Dr. Claude Mariottini

Studies on the Death of Bathsheba’s Child

David and Bathsheba Mourning over Their Dead Son
by Salomon Koninck (1609–1656)
Wikimedia Commons

David’s adultery with Bathsheba brought untold misery to David and his family. David took Bathsheba and then caused the death of Uriah, her husband. As a result of David’s illicit relationship with Bathsheba, a child was born.

When the prophet Nathan came to rebuke David, he said: “‘Now the LORD has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child that is born to you shall die.’ Then Nathan went to his house. The LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became very ill” (2 Samuel 12:13-15). Although David fasted and prayed, the child died one week after being born.

This episode has raised moral problems in the minds of many people. How could the Lord make the child so ill that the child died? In the three studies below I deal with the moral problem of the death of Bathsheba’s child and offer a possible answer to this difficult moral problem.

Here are the links to the three studies on the death of Bathsheba’s child:

The Death of Bathsheba’s Child – Part 1

The Death of Bathsheba’s Child – Part 2

The Death of Bathsheba’s Child – Part 3

NOTE: For other studies on Bathsheba, read my post Bathsheba, The Wife of Uriah.

Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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