Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to register today!

Click here to register today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by D'Ror Chankin-Gould, J.
Right arrow Articles by Winkelman, E.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Vol. 32, No. 3, 339-352 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0309089208090805
© 2008 SAGE Publications

The Sanctified 'Adulteress' and her Circumstantial Clause: Bathsheba's Bath and Self-Consecration in 2 Samuel 11

J. D'Ror Chankin-Gould

School of Religion, Claremont Graduate University, 831 N. Dartmouth Ave., Claremont, CA 91711, USA

Derek Hutchinson

School of Religion, Claremont Graduate University, 831 N. Dartmouth Ave., Claremont, CA 91711, USA

David Hilton Jackson

School of Religion, Claremont Graduate University, 831 N. Dartmouth Ave., Claremont, CA 91711, USA

Tyler D. Mayfield

School of Religion, Claremont Graduate University, 831 N. Dartmouth Ave., Claremont, CA 91711, USA

Leah Rediger Schulte

School of Religion, Claremont Graduate University, 831 N. Dartmouth Ave., Claremont, CA 91711, USA

Tammi J. Schneider

School of Religion, Claremont Graduate University, 831 N. Dartmouth Ave., Claremont, CA 91711, USA

E. Winkelman

School of Religion, Claremont Graduate University, 831 N. Dartmouth Ave., Claremont, CA 91711, USA

Bathsheba's actions in 2 Sam. 11.2-4 identify crucial aspects of her character. Past commentators interpret these words in connection with menstrual purification, stressing the certain paternity of David's adulterine child. This article demonstrates that the participles roheset and mitqaddesset and the noun mittum'atah do not denote menstrual cleansing. Bathsheba's washing is an innocent bath. She is the only individual human to self-sanctify, placing her in the company of the Israelite deity. The syntax of the verse necessitates that her action of self-sanctifying occurs simultaneously as David lies with her. The three focal terms highlight the important legitimacy of Bathsheba before the Israelite deity, her identity as a non-Israelite, her role as queen mother of the Solomonic line, and her full participation in the narrative.

Key Words: David • Bathsheba • purity or purification • uncleanness • menstruation • sanctification • adultery • deity.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?