Pacific Press® Publishing Association Nampa, Idaho Oshawa, Ontario, Canada www.pacificpress.com Characters—Starred characters are fictional; all others are mentioned in the Bible.

Bathsheba Daughter of Ammiel and Shiran Ammiel Bathsheba’s father *Shiran Bathsheba’s mother Uriah Bathsheba’s first husband King Saul the first king of Israel Jonathan Saul’s son *Atarah Bathsheba’s half sister *Zeev Shiran’s first husband Ahithophel Bathsheba’s grandfather *Bilah/Mili Mean girls from Bathsheba’s childhood *Rivka Bathsheba’s friend, Uriah’s cousin *Zabad Rivka’s husband *Adina Bathsheba’s pet lamb *Nadav Atarah’s husband, the chief baker to King David *Jotham Bathsheba’s oldest nephew *Kaleb Bathsheba’s second nephew Joab David’s nephew and commander in chief

  • Bathsheba Absalom son of David and Maacah *Barak Bathsheba’s cousin *Ronen Rivka and Zabad’s son Amnon David’s oldest son Ahinoam Amnon’s mother, second wife of David Chileab son of David and Abigail Abigail David’s wife, former wife of Nabal, mother of Chileab Maacah David’s wife, mother of Tamar and Absalom Tamar daughter of David and Maacah Adonijah son of David and Haggith Shephatiah son of David and Abital Ithream son of David and Eglah Michal first wife of David, daughter of King Saul *Matana Bathsheba’s servant, half sister of Michal Mephibosheth Jonathan’s son Phaltiel Michal’s second husband Nathan prophet and friend to David and Bathsheba Oded David and Bathsheba’s first son Jonadab David’s nephew Shammua, Shobad, Nathan sons of David and Bathsheba Solomon David and Bathsheba’s son, also called Jedidiah Gad a prophet Ziba Mephibosheth’s servant *Ayala Levite girl, lesser wife of Solomon Bathsheba •  *Donora Ayala’s younger sister Naamah Ammonite princess, first wife of Solomon, mother of Rehoboam Abishag David’s Shunammite nurse Abiathar Levite who served David and later Adonijah Zadok David’s loyal priest who anointed Solomon Basmath, Taphath Solomon’s daughters Rehoboam Son of Solomon and Naamah

Definitions Abba affectionate Hebrew term forfather Eema affectionate Hebrew term formother Sav affectionate Hebrew term forgrandfather Sava affectionate Hebrew term forgrandmother Chapter 1

Darkness still filled the small room as she rose from her mat. She quietly stepped over the sleeping figure of her mother and walked out the door and up the stone staircase to the roof. Today of all days, she needed to have this time alone to sort out her spinning thoughts. It was the last morning she would spend in this house as the daughter of Ammiel and Shiran. In just a few short hours, she would become the wife of Uriah the Hittite. She was glad for the blanket she had brought and quickly wrapped it around her shoulders once she reached her favorite place on the roof. It was a hidden corner where she had a panoramic view of the town below. The sky was still splashed with stars, and the moon was a waxing crescent low in the horizon, making way for its brighter com- panion. She tried to savor every moment of the morning, knowing everything would be different tomorrow. It’s not that she was un- happy about her upcoming marriage; she didn’t really feel anything, just numb. She didn’t dislike Uriah, but she didn’t love him either. He had simply been in her life as long as she could remember, just lingering in the background. He was a friend of her father and grand- father and had served in the army with them for years. He was much older than she, but that was not unusual. What she found strange was that he never even spoke to her. Sure, she would catch him looking at her from time to time, but he always quickly looked away when their eyes met. She was so surprised when her mother told her she was to be his wife. Maybe it was because she didn’t really feel like a woman yet, even though she was only a year younger than her sister had been when she was married. She had technically been a woman for several months now, which made her eligible to be married, but she just

11 12 • Bathsheba couldn’t imagine herself as a wife. Part of her was afraid Uriah would look closely enough at her to discover she really was only a child and call the whole thing off. Then, she decided, it would be a good thing if he did. She could spend the rest of her days in the comfort of her parents’ home, surrounded by the familiarity of her youth. Deep down, she knew that would never happen. If it wasn’t Uriah and it wasn’t today, it would happen eventually. She heard the way people talked about her. Even at her young age, she was called a great beauty. People always said she would grow to be a stunning woman. She re- membered a conversation between her parents that she overheard shortly before her father announced the engagement. “Ammiel, just be patient.” Her mother had tried to reason with her father. “Imagine how lovely she will be in another year. We will get an incredible bride-price for her if we just wait. How can we waste that beauty on a poor soldier? He is not worthy of her. She should be in a palace.” “Quiet, Shiran!” Her father snapped. “Uriah is my friend, and we made this arrangement years ago. He is a good man and will treat her well.” His voice softened. “Besides, my love, would a palace really be such a good place for her? Remember Asreal’s daughter who was taken to live in King Saul’s harem. Do you want that for our little flower? I would rather her be the only wife of a poor man than one of the king’s many playthings. If she is married, she will be safe.” Bathsheba didn’t understand what others saw in her. Sometimes, when she went to the well early on a quiet morning, she would look at her reflection in the water. Yes, her eyes were large and bright and her hair was as black as a raven’s wing, but she didn’t think there was anything exceptional about her face. There certainly wasn’t any- thing special about her body. She had started changing, but she still didn’t have the curvaceous figure of her sister, Atarah. When she looked at her sister, she felt very boyish and gangly, yet Mother hadn’t hesitated to take the first offer of marriage Atarah received. Why would she want to delay her marriage to Uriah? How could she think her worthy of a king? Bathsheba • 13 Just then, her thoughts were interrupted by her mother’s ap- proaching footsteps. “Shalom, Flower. I thought I’d find you up here. Did you sleep well?” “Yes, thank you.” “You have a very big day today. We should get started on the preparations.” “Oh, Eema, I just don’t know if I’m ready.” She replied holding back a sob. In one graceful motion, Shiran embraced her daughter and held her close. Both women cried quietly for a moment then sat in silence while Shiran stroked Bathsheba’s flowing hair. “My little beauty, oh, the things you could have become,” Shiran said more to herself than to her daughter. “From the moment you were born, I knew there was something special about you. I know every mother says that about her babies, but this was different. You were blessed with something ex- traordinary that the other girls don’t have. The first time I held you in my arms, I made an oath that I would do everything in my power to help you achieve greatness. That is why I named you Bathsheba, meaning ‘daughter of oath.’ If only your father wasn’t so devoted to that dull man Uriah, you could have been betrothed to a great man, a powerful man. I’ve seen how that wealthy merchant Uzziah looks at you when we go to market. They all look at you, Bathsheba. Why, you could even have King David himself if you wanted.” “Eema, why do you say such things? I’m nothing but a skinny girl!” “How can you be so blind, my darling, and deaf too? Don’t you hear people talking about you? Flower, the sooner you recognize your gifts, the sooner you will be able to use them to your advan- tage. Oh, if only we could have waited!” She sat silently for a mo- ment then continued with new fervor. “Bathsheba, even though you have to marry that worn-out soldier, you will still need to be aware of your power over men. Uriah has fought many battles, but he knows little of the wiles of a beautiful girl. You must use your body and your mind to get what you want out of this world.” 14 • Bathsheba “Why do you talk like this Eema? Uriah will be kind to me, just as Abba has been to you. Why do you act as though married life will be so bad?” “There is much you don’t know, little one. I was not always your Eema, you know. I was once young and beautiful too. But your Sava was jealous of me and had me married off to a very cruel man.” “No, not Abba!” “No, love, not Abba. I’ve never told you this story, but you are old enough now. I was married before I married your Abba. My Eema was not a pretty woman, but she was clever. She saw men looking at me, and she used it to her advantage. There was a man named Zeev, who worked for the Philistine blacksmiths. You don’t remember, but there were no blacksmiths in the entire country, so all of our tools had to be taken to the Philistines for repairs. He would transport the tools and take a large percent of the profits for himself, as if we weren’t paying those filthy Philistines enough,” she said bitterly as she spat over her shoulder. “My Eema saw him staring at me in the market one day, so she paraded me before him. I was very embarrassed but, of course, could not refuse. She held me out in front of him for months and even tried to create competition by exposing me to other eligible men in town. Abba was unaware of all of it, so when a high bride-price was offered for me, he took it without question. Eema knew the man’s reputation for cruelty, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was getting rid of me and getting as much gold for her pouch as possible. “It didn’t take long for me to realize what type of man I was mar- ried to. I will spare you the details, but my life was very unhappy. It only got worse when your sister was born. Zeev was very angry that I had not given him a son. As Atarah grew older, he became even cru- eler. I feared for both of us, but mostly for my daughter. I spent every moment of every day trying to protect her from him. At night I would cry myself to sleep and pray the Lord would deliver us from this man, but when I awoke in the morning, nothing had ever changed. I realized God was not listening to me, so I took matters Bathsheba • 15 into my own hands. I knew I was pretty, even though my Eema told me I was as ugly as a hog. It was all I had, so I used it. When I was in the market, I would subtly expose my arm to a man or walk near him to make him notice me. Sometimes the men would try to grab me, and I would cry out. To save his honor, Zeev had to fight to keep the men from touching me. Finally, my salvation came when Zeev got into a fight with a traveling merchant from Kadesh. My husband was badly beaten and died in his bed three days later.” Shiran paused for a minute noting the shocked expression on her daughter’s face. “I know my relief at Zeev’s death sounds awful, but you don’t know what it was like. You will be a mother someday, and then you may understand what a woman sometimes has to do for her child.” Shiran took a deep breath and continued with her story. “Even on his deathbed, Zeev hurled insults at me and tried to hurt me with words since his fists were no good. After he died, Atarah and I re- turned to my parents’ house. It wasn’t much better there. My Eema was still as nasty to me as ever. My Abba had aged quickly due to illness, so he was unable to secure a match for me. I wasn’t about to leave it in Eema’s hands again, so I tried to find myself a husband. I met your father shortly after he returned from battle in Ziklag. He had acquired modest wealth while fighting with David’s band of rebel soldiers. His father, your Sav, had already made quite a name for himself as an advisor to David during his hiding. Saul had just died, and David was named king in Hebron. I knew once the throne was well established, both Ammiel and his father, Ahithophel, would be well rewarded. I thought if I could capture the eye of Ammiel, I would live in comfort at the palace for the rest of my days, but, un- fortunately, your Abba hasn’t proven to be as ambitious as his fa- ther.” Shiran smiled slightly then continued. “It wasn’t easy for a widow with a young daughter to secure a match, especially without the help of her parents, but I used the only tool I had. Ammiel had been away in the wilderness so long, all I had to do was lure him with lingering looks in the marketplace and in no time at all, he asked for my hand. He had also been married before, 16 • Bathsheba but his wife and baby had died years earlier in childbirth. I did not love your father, but I needed him, and he was kind to me. What was even more important was how well he treated your sister. She has some memory of Zeev, but Ammiel has been so good to her, she has always thought of him as her father. A year later, you were born. It was a difficult labor, and I almost died. The midwife told me I would never have another child. I wept at the thought of never having a boy, but your Abba was so delighted with you. He never showed the slightest bit of grief over not having a son to carry on his name, and he never rebuked me for my inability to give him more children. I could not have asked for a better man. I don’t deserve his love.” “Then why don’t you want me to be married to his friend?” “Because you don’t love him. You will be doomed to the same fate as your poor Eema. You will never know true love or passion. You are too beautiful to spend your life in a clay hovel married to a soldier. I know I should be happy for you. You will never have to face the cru- elty of a man like Zeev, but you have so much fire, so much beauty. You should have wealth and power, but above all, you should have love! No, I mustn’t go on so. You will be happy, my flower. Uriah will treat you well. Besides, he will be easy to control. He knows much of battle, but little of domestic life. You will have power, even if it’s just in your own home. You will be happy.” Her voice faded as though she were trying to convince herself more than her daughter. “But, Eema, does he love me? I see him look at me sometimes, but I don’t see love in his eyes.” “I think he loves you in his own way. He has waited patiently for you since you were a little girl. I just think his passions have all been spent on the battlefield. But, that may be a good thing. Passionate men can be dangerous. Just use your head—and your body if you have to—and you will be fine. Now, we have a lot to do, child. We had better get to work.” The two women shared one more glance into each other’s dark eyes before descending from their rooftop hideaway into the day that lay waiting for them.