, David has lost some "political prestige." Commentators say that marrying these two women shored up his prestige with important groups. In 25:3 we learned Nabal (and presumably Abigail) were from the clan of Caleb. I suspect David genuinely liked and respected Abigail, but there was more to this marriage than love! Week 16, Lecture 43. The Story of Rizpah Story of Ishbaal and Abner Ishbaal is Saul's surviving son after he & Jonathan were killed by the Philistines. Abner is his general. Ishbaal is weak, and Abner is ambitious. Rizpah's first mention in the Bible is in connection with this story. 2 Sam 3: Now Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah; and Ishbosheth [Ishbaal] said to Abner, "Why have you gone in to my father's concubine?" 8 Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ishbosheth, and said, "Am I a dog's head of Judah? This day I keep showing loyalty to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David; and yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman. 9 God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the LORD has sworn to him, 10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba." Next Scene. Fast forward. Ishbaal has been assassinated. David is now ruler of "all Israel." He has moved into Jerusalem, and moved the Ark there. He takes advantage of a famine to consolidate his power even more. The Famine & the Oracle (2 Sam 21:1) Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, "There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death." Who gave the oracle? The Request of the Gibeonites (2 Sam 21:2-6) 2 So the king called the Gibeonites. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to slay them in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. 3 And David said to the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? And how shall I make expiation, that you may bless the heritage of the LORD?"... 5 They said to the king, "The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel, 6 let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them up before the LORD at Gibeon on the mountain of the LORD."... 6 All quotes are from the RSV unless specified otherwise.

7 OT Lectures, Week 16, Page 7 of 8 Post-Lecture note. the people "of Israel and Judah." Notice again how the narrator separates them. This is another indication of the "fragile union" that will last only 3 generations. A Convenient Request This enables David to get rid of the main remnants of the house of Saul Hanged "before the LORD" Alice Logan sees the phrase "before the LORD" as a reference to a cultic act. While not saying so in so many words, in effect, this is to be a human sacrifice to YHWH to end the drought. David's Response (2 Sam 21:7-9a)... the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of the oath of the LORD which was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 The king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; 9 and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the LORD, and the seven of them perished together..... Sparing Mephibosheth was politically easy -- he was crippled, and no threat. It also allowed David to pretend that there was no "personal animosity" on his part. Rizpah's Action (2 Sam 21:10) Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens; and she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day, or the beasts of the field by night. She reminds me of Joseph of Arimathea -- who requested the body of Jesus from Pilate It took nerve to request the body of somebody who had been executed for political motives. David Relents (2 Sam 21:11-14) When David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, 12 David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabeshgilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Bethshan, where the Philistines had hanged them, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa; 13 and he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged. 14 And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father; and they did all that the king commanded. And after that God heeded supplications for the land. Was David shamed into action by this woman? In any case, his actions are calculated to defuse anger from the partisans of Saul. David transfers the bones of Saul & Jonathan from Jabesh to the ancestral tomb in Benjamin. Now there is no longer a shrine to them in Jabesh. At the same time he grants decent burial to those recently sacrificed. "God heeded the supplications" That is, the human sacrifice was accepted by YHWH. Week 16, Lecture 44. Solomon's Older Brothers. David's Wives at Hebron (7 Years) Wife Reference Son Notes on Mother Michal 1 Sam 18:27 -- daughter of King Saul; later given by Saul to Paltiel (1 Sam 25:44) after Saul's death Abner returned her to David, despite Paltiel's grief (2 Sam 3:14-16) Ahinoam 1 Sam 25:43 Amnon from Jezreel; mother of first-born Abigail 1 Sam 25:39-42 Chileab widow of Nabal; mother of Chileab, mother of 2nd son Maacah 2 Sam 3:3 Absalom daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; mother of Absalom 3 rd son Haggith 2 Sam 3:4 Adonijah mother of 4 th Son Abital 2 Sam 3:4 Shephatiah mother of 5 th son Eglah 2 Sam 3:5 Ithream mother of 6 th son

8 OT Lectures, Week 16, Page 8 of 8 David's Sons Born at Hebron (7 years) Son Reference Mother Notes on Sons Amnon 2 Sam 3:2 Ahinoam rapist of Tamar, his half-sister; slain by her brother Absalom (2 Sam 13:29) Chileab 2 Sam 3:3 Abigail not mentioned again after 2 Sam 3:2 Absalom 2 Sam 3:3 Maacah rebels against David, slain by Joab (2 Sam 18:14) brother of Tamar (2 Sam 13:1) who was raped by Amnon Adonijah 2 Sam 3:4 Haggith asks for Abishag as his wife; slain by Solomon (1 Kgs 2:13-24) Shephatiah 2 Sam 3:4 Abital not mentioned after this, except in genealogies Ithream 2 Sam 3:5 Eglah not mentioned after this, except in genealogies David's Wives Married in Jerusalem Wife Reference Notes on wives / concubines Bathsheba 2 Sam 11:27 wife of Uriah; called "Bathshua" in 1 Chronicles daughter of Eliam / Ammiel (2 Sam 11:3 / 1 Chr 3:5) "More Wives" 1 Chr 14:3 these are unnamed concubines 1 Chr 3:9 number not specified; David leaves 10 of them when he flees Absalom (2 Sam 15:16; 20:3) Born in Jerusalem (33 years) Son Reference Mother Notes Shimea 1 Chr 3:5 Bathsheba the baby born of adultery who died? Shobab 1 Chr 3:5 Bathsheba Nathan 1 Chr 3:5 Bathsheba Solomon 2 Sam 12:24 Bathsheba named fourth son of "Bathshua" in 1 Chr 3:5! 9 more sons 1 Chr 3:6-8 unnamed born to "more wives" (1 Chr 14:3) concubines' sons 1 Chr 3:9 unnamed the concubines are unnamed It was obvious to all that "a son of David" will be the next king. It was not at all obvious which "son of David" would be king! He had quite a few! Solomon's 6 older half-brothers from the first 6 wives of David Half-brother #1, Amnon, was slain by half-brother # 3, Absalom Half-brother #3, Absalom, rebelled against David, and was slain by Joab Half-brother # 4, Adonijah, asked for Abishag as his wife after Solomon became king; Solomon executed him. Half-brothers # 2, 5, & 6 (Chileab, Shephatiah, Ithream) are not mentioned except in genealogies. Background for the Story of David & Bathsheba Solomon is Bathsheba's Son. David had six wives (and some concubines) before he married Solomon's mother. Yet none of these older sons will be king. Was Bathsheba an innocent woman whom David took advantage of? Or was she a schemer, who wanted her son to be the next king? -- and made it happen!