For many years of reading the book of Kings in the Bible,
the book will only tell you the mythological side of the many tales of the
Bible. But as I read the Bible today
specifically the book of Kings it will open your mind that it is not that
religious. Further academic writings of
Simon Sebag Montefiore who wrote the book Romanovs intensify the political
conflicts in the book Jerusalem during the time of David. I’m so interested with the life of Bathsheba
because during my childhood I can only relate that Bathsheba is a simple wife
of a military general by the name of Uriah.
Uriah is an honest and loyal general of David that his wife Bathsheba is
being ask by David to be his concubine.
In my perception that David has the aggressive stance and decision to
send Uriah in the frontline of the battle field in order that Uriah can have a
higher percentage of dying during the war. With the help of Joab, later in
their war incounter with other Kingdoms Uriah died in battle. This is now the best part.
As I comprehend
long time ago that David has the full evil motive to send Uriah in the front
line of the battle field, but as I read the book of Simon Sebag Montefiore many
angles of the story will arise based in an unbiased political analysis. If we
carefully wonder and think around the case of Bathsheba, at the time of King
David Jerusalem is also surviving and struggling with its political counterparts
around the Kingdom of Juda or Jerusalem.
Countries like Palestine and other Arab countries are in constant political
conflict due to their religious belief that is so strong at that time. Later I will relate the strong influence of religious
practice in Juda with a parallel beliefs and origins with Islam. Many conflicting religious theories at that
time overlap the treasured religious teaching since the birth of Islam and
Jewish religion. On the political and military side of Jerusalem, David is said
to have conquered a kingdom that stretched from Lebanon to the borders of
Egypt, and eastwards into today’s Jordan and Syria, even placing a garrison in
Damascus.
Professor Simon Sebag Montefiore (University of California)
Between 1200 and 850BC the empires of Egypt
and Iraq were in eclipse and left meager royal records, but they also left a
power vacuum. If you conceptualize the political power grabbing along the Mediterranean
and the Arab countries in Middle East, David was indeed a brilliant and a war
tactician at that time. Small as his
Kingdom he is that smart to conquer Babylon which we commonly known today as
Iraq. Babylon or Iraq covered 2,500 acres
and the nearby Hazor about 200 acres.
But to come to think of it that Jerusalem is more or less 15 acres
including the citadel with 1,200 people only.
What is the political and military secret of Jerusalem that they are
always victorious at that time of David.
If you plainly read the Bible and the book of Kings you can only get the
obvious narrative that the Jews at that time are always guided by God. They even proclaimed the chosen people. But if you read the book of Sibag you can play
your political imagination that Jerusalem until the time of Rasputin during the
time of the Romanovs they are using and maximizing the solid religious beliefs
of the people at that time. Fukuyama
noted this evolution of political governance in his book “Political Order and
Political Decay” that leaders at that time are using religious beliefs to rally
people. Thus, Jerusalem with the
leadership of David they are so successful in conquering Kingdoms going to
Egypt and Iraq because they can unite their people through religion. We cannot deny the fact that Egypt and the Pharaohs
are deadly angry with the Israelites during the time of Moses because by
political concept and definition, the Israelites must be only slaves in the
land of Egypt knowing that the two Empires are already enemies since before
time. At that time during Moses, the
Israelites became the rebels of Egypt that Moses knew that if the Exodus of
people from Egypt will happen a huge chunk of the Egyptian economy will
fall.
On the contrary, during the time of David
Faith and Religion is the key to rally the people of Jerusalem. A small Kingdom with small population can
defeat many arab countries including Egypt, Palestine and Syria.
If we magnify the husband of Bathsheba, the original tribe of Uriah is
Hittite. Uriah is a mercenary captain
and at that time spying between kingdoms plays a huge role in conquering
Kingdoms. That is why David and the
people of Jerusalem survived the many long years of medieval type of politicking
and governance. Could it be that David
knew that Uriah is plotting a Coup against David during the time of Bathsheba
scandal? Could it be also that Bathsheba
is an informant of David that romance and lust are the accessories of the
crime? Remember David is a handsome King that all the women of Juda are hoping
that they will be one of the concubine someday.
Yes, granted that Bathsheba is really beautiful that David cannot resist
himself to run away with the temptation but to consider that Uriah is one of
the best generals of David that can lead a legion to the battle field. Later in the narrative story Simon Sebag Montefiore the role and decisions
of Bathsheba as the mother of the next King Solomon relates that the motives of
Bathsheba is not a common lustful woman. Her brilliance in politics allow her
to enter the pillars and the citadel of the Palace of David. With all the concubines of David Bathsheba is
the favorite one. Later they had a son Solomon
who succeeded the throne among other brothers and half brothers by the of Amnon
and Absalom. Bathsheba managed to
penetrate the Palace of Jerusalem through the presence of his late husband
Uriah. Do you think that David should
get all the blame or this is all the plan of Bathsheba. On the other side of the story there is a
probable cause that the plan to deceive David lustfully is a plan between
Bathsheba and Uriah but resulted to a failed political plan. Maybe, with the political hunger of Bathsheba
and Uriah, Uriah commanded Bathsheba to deceive David to create a plot to
destabilize the Kingdom through sexual lust.
Remember Uriah is an honest and clean general that people of Jerusalem
admired his service to David. But Uriah
by descent is a Hittite. Remember that
in my first few paragraphs a mentioned that conquering Kingdoms at that time is
a practice to show power and political dominance.
And David on the other hand he is adored by
the people of Jerusalem. If the
character assassination of Uriah and Bathsheba will succeed then a Coup will
follow and the colorful Kingdom of David will fall. But according to the record of the Bible and Simon
Sebag Montefiore David cleverly put Uriah in the frontline of Battle allowing a
slim amount of survival of the general.
Again, David can have all the women in Jerusalem why Bathsheba? Later in the story, both the Bible and Simon
Sebag Montefiore David married Bathsheba.
For what reason that David married Bathsheba and she became the favorite
concubine of David. Just like other
concubines, possibly Bathsheba continued to struggle the creed between her and
Uriah to penetrate the Kingdom of David allowing her clever womanhood to become
the chosen concubine among all the concubines.
The inner creed of Bathsheba to topple down the Kingdom of David is
between the legs of David. Until such
time that Bathsheba bore a son Solomon who became the successor of David. Do you think that David is the only man of Bathsheba
after Uriah? Maybe Solomon is not the
real son of David but Bathsheba used other men to get pregnant and cleverly
claim that her son Solomon is the son of David just like the case of Lady Korachen
in the tail of the famous Kublai Khan.
Many things to tell from the old tail of Jerusalem that even the
fictional tale of the Assasin’s Creed entertained the many gamers and book
readers around the world to continuously dissect the history of Jerusalem that
even the academic author Simon Sebag Montefiore is so interested to write the
title Jerusalem. What are the inner
history of Jerusalem and why the world is always digging the untold stories of
Jerusalem? What are the facts that are
blurry in the sight of the academics. Do
you think that the scribes and historians at that time are recording the right
information without biases writing the book of Kings? Remember scribes at that time are the only
information keeper that fake news can be legitimate news in our present
time. Even the next tale of Solomon many
political angles that we can use simple logic and analogy will excite the
curious minds of today. Do you think the
apple that the Assassins are looking for their whole lives are just a mythical
hologram to create political importance of the Citadel in the world of
politics? Later in the book of Simon
Sebag Montefiore Jerusalem I will discuss in my next blog the role of Germany
and Hitler in the eyes of the Israelites.
Who is the real culprit Hitler or the Israelites? In a parallel view who is to be blamed
Bathsheba, Uriah, or David?
Comments