MIDLANDS STATE
UNIVERSITY
MARS 700 Advanced
Research Methodology
Assignment 2: The Story of David And Bathsheba As A Case
Study Using Feminist liberal theories.
BY
NGWENYA LAMULANI B
R1910632V
Presented in partial fulfillment of the course Master of Arts in Religious Studies.
Supervisor
Dr A HLATYWAYO
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Theology of Sexuality
Women and sexuality theology has been accused of being highly charged with Patriarchalism. The
Pentateuch on the contrary is imbued with a respect for women. Biblical Matriarchs are given special
ranks. The history of women from a Pentateuchal perspective is not charged with improper conduct in
reference to them being subordinate. The Edenic paradigm rules them more than any influence.
Antediluvian women are shown to be in a state of activity. They don't at any time are given lesser of the
roles in the narratives not are they given poor and immature appeals to existence.
The Hebrew Pentateuch is replete with a massive amount of feminine ideology. Near Eastern culture is
replete with consorts. Many of the places we read about include ambient ancient places like Mari,
where examples of human sacrifices where carried out. These humans where mostly little virgin girls.
Feminist movements
Feminist movements at that time was ushered. Some rabbinical schools have identified that movement
as the "Mothers of Israel" movement. Feminists would found in this nomenclature a formation of the
first Feminist movement. The Hebrew Bible clearly states the genealogy of the Kings of Israel them it
points out the mother of the King. This was a diversion from standard genealogical practices. Mostly it
was males mentioned.
The feminists agenda propagated in by the Deuteronomistic historian is given as equally the same
attention as the other role players in the narrative. Deuteronomistic Corpora includes the Book of
Deuteronomy and the book of Kings and Chronicles and the books of Joshua.
Hooks(2015:15), states that "...the painful, patient, and silent toil of mothers to gain a fee, simple title
to the bodies of their daughters, the despairing fight, as of an entrapped tigress, to keep hallowed their
own persons, would furnish material for epics. That more went down under the flood than stemmed the
current is not extraordinary...."
Is this excerpt, Hooks examines the evidences that reveal how mothers suffer in raising their children.
The usage of the term "entrapped tigress" corolates with the idea that women who are endeared to
properly raising their children are comparable to Tigers. And their fight for the mastery for the Benefit
of their children is as potent as the vigor that a Tigres has¹.
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Sexism was an integral part of the social and political order white colonizers brought with them from
their European homelands, and it was to have a grave impact on the fate of enslaved black women. In
its earliest stages, the slave trade focused primarily on the importation of laborers; the emphasis at that
time was on the black male.
The black female slave was not as valued as the black male slave. On the average, it cost more money
to buy a male slave than a female slave².
When Patriarchy rules, then, "...there is no
identifiable...feminist movement...although there are individuals within collectives who may be
politically drawn to the concept..." but it is more likely women will be marginalized³.
Hooks(2015:38) sees in liberal Feminism "...women's liberation is a dismissal of race and class as
factors that, in conjunction with sexism, determine the extent to which an individual will be
discriminated against, exploited, or oppressed. In line with the death of Uriah the Hittite it is very clear
that liberal Feminism denounce oppression. Yet it fails in that it points to female liberation in tandum
with liberty in sexual conduct.
Khan (2007) maintains that “the relationship between women’s work and the political environment, and
women’s work and the sexual politics of...a society is also very close” linked to each other. She
considers a deliberate ideological purpose behind state policy which promotes gender segregation by
referring to “culture and traditions regarding traditions as an explanation for women’s inability to take
greater part in employment outside the home and access social sector services or have greater political
participation”⁴ Such claims are used to favour Female copulancy and Feministic potency. Liberty in
sexual maters led to the death of Uriah the Hittite.
David and Bathsheba.
The story of David and Bathsheba represents us with Feministic issues that which militate excessively
against the descency of and sanctity of matrimony. Very interesting to note is how the Deuteronomistic
narrator points to the fact that Bathsheba is called the Wife of Uriah the Hititte⁵. This is a signal
testimony to show sympathies were aligned to the man. Rather than what Feminism would call Gender
based discrimination.
While the behavior of Bathsheba is usually subjected to a lesser torrid critical scrutiny because it's
assumed that she was a victim. Upon further analysis of the story more closely we note that David
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saw a woman bathing from roof of his house. Archeology has shown that David's palace was built
literally on a plateu right above the houses⁸. One could peek into the windows of natives from the
trajectory of the roof. The narrative continues to state that "...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..."
The term "and took her" has the following gramatical morphological sequence: Aspect ConsecImperf:
Consecutive Imperfect. A Hebrew consecutive imperfect implies continuous action. This taking was not
a singularity. Rather it continued to happen for a long period of time. The Hebrew phrase ַ‫ ָהֶ֗ ַ ִּ קָּי‬is
literally "and he continued took her" this means that they continued to have sexual relations behind
Uriah the Hittite's back. Then the narrative moves on to say that, and "she came in unto him, and he lay
with her...⁶"
This connector phrase supposes that she condescended more than once. The Hebrew term used is
"‫ "ַָ֤ תַָּו‬is also a Consecutive Imperfect. This word again represents an action on going. The verbs in
this part of the pericope are in the Consecutive Imperfect. Both their actions where on going.
In conclusion, Feminism is a theory that seeks to denounce all forms of oppression upon women, it
finds much to critically debunk when Patriarchy seeks ascendency. The story of David and Bathsheba
is a case study that reveals the down side of liberilized Feministic ideology. There's cause to denounce
David's action as barbaric and unwarranted. Yet the D-historian critically and sensetively placed the
story in such a way that all the guilty parties are debunked and not only David alone. The David
Bathsheba affair was an illegitimate consensual relationship. Bathsheba is a consenting adult. Any
Feministic theory treating David as a male dominator is uncalled for and shows a poor understanding of
biblical linguistics.
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Reference.
1). Hooks B, (2015), Ain’t I a Woman, Black Women and Feminism, Routledge, New York.
2). Ibidem
3). Zia A S, (2018), Faith and Feminism in Pakistan, Sussex Academic Press, Toronto.
4). Khan, A ,(2007), “Women And Paid Work In Pakistan: Pathways of Women’s Empowerment South
Asia Research Programme.” Pakistan Scoping Paper. The Collective for Social Science Research.
Karachi.
5). Cameron B. R. Howard, (2021), "David and Bathsheba (2 Sam 11)", retrieved 9 Apr. Online:
https://www.bibleodyssey.org:443/en/passages/main-articles/david-and-bathsheba
6). 2Sa 11:4 KJV
7). Hooks B, (2015), Feminist Theory from margin TO center, Routledge, New York.
8). Weinfield M, The loyalty oath in the Ancient Near Eastern, Ugaritic-Forschugen 8, 1976.
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