Part of the reason for some Christians denial about child marriage in the Bible is that the Bible does not mention any specific age at which marriage could occur. Some Bible dictionaries mention both Eliams without any additional information. 23. We can see from the example of Barzillai that people could have lived into their 80s at that time, but this seems to have been the upper limit. Despite the loss of Temple Judaism in 70 AD, Redemptive Judeo-Christianity will triumph. The report came back: Isnt this Eliams daughter Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? 4 So David sent messengers to take her. It was most appropriate for the bride, groom and brides guardian to determine the appropriate age for intercourse. Both commentaries base their views on the supposition that the psalmist was still in Jerusalem at the time, whereas David found out about the Ahithophels involvement only after he had fled Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:31). There is simply no reason to make assume otherwise, other than to avoid the embarrassment of finding out Bathshebas true age. Using Psalm 55:23, it would mean that Ahithophel could not have gone past the age of 45 years (note again that this is the, Even if David slept with a 7-year old, that does not mean that God approved of it!, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king over Israel Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing, Notice that the sin was in killing Uriah the Hittite. Furthermore, according to 2 Samuel 15:31, upon finding out about Ahithophel, David prayed to God to: turn Ahithophels counsel into foolishness.. Note that this is the most. When he realized that Absalom had not taken his advice on how to fight David, Ahithophel knew that the conspiracy against the king would fail. The son of Ahithophel (2 Samuel 23:34)., [93] https://www.studylight.org/commentary/2-samuel/11-3.html, Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam or Ammiel (1 Chronicles 3:5), one of Davids worthies (2 Samuel 23:34), and son of Ahithophel., [94] https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/ckb/a/ahithophel.html, According to the Midrash, Ahithophel was Batshebas grandfather., [95] https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/fbd/p/pelonite.html, [96] https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/hbd/p/pelonite.html, [97] https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/hdb/p/pelonite.html, [98] https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/mse/p/pelonite.html, [105] http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-An-Nisa/Giving-Back-the-Property-of-th, Tagged as: 2 Samuel, Absalom, Age of consent, Ahithophel, Bathsheba, Bible, Child Marriage, David, Eliam, Psalm 55, par excellence. Christians should try to be consistent. [5] According to 2 Samuel 23, Eliam was among the Thirty elite warriors under Davids command. He didnt woo her. That Ahitophel is the subject of Psalm 55:12-14; Psalm 55:20-21, is contrary to all we know of the history of the rebellion of Absalom (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/psalms/55.htm). Furthermore, as stated, David himself was 70 years old at the time of his death. Absalom summoned Ahithophel to come to Hebron from his hometown of Giloh (hence, Ahithophel was known as the Gilohite). [51] Pirkei Avot, Chapter 6, https://www.sefaria.org/Pirkei_Avot.6?lang=bi. However, we can still estimate her age using the Biblical chronology. In the case of Ahithophel, not only was his wise council rejected by Absalom (55:9), he also committed met a violent and untimely death by suicide (55:23). These include Adam Clarke,[56] Matthew Henry,[57] Joseph Caryl,[58] Henry Hammond,[59] and Griffith Williams. The norm that the ulama did come to consensus on was only a general guideline: they prohibited sexual intercourse for girls not able to undergo it, on the basis that otherwise sex could be physically harmful. The inevitable happened, and Bathsheba sent word to David that she was pregnant. Actually, God had no problem with it. Excuse me author but can you also respond to the claims that a sheep ate the Quran. WebDavid in His Old Age. The son of Ahithophel (2 Samuel 23:34). The man said, She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.. how old was bathsheba when she met david In fact, the ages of women are not mentioned except in a few places (e.g., the age of Sarah when she gave birth to Isaac). IT experts since 1997. If we read 2 Samuel 12, when Nathan the prophet came to David, he provided the parable of the rich man and the poor man as a way to trap David into confessing his sin. There is no reason to interpret the verse allegorically. Based on the example of Barzillai, 80 years seems to have been the upper limit of life in Davids time. Practically, I have helped the authors of DTT website and after I have done that, Im gonna deal with websites like wikiIslam and answering islam. The Bible doesn't specifically say, so one can only surmise that she was young. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked about the welfare of Joab and the army and how the battle was going. Since David died when he was 70 years old, it means that he was 50 years old when Bathsheba (911 years old) gave birth to Solomon. According to Deuteronomy 22:22, what was the penalty for adultery? Yet, this objection is based on some flawed premises: why is it assumed that Ahithophel needed to be older than David? 3 David sent someone and inquired about the woman. But anyway, nice website! It is not impossible that this Eliam is the same as the preceding., [88] https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/mse/e/eliam.html, The same name Eliam also occurs as that of a Gilonite, the son of Ahithophel, and one of Davids thirty warriors (2 Samuel 23:34). So, here is a summary about Ahithophel and his role during Davids reign: If Ahithophel was Bathshebas grandfather, then determining his approximate age would allow us to estimate Bathshebas age as well. Among the Jewish commentaries besides the Talmud and the Targums, Rashi also identified Ahithophel as the subject of the psalm. Accession Number: 14.40.651. [80] Some others do question the identification of Bathshebas father with Eliam the son of Ahithophel but do not provide concrete evidence. The traditional ascription to David cannot on any ground be maintained. The Talmud states that Ahithophels age at the time of his death was a mere 33 years (since the sages considered 70 years to be the average lifespan). Bathsheba had been married before she married David and she is the mother of You Muslims believe Muhammad is a role model for all times!, In my view, we should leave it to the experts (e.g., physicians and psychologists) to determine what is an appropriate age for maturity, if there is one. This brings us to the most crucial point of our academic journey of determining Ahithophels age. And Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) knows best! In verse 1, David, who was nearing death, described Solomon as young and inexperienced: Then King David said to the whole assembly: My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young [naar] and inexperienced [rak]., According to Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, the Hebrew word naar can refer to a newborn child or a young man as old as twenty:[74], As for rak, it is usually translated as tender or weak, and is generally used for little children:[75]. Why didnt you go home?, 11 The chest and Israel and Judah are all living in tents, Uriah told David. By the way, I made a website and I have debunked the claim which you have made Allah the Moon God. Ironically, the evidence comes from the life of her grandfather Ahithophel, who happened to be Davids counselor (2 Samuel 15:12) and was involved in Absaloms conspiracy to overthrow David (this is a very important issue that we will consider later). And Uriahs death was no accident; it was murder in the first degree. See here for the sheep ate the Quran polemic: Could you also tell or contact the author of this article telling him that a man having a channel called Islam Critiqued claimed to have refuted or debunked the marriage of Rebekah and Isaac. For example, Willis Beecher states under the entry Ahithophel in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (emphasis ours): It is not strange that men have inferred that the son of Ahithophel was the father of Bathsheba. As stated above, Saul was in his 70s when he died. Heb. David was sinful because he had taken another mans wife, not that he had slept with a 7-year old. It was common enough for the women to marry as young as 15, she was possibly 1518 when (Now she had been purifying herself after her monthly period.) The reality is that they were the most likely the same person. In a previous article, I demonstrated that the Bible generally allowed marriage and sex at the onset of puberty (with the exception of Numbers 31:18 which seemingly allowed sex even before puberty). Talmud Niddah 29b; Halacha is clear, ritual bath must be done during the morning hence, there is no connection with Bathsheba who took a bath during the night (2 Samuel 11:2). However, this does not fit well due to the contradiction between Sauls age at the time of his death and Davids prophecy in Psalm 55:23. Absalom calculated on his adhesion from the first (2 Samuel 15:12); the history does not directly say why, but incidentally it comes out: he was father of Eliam (or by transposition Ammiel, 1 Chronicles 3:5), the father of Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:3; 2 Samuel 23:34; 2 Samuel 23:39)., [9] https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/hbd/a/ahithophel.html, He may have been the grandfather of Bathsheba, Davids partner in sin and wife, [10] https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/hdb/a/ahithophel.html, Being Bathshebas grandfather, he had been alienated by Davids criminal conduct, [11] https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/mbd/a/ahithophel-.html, A Gilonite, grandfather of Bathsheba, and a very wise counsellor of David, [12] https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/rpd/a/ahithophel.html, Some have endeavored to account for Ahithophels treason by the supposition that, as it seems likely he was Bath-shebas grandfather, he wished to revenge on David the evil done to her. Oops, Im sorry, I thought you were Christian. 5. Thus, Bathsheba could have been around 12-14 years old at the time of the birth of Solomon, which means that she was around 10-12 years old at the time David first encountered her. Since Bathsheba could not have been older than 20 at the time (since Ahithophel was 39 years old and Eliam was probably in his late 20s), which means that at the time of Solomons birth, she was between 911 years old, with 11 being the conservative estimate based on the conservative estimate for Solomons age (9 years). There is virtual consensus among the commentators that the meaning of this phrase is that Davids betrayers would not live half as long as people normally lived at the time. Son of Ahithophrl and father of Bathsheba (https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/fbd/e/eliam.html). ], [21] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/2-samuel-11.html#3, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam?] What if someone was 90 years old at the time?, Yes, this is certainly possible, but where is the evidence from the Bible? Credit Line: Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913. Psychologist Dr. Robert Epstein has made the controversial suggestion that young people, regardless of how young, should be allowed to make decisions about marriage and sex provided that they demonstrate that he or she knows about the risks of sexis physically and emotionally mature, and so on, an arbitrary age cutoff necessarily allows incompetent people to gain rights and privileges they probably shouldnt have., The norm that the ulama did come to consensus on was only a general guideline: they prohibited sexual intercourse for girls not able to undergo it, on the basis that otherwise sex could be physically harmful. Respond to the claims that a sheep ate the Quran taken another mans wife, not he! First degree her age using the Biblical chronology Ahithophel needed to be older than?. Made Allah the Moon God Talmud and the Targums, Rashi also identified as... Was in his 70s When he died to him, David asked about the.! 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