Tracing Bathsheba's Metamorphosis through the Lens of Trauma and Recovery

Abstract:Bathsheba's story is split by a wide chasm of male-dominated texts, spanning from 2 Sam 11–12 on one end to 1 Kgs 1–2 on the other—a literary rift that has long presented a problem for scholars attempting to discern a coherent development and appraisal of Bathsheba's character throughout. This study highlights the ways in which the biblical depiction of Bathsheba resists simplistic interpretations and instead evinces a coherent, upward crescendo of character development through a combination of literary analysis and the hermeneutic lens of trauma and recovery, the latter of which highlights the suppression and growth of communicative agency throughout. The first section asserts that the trauma of rape is apparent and so recognized in 2 Sam 11:1–4 through its evocative synthesis of contextual setting, Hebrew terminology, and syntax. The second section analyzes 2 Sam 11:5–12:25, paying special attention to instances in which Bathsheba's body "speaks" (i.e., nonverbal activity). The final section examines the emergence of Bathsheba's verbal expression in 1 Kgs 1:1–2:25, elucidating an inverse relationship between David's waning health and Bathsheba's ascending voice. Together, these sections attest a consistent and coherent development of dynamic resiliency on the part of Bathsheba within the Hebrew text.