The Qur’an

“David and Bathsheba”

Sura 38

Suad

21. And has there come to you the story of the litigants, when they made an entry into the private chamber by ascending over the walls?
22. When they entered in upon Dawood and he was frightened at them, they said: Fear not; two litigants, of whom one has acted wrongfully towards the other, therefore decide between us with justice, and do not act unjustly, and guide us to the right way.
23. Surely this is my brother; he has ninety-nine ewes and I have a single ewe; but he said: Make it over to me, and he has prevailed against me in discourse.
24. He said: Surely he has been unjust to you in demanding your ewe (to add) to his own ewes; and most surely most of the partners act wrongfully towards one another, save those who believe and do good, and very few are they; and Dawood was sure that We had tried him, so he sought the protection of his Lord and he fell down bowing and turned time after time (to Him).
25. Therefore We rectified for him this, and most surely he had a nearness to Us and an excellent resort.
26. O Dawood! surely We have made you a ruler in the land; so judge between men with justice and do not follow desire, lest it should lead you astray from the path of Allah; (as for) those who go astray from the path of Allah, they shall surely have a severe punishment because they forgot the day of reckoning.

The Bible

“David and Bathsheba”

Second Samuel

Chapter 11

1. And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.
 2.  And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
 3.  And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
 4.  And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
 5.  And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
 6.  And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
 7  And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.
 8.  And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king’s house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.
 9.  But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
 10.  And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?
 11.  And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.
 12.  And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and tomorrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.
 13.  And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
 14.  And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
 15.  And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
 16.  And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.
 17.  And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
 18.  Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;
 19.  And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king,
 20.  And if so be that the king’s wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?
 21.  Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
 22.  So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for.
 23.  And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate.
 24.  And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king’s servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
 25.  Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.
 26.  And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
 27.  And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

Second Samuel

Chapter 12

1.  And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
 2.The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
 3. But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
 4.  And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
 5  And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:
 6. And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
 7.  And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
 8.  And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
 9. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
 10.  Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
 11.  Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
 12.  For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
 13.  And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
 14.  Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
 15.  And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.
 16.  David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
 17.  And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
 18.  And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?
 19.  But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
 20.  Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
 21.  Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
 22.  And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
 23.  But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
 24.  And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him.

COMMENTARY

In the Qur’an:

1. Two disputants suddenly came before David, somehow having sneaked past unnoticed by palace guards. They asked David to settle their dispute.

2. David listened to their story and made the right judgment. When he realized that he was actually being tested by God he asked for forgiveness (for something wrong he had done).

3. God forgave him and rewarded him with “…a beautiful place of  (Final) Return…”.

In the Bible:

1. David saw a beautiful woman, and in spite of the fact that she was married, he slept with her. After she became pregnant, he tried to do everything in order to let her husband lie with her so this sin of adultery would not be known after she gave birth to the child. But when his plan failed, he sent a letter to his army general, Joab, with an order to place Bath-Sheba’s husband in the front lines so that he would be killed by his enemies’ hands. David committed the sin of adultery, and in order to cover it, he plotted another sin – murder. He did not repent, but he took Bath-Sheba for his wife after the murder of her husband Uriah and she gave birth to a baby. God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David by asking David to judge a story of a poor man wronged by a rich man.

2. David became very angry and pronounced a death penalty for the abuser. Nathan accused David of his double sin. David repented.

3. God forgave David by not killing him, but exacted consequences for what he had done by allowing the baby that was conceived of their adulterous union to die:

“…Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house…”,

“…Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour,  and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it  secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun…”,

“…the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die…”.