David's sin

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1. David and Bat-Sheva (Part I)

   Chapter 11

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   The story of David and Bat Sheva is one of the most difficult events in biblical narrative. What is the key to understanding David's devastating sin? Is there a relationship between his sin and the war described in the previous chapter? Why did Uriah refuse to go to his home?

2. David and Bat-Sheva (Part II)

   Chapter 11

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   This lesson will continue to explore the story of David and Bat Sheva, and David sending Uriah the Hittite to his death. Did Yoav perform David's command as he was commanded? Was he loyal to David? And what is David's single credit in the story?

3. The Poor Man's Lamb

   Chapter 12 (I)

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   Why did Nathan need a parable in order to inform David of his sin?

4. The Attitudes of Chazal and the Rishonim Toward the Episode of David and Bat-Sheva

   Chapter 12 (III)

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   This lesson will deviate from the study of the biblical text, and present prevalent interpretations of the story of David and Bat Sheva among Chazal and Rishonim.

5. The Story of Amnon and Tamar (Part I)

   Chapter 13 (I)

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   The story of Amnon and Tamar opens a long list of tragedies that befall David after his sin with Bat Sheva. This lesson examines the story of Tamar’s rape, and discusses the questions raised by the story.

6. Avshalom's Rebellion (Part II)

   Chapter 15 (II)

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   While David was running away from Jerusalem, the city was finally awarded religious status. What brought about this change? And how does David cope with Avshalom’s uprising?

7. The Sin Involving the Census

   Chapter 24 (I)

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   The final chapter in Sefer Shmuel discusses David's sin in counting the people. Why was taking a census such a severe sin? Why did David fail? How did he react after the sin, and how does his reaction characterize his leadership?

8. Mizmor 3

   A Response to Suffering

   Rabbi Avi Baumol

   There are various ways of dealing with suffering. In Mizmor 3 David uses a three-pronged approach to suffering that was brought upon him by Avshalom’s rebellion. He describes his suffering, he declares his faith in God and he cries out to God for salvation.

9. The Simplicity of David's Teshuva

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

10. Tanakh and Archaeology

    Part 9 - The Unified Kingdom (continued)

    Rabbi Amnon Bazak

    Between 2007 and 2012, excavations were undertaken at Khirbet Qeiyafa in the Ela Valley, discovering the ruins of a large fortified city surrounded by an impressive casemate wall. Burned pits of olives discovered on-site and sent for carbon 14-testing led to the dating of the city to the early 10^th century B.C.E. – the period of David. In addition, further discoveries have shown that the city was unquestionably an Israelite – not Philistine – habitation.

    The existence of a Judean city of this size attests to the fact that the wave of urbanization characterizing the transition to the Iron Age II did in fact occur at the beginning of the unified kingdom, and that at the time of David's monarchy, fortified cities already existed in Judea.

    These new findings have had a significant impact, and the supporters of the "low chronology" have been hard-pressed to explain them.

    At the same time, the question of why more artifacts from the period of the unified kingdom have not been discovered to date in Jerusalem must be addressed. It is reasonable to assume that this phenomenon is the result of Jerusalem having undergone continuous construction from the Middle Bronze Age up until modern times, such that it is difficult to find artifacts from the Bronze and Iron Ages. It is relatively easy to find artifacts from destroyed layers of cities, and this explains why findings testifying to the destruction of the Second Temple have been discovered. By contrast, no buildings whatsoever have been found from the Persian or early Hellenistic periods, even though no-one questions the existence of the city during these times.

    Throughout Sefer Shmuel, we find many descriptions of wars, including their geographical and strategic aspects, attesting to a high level of proficiency in this material on the part of the author. It is very difficult to propose that an author during a later period could have provided these descriptions of events, field conditions, and roads which were sometimes far removed from the areas where these books are assumed to have been written.

    The fundamental argument of adherents of the "low chronology" is that the narratives about David were created at a later time, with a view to glorifying the founder of the dynasty. This approach utterly ignores the simple fact that there is no character who is criticized so closely and sharply in Tanakh as David. Why would anyone seeking to glorify the royal house of David and Shlomo want to describe all the difficult and complex episodes involving its first two kings? To date, no satisfactory explanation has been offered for this phenomenon.

11. The Sins of Biblical Figures

    Part 3 - David

    Rabbi Amnon Bazak

    The episode of David and Batsheva illustrates the dilemma of the sins of Biblical figures in all its intensity and complexity. A plain reading of the chapter arouses great perplexity concerning David, the king chosen by God to establish the eternal royal house of Israel. How are we to reconcile God's positive attitude towards His chosen King throughout the grand sweep of the David narratives, with the straightforward meaning of the verses in chapters 11 and 12 on the other?

    While opinions exist both in Chazal and amongst the medieval commentators that minimize David’s sin, those seeking to address this complex story on the plain level of the text are not deviating from the path of Chazal and of the great Jewish scholars of previous generations; on the contrary, they are continuing the central view amongst Chazal and the path adopted by many of the medieval commentators.

12. David's Sons: Punishment, Repentance and Redemption

    Dr. Yael Ziegler | Hour and 1 minutes

    This lecture presents the incident of David and Batsheva as the turning point in David’s life, representing a collapse in his career and personal life which had been so successful prior to this event. Through a close examination of the text we learn to appreciate the character and leadership of David, as well as the power of teshuva.

    Click here for a downloadable audio version of this lecture

13. It’s Not Enough to Say that You’re Sorry

    The Structure & Story of Books books II (42-72) & III (73-89)

    Dr. Beni Gesundheit | Hour and 8 minutes

    Psalm 51: A Paradigm for Repentance

    What thoughts went through King David’s mind after being rebuked by Natan the Prophet? What did he say to show that he truly regretted his actions? What can we learn from this and apply to our personal lives when we are truly sorry for something that we have done wrong?

    Following the prophet Natan’s rebuke, mizmor 51 describes David’s confession after his sin with Bat Sheva. In this mizmor, David asks God for forgiveness so that he can teach sinners the ways of God. He pleads to be saved from murder so that he can praise God.

14. David & Batsheva: Does Teshuva Set Us Free?

    Rabbi Moshe Shulman

    תאריך פרסום: 2022 | | Hour and 12 minutes

    In this lecture, we delve into David's repentance while he remains married to Batsheva, the source of his sin, and examine Natan the Prophet's punishment for him without explicitly demanding their separation. We'll also find profound insights into the aftermath of David and Batsheva's story from the unique perspective of the Prophet's message.

15. Archaeology and David

    Rabbi Amnon Bazak