Bathsheba Survives

Sara M. Koenig

Description

A portrait of a biblical woman seen through the centuries as everything from adviser to temptress to victim

Bathsheba is a mysterious and enigmatic figure who appears in only seventy-six verses of the Bible and whose story is riddled with gaps. But this seemingly minor female character, who plays a critical role in King David's story, has survived through the ages, and her "afterlife" in the history of interpretation is rich and extensive. In Bathsheba Survives, Sara M. Koenig traces Bathsheba's reception throughout history and in various genres, demonstrating how she has been characterized on the spectrum from helpless victim to unscrupulous seductress.

Early Jewish interpretations, Koenig argues, highlight Bathsheba's role as Solomon's mother and adviser, while texts from the patristic era view her as a type: of sinful flesh, of the law, or of the gentile church. Works from the medieval period depict Bathsheba as a seductress who wants to tempt David, with art embellishing her nudity, while reformers such as Luther and Calvin treated Bathsheba in a generally critical light as indiscreet and perhaps even devious. During the Enlightenment period, Koenig claims Bathsheba was most frequently discussed in commentaries that used historical critical methods to explain her character and her actions.

Koenig then demonstrates how Bathsheba is understood in today's popular media as both seductress and victim, being featured in novels, films, and in music from such artists as Leonard Cohen and Sting. The minor, enigmatic biblical character Bathsheba, Koenig writes, has survived through time by those who have received her and spoken about her in varying ways. Though she disappears from the biblical text, she resurfaces in thought and study and will continue to survive in the centuries to come.

Sujets

• Nestorius
• Samuel
• Rachi
• Dinah
• Rahab
• Jezebel
• Books of Samuel
• Old Testament
• Rashi
• Spirituality
• Masoretic Text
• Ahitophel
• Marcion of Sinope
• Bathsheba
• Nabal
• Jerusalem Talmud
• Consummation
• Karaite Judaism
• Rabbeinu Tam
• Penitential
• Midrash Rabba
• Jezabel (película)
• Betsabé
• Religión
• Living Water
• Biblical Biography

Informations

• Publié par: University of South Carolina Press
• Date de parution: 15 novembre 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781611179149
• Langue: English

Extrait

Bathsheba Survives
Studies on Personalities of the Old Testament
James L. Crenshaw, Series Editor
Bathsheba Survives
Sara M. Koenig

The University of South Carolina Press
2018 University of South Carolina
Published by the University of South Carolina Press Columbia, South Carolina 29208
www.sc.edu/uscpress
27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data can be found at http://catalog.loc.gov/ .
ISBN 978-1-61117-913-2 (hardback)
ISBN 978-1-61117-914-9 (ebook)
FRONT COVER IMAGE
Bathsheba Bathing, Book of Hours of Louis XII , 1498-99, by Jean Bourdichon, J. Paul Getty Museum, courtesy of the Getty Open Content Program
Dedicated to Ehud and Heidi, who told me, Just write the book.
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Series Editor s Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Why Bathsheba?
1 - Bathsheba in the Bible: Identifying Gaps
2 - Bathsheba Revealed in Rabbinic Literature
3 - Bathsheba as Type and Trope in the Patristic
4 - Bathsheba in the Bath in the Medieval Period
5 - Bathsheba Reformed in the Reformation
6 - Bathsheba Enlightened in the Enlightenment
7 - Bathsheba Told, Sung, Acted, and Politicized in the Contemporary World
Conclusion: Bathsheba Unfinalized
Notes
Bibliography
Index
ILLUSTRATIONS
The bath of Bathsheba, Sacra Parallela
The bath of David, Sacra Parallela
Susanna spied upon by the Elders, Sacra Parallela
Bathsheba Bathing, Vatican Psalter
Miserere, Copenhagen Psalter
David and Bathsheba, Queen Mary Psalter
Bathsheba Bathing, Book of Hours of Louis XII
Bathsheba Bathing, Book of Hours from Rouen
Bathsheba, Book of Hours, Use of Rome
David Penitent, The Co tivy Book of Hours
David communicating with God
David: in Prayer
Miniature of David and Bathsheba Bedford Book of Hours
Lust, Dunois Hours
David sees Bathsheba bathing, The Book of Hours from Troyes
David and Bathsheba; David Slaying Goliath
David and Bathsheba: Bathsheba Bathing, Hours of Claude Mol
Bathsheba by Hans Memling, 1485
Bathsheba Bathing, from Weiberlisten (Women s Wile)
Coronation of the Virgin
SERIES EDITOR S PREFACE
Critical study of the Bible in its ancient Near Eastern setting has stimulated interest in the individuals who shaped the course of history and whom events singled out as tragic or heroic figures. Rolf Rendtorff s Men of the Old Testament (1968) focuses on the lives of important biblical figures as a means of illuminating history, particularly the sacred dimension that permeates Israel s convictions about its God. Fleming James s Personalities of the Old Testament (1939) addresses another issue, that of individuals who function as inspiration for their religious successors in the twentieth century. Studies restricting themselves to a single individual-for example, Moses, Abraham, Samson, Elijah, David, Saul, Ruth, Jonah, Job, Jeremiah-enable scholars to deal with a host of questions: psychological, literary, theological, sociological, and historical. Some, like Gerhard von Rad s Moses (1960), introduce a specific approach to interpreting the Bible, hence provide valuable pedagogic tools.
As a rule these treatments of isolated figures have not reached the general public. Some were written by outsiders who lacked a knowledge of biblical criticism (Freud on Moses, Jung on Job) and whose conclusions, however provocative, remain problematic. Others were targeted for the guild of professional biblical critics (David Gunn on David and Saul, Phyllis Trible on Ruth, Terence Fretheim and Jonathan Magonet on Jonah). None has succeeded in capturing the imagination of the reading public in the way fictional works like Archibald MacLeish s J. B . and Joseph Heller s God Knows have done.
It could be argued that the general public would derive little benefit from learning more about the personalities of the Bible. Their conduct, often less then exemplary, reveals a flawed character, and their everyday concerns have nothing to do with our preoccupations from dawn to dusk. To be sure, some individuals transcend their own age, entering the gallery of classical literary figures from time immemorial. But only these rare achievers can justify specific treatments of them. Then why publish additional studies on biblical personalities?
The answer cannot be that we read about biblical figures to learn ancient history, even of the sacred kind, or to discover models for ethical action. But what remains? Perhaps the primary significance of biblical personages is the light they throw on the imaging of deity in biblical times. At the very least, the Bible constitutes human perceptions of deity s relationship with the world and its creatures. Close readings of biblical personalities therefore clarify ancient understandings of God. That is the important datum which we seek-not because we endorse that specific view of deity, but because all such efforts to make sense of reality contribute something worthwhile to the endless quest for knowledge.
James L. Crenshaw
Robert L. Flowers Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Duke University
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work grew out of my dissertation, and it has been in progress for longer than I like to admit. During that time, I have been helped by many people in many different ways. In particular, I acknowledge and thank Margaret Diddams, the former director of the Center for Scholarship and Faculty Development at Seattle Pacific University, for awarding me a Faculty Research Grant. That grant funded my work at the Getty Research Institute (GRI) in Los Angeles where I researched Bathsheba s depiction in medieval iconography. I also thank Tracey Shuster and the Getty Research Institute for their assistance while I was there. My initial research for the medieval era was funded by a Summer Fellowship through the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion. I am grateful to Paul Myhre, Dena Pence, and all of my colleagues in the Workshop for Pre-Tenure Religion Faculty for charades, karaoke, and support.
I am privileged to include art from various museums around the world. Thanks go to the Biblioth que nationale de France; the British Library; the Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin; the J. Paul Getty Museum; the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in The Hague, Netherlands; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Morgan Library and Museum; the Royal Library Copenhagen; and the Vatican Library for allowing me to include depictions of Bathsheba from their collections.
I am grateful for Jennifer McKinney, Karen Snedker, and Rob Wall, my colleagues who read drafts and offered suggestions. My write club partners Amy Erickson and G. Brooke Lester deserve a special shout-out. Owen Ewald and Rick Hebron assisted me in translating Latin, French, and Hebrew. Seattle Pacific University s librarian extraordinaire, Steve Perisho, was tireless and thorough in offering help. I am also grateful to student workers Danica Eisman, Scot Bearss, and Rachel Douglass. The following individuals cheered me on and prayed for me: Ann, Becky, Deb, Larie, Laurie, Christie, Jen B., Jen K., Julie, Elna, Laura, Shannon, Emily, Tracey, Meda, Ruth, James, Lauren, Brittney, Marilyn, Anika, Lisa, and Kristin. I appreciate you all!
My family has been very supportive, especially my parents, Jon and Jean Malmin, and my in-laws, Sandy and John Stokely. I thank Jan Morris, who hosted me during my Los Angeles research time. Thank you. My children Madeleine and Max give me both support and diversions from my work, and I m grateful for them. I simply could not do what I do without the encouragement and support of my husband, Matthew. Thank you for loving me so well.
The rough places have been made smooth by my editors James Crenshaw and Jim Denton, and it has been a pleasure to work with them both.
Over the years, I have enjoyed being involved in the Pacific Northwest Regional Society of Biblical Literature s Hebrew Bible section. There is a level of collegiality and support in that group that is rarely found in academia, and a large part of that can be attributed to the leadership of Ehud Ben Zvi and Heidi M. Szpek. After I had done my second presentation on Bathsheba at one of our regional meetings, they both told me, Sara, just write the book. I did, and I dedicate it to them with my thanks.
Introduction
Why Bathsheba?
On the Scriptures, everyone quite indiscriminately undertakes some enterprise on his own account the old gossip, the old fool, the wordy sophist, all of them take it up and tamper with it, teaching others before they learn themselves.
Ep. 53:7, Jerome
With a sensible degree of historical perspective, we will observe that the Bible has never known a period of unanimity in interpretation.
A. K. M. Adam , Faithful Interpretation, 9
W hen people have found out that I am researching Bathsheba, responses have ranged from frank curiosity to rude dismissiveness. One student asked me, Why do you like her so much? while a colleague-in an attempt at a joke-said, And your book can be titled Everything You Never Wanted to Know about Bathsheba . While I think the colleague in particular could have used some etiquette tips on how not to devalue another s research interests, I understand these responses because Bathsheba is a minor biblical character. She appears in a grand total of merely 76 verses: just four chapters in Samuel-Kings, mentioned in the superscription to Psalm 51, and only alluded to in the genealogy that begins the New Testament. Moreover, the texts that do speak about Bathsheba are riddled with