The story of david and bat sheba according to rabbinic literature

Abstract

In this article the author analyses one of the most interesting stories in the Bible, the affair of King David and Bat-Sheba according to sources from rabbinic literature. King David was a king, a spiritual lider, composer of Psalms, a great Torah scholar, the progenitor of the Jewish kingly dynasty and, according to the Jewish tradition, even the Messiah is supposed to be his descendant. However, according to the biblical story, David sinned severely. He committed sins of adultery and murder of an innocent, sins that don’t fit his image. The main task of this work is to explain, based on rabbinic literature, what exactly happened. Did king David fall from heavenly hights into a deep pit? The first part of the article consists of a general introduction, followed by a review of the biblical episode. The central part of this article is the Sages’ interpretation of king David and Bat Sheba affair, discussing the relationship between Uriah and Bat Sheba and the question of the adultery, followed by an analysis of the sin and punishment and various questions it raises. The author uses many sources from the rabbinical literature since Talmudic times through the middle Ages until modern times. Much of this literature is translated into Croatian from Hebrew and Aramaic for the first time by the author.