Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah. She was a beautiful woman and loved to be the center of attention. Uriah was away at battle and Bathsheba had grown lonely. She tried to find anything that would pass the time. She missed having someone else with her. It would be so long until she had Uriah back and she did not desire to wait for him any longer. In order to try and clear her mind, Bathsheba decided she was going to relax and bathe.
While Bathsheba bathed, she had gained an admirer. King David was able to look out and see her. He became fixated on her. Day after day David went to his rooftop, hoping to catch a glance of the beautiful woman. He soon realized that just looking at her would never be enough. He had to know who this woman was. He had to have her. David sent for his guards.
"Who is that woman," he asked the guard, "and how can I make her mine?"
"That woman is Bathsheba and she is the wife of Uriah. He is one of your men fighting in the battle," replied the guard.
King David did not care if Bathsheba was taken. She was going to be his. He was going to have her. He sent the guard to go bring her back to him. The guard returned shortly after with Bathsheba in tow. She was more beautiful in person. He requested that she spend some time alone with him. Bathsheba, being incredibly lonely, happily agreed. Their relationship went on for another month. Uriah was still away and it was perfect for them, until Bathsheba learned that she was pregnant.
To try and cover up their secret, King David had to make sure that Uriah was able to be with his wife. Everyone would just assume that the baby was his and their secret would be safe. David called for Uriah to return home. He tried everything to convince Uriah to go home to his wife but Uriah refused. He wanted to stay with the rest of the servants. It would be unfair if her were allowed to go home.
King David grew fed up with the request and wrote a letter to have Uriah put in the front of the battle. “Uriah must not return home. He must die,” the letter stated. King David gave the letter to Uriah to take the letter.
Uriah took the letter but his curiosity got the best of him. Before he arrived, he had to learn what the letter said. He quickly realized that King David was trying to have him killed. He decided that he was going to kill King David instead.
When he got to King David’s house, he finally saw the reason that the king wanted him gone. He saw the king with Bathsheba. They both had betrayed him.
The king and Bathsheba, thinking that Uriah has surely been killed, decided to celebrate. They were blissfully talking outside the king’s when they saw Uriah out of the corner of their eyes. It was too late. Uriah killed king David and left the land. He went on to find a better life, leaving Bathsheba to grieve for her new lost love.
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| Bathsheba bathing. Wikimedia Commons |
Story source: King James Bible (1611): 2 Samuel 11
I really enjoyed the way you added to the story. I remember reading this particularly biblical story in a class I took in high school. I had the same thoughts about what if Uriah did live on and come home to find his wife having an affair with another man. I thought it was interesting that you made Uriah’s character act in self-preservation.
ReplyDeleteYour story was very enjoyable. One major thing that I struggled with was being able to make out the words. The black font against the charcoal background basically disappeared. I had to strain my eyes to make out the words. You may want to try a font that is lighter, not darker, than the background next time. Since your background is charcoal you may not want to go with any super bright/light colors. The plot twist was very surprising. Initially I was a bit bored because I thought the story was basically the same but the twist came at just the right time. Great idea! Your spacing is great. You start paragraphs (in what I think) are all the right places. The medieval art you choose to use as your image was beautiful. I especially like the inscription (even though I have no idea what it says). Overall a great twist to a very well known story. I can’t wait to read more.
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