The Bible In Paintings, #113: DAVID COVERS UP HIS ADULTERY WITH MURDER

Bing Images ^ | c. 2200 BC -- c. 95 AD | by the Father, Son & Holy Spirit

[Hebrews 11:6]

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TO COVER UP HIS ADULTERY, DAVID MURDERS URIAH

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2^nd. . S A M U E L . . 1 1 – 1 2
New International Version, emphases added
Abrdgd – the complete text is in your Bible
OR
TO READ 2^ND SAMUEL 11-12 IN FULL, Click Here
TO HEAR MAX McLEAN READING IT, Click Here
TO HEAR A DRAMATIZATION OF IT, Click Here
TO WATCH AN OVERVIEW OF 2^ND SAMUEL , Click Here

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9 9 3 . . B. C.

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CHAPTER 11

6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.

10 David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Why didn’t you go home?”

11 Uriah said to David, “My commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife?”

13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”

18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 21 then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’”

22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say.

26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.

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1
by PIETER LASTMAN, 1611
“David Handing Over a Letter to Uriah”

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2
by PIETER LASTMAN, 1619
“David Handing Over a Letter to Uriah”

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3
“David Entrusts a Letter to Uriah”

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4
by REMBRANDT
“David and Uriah” [and Nathan]

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5
“The Uriah Letter”

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6
“David Gives Letter to Uriah”

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7
by HANS VREDEMAN DE VRIES
“David Gives Uriah the Letter to Joab”

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8
by DOMENICO MORONE
“The Death of Uriah the Hittite”

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9
by DOMENICO MORONE
“The Death of Uriah the Hittite” and
“The Announcement of the Death of Uriah to King David and Bathsheba”

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10
“Murder of Uriah by King David”
Wormser Dom, Worms, Germany

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11
by JAMES TISSOT
“Bathsheba Mourns Her Husband”

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NATHAN ACCUSES DAVID

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CHAPTER 12

12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

7 Then Nathan said to David, “YOU ARE THE MAN! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”

13 Then David said to Nathan, “I HAVE SINNED AGAINST THE LORD.”

Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.”

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12
by JAMES TISSOT
“Nathan Rebukes David”

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13

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14
by JULIUS SCHNORR VON KAROLSFELD
“Nathan Confronts David”

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15

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16

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17

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18
by PETER FREDERICK ROTHERMEL
“ “Thou art the man!” Nathan Accuses King David”

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20
by WILLIAM GROMMÉ
“King David and Prophet Nathan”

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21
by EUGÈNE SIBERDT
“The Prophet Nathan Rebukes King David”

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22

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23

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24
by REMBRANDT
“David and Nathan”

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25

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26

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27
“David and Nathan”
John’s Church, Freiburg, Germany

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28
by MATTHIAS SCHEITS
“Nathan Advises King David”

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29
by PALMA IL GIOVANE
“Prophet Nathan Admonishes King David”

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30
by HOFKUNSTANSTALT MAYER
“King David and Nathan”
City Church, Munich, Germany

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31
“Nathan Reproaches David”
Basilica Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Vézelay, Burgundy, France

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32
“David Repents”

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NATHAN’S PROPHECY
BEGINS COMING TRUE

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15 After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.

18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”

19 David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked.

“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”

20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

21 His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”

22 He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him; 25 and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.

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33

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34
by PIETER DE GREBBER
“King David In Prayer”

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35

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36

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37

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and finally

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38
“Birth of Solomon”

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֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎
֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎

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SNEAK PEEK: Next time,

AMNON RAPES
HIS SISTER TAMAR

If you're sensing the Holy Spirit is suggesting
that you read ahead, we'll be in 2^ND SAMUEL 13

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֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎
֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎

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R E S O U R C E S

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If you'd like to see for yourself the Bing pages
which yielded most of the works above, here are the links:

King David and Uriah the Hittite
Nathan Accuses King David

Where no attribution appears below a work,
the artist's name is unknown
Works are numbered to facilitate your commenting

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Links to three masters who painted Biblical scenes prolifically:

REMBRANDT HARMENSZOON van RIJN

GUSTAV DORÉ
241 wood engravings for
La Grande Bible de Tours

JAMES TISSOT
180 watercolors depicting Bible scenes

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Links to two Bibles with comprehensive illustrations:

The Art Bible (1896)

The Maciejowski-Morgan Bible (c.1245)

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This series keeps moving from one Bible passage to another,
so here is a fascinating and enjoyable link to assist in following along:
BIBLE TIMELINE

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Finally, here are links to the
PREVIOUS 112 POSTS IN THIS SERIES
with descriptive titles to assist you in finding those which interest you

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SPECIAL THANKS
to FReeper left that other site,
who allowed God to make her His conduit
for incomparable enthusiasm, encouragement,
education, advice and technical assistance!

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NOTES ON MY SELECTION CRITERIA

Q u a l i t y The Bible and its Author are my focus, not the art:
this is The Bible in Paintings, not “Great Paintings” nor even “Good Paintings.” So, works need not be masterpieces to qualify for inclusion here—they don’t need to be housed at the Louvre nor auctioned by Sotheby’s. They only need to illustrate successfully some aspect of the Biblical text or, frankly, just tickle my fancy, which I'm asking the Holy Spirit to guide. Often, artists misrepresent the Scripture, but unless the error is material, licentious or heretical I usually include the artwork, trusting that the Spirit is perfectly capable of defending Himself. So, with such forgiving filters, it means that you're seeing practically everything I'm finding.

P a c i n gThe pace may seem glacial to those eager to see their favorite events. My commission is to search for art on each Bible passage in sequence; if I find enough, then it becomes the next installment, even if undramatic. But where there is no art, that Bible passage goes untold here. The Bible is a thick book, as you know; but we'll get there eventually, Lord willing. Always remember:
love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control is a fruit of the Spirit!

Art is merely the Toy Department of Bible study,
so I’m just having fun here—I hope you are, too!
Thank you for your understanding.

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YES, WE DO HAVE A

P I N G… .L I S T

for "The Bible In Paintings" series

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To be alerted to each new posting,
either reply here or FRmail me.

No contracts, startup charges or monthly fees;
no hazing or initiation rituals; cancel anytime.

[Hebrews 11:6]

At the Holy Spirit's prompting, I am surveying "Bible art" to give God glory, as many of these artists have done, and for my own amusement and learning; and I thought others might enjoy it and be blessed by it, too. My plan is to proceed methodically from left-to-right, Genesis to Revelation, as the Lord wills. Back soon with another.

The Bible encourages us to meditate on it (Ps. 1:1-3, 119:11-16, etc.); these artists have done so, and their works can assist us and enrich our own thoughts about biblical characters, incidents and concepts, and increase our faith in He who is behind it all. As you encounter and consider these images and the related Scriptures and the Spirit enlightens your understanding, please share it with us!

But it is not only oil-on-canvas that can so help us; I refer to the astonishing video series The Chosen, which strolls through the four Gospels at the most leisurely pace. The eight episodes of Season 1 are finished, and the second of a planned seven seasons is being filmed right now. I say "leisurely" because after an entire year’s viewing Jesus still has only seven of the apostles (although He's preparing to call up Thomas from the minor leagues--but Thomas is skeptical, of course). Anticipating a canvas of fifty-plus hours instead of a movie's paltry two hours, The Chosen turns the characters (especially including Jesus!) into three-dimensional humans and brings the Gospels alive--you have never seen anything even remotely like it! Here is the Official Trailer.

Here is a link for free viewing of The Chosen: “Works with your phone, tablet, and you can cast to your Roku or Chromecast.” Last fall I paid $34.98 for DVDs and ongoing internet access—best 35 bucks I’ve ever spent (I don’t recall how much our marriage license cost, but then it was 43 years ago).

[Hebrews 11:6]

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F o r . . y o u r

CONSIDERATION

ENJOYMENT

& BLESSING

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[left that other site]

Whatever happened to those 18 minutes of missing scroll?

While the actual crime is bad enough, the cover-up is often worse.

[Hebrews 11:6]

You nailed it. Many deaths resulted from this coverup. “O what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” Walter Scott

[left that other site]

“O what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” Walter Scott

My Mom used to say that all the time!I sure do miss her. Thanks for the memory. :-)

[etabeta]

As an admirer of Romanesque architecture and sculpture, I thank you for the beautiful #31. As well said by a French scholar: “The Romanesque induces internal experience and reflection”.

[Hebrews 11:6]

I’ve always preferred Romanesque over Gothic. To me, it’s strength and simplicity over artifice and pretension.

[ConorMacNessa]

In honor of left that other site I take the liberty of posting this Peace of Jerusalem graphic. Thank you Hebrews 11:6 for this glorious array of Biblical Art, and thank you left that other site for expanding my knowledge of the Bible and Biblical Art.

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH FOR
THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM!
And for the Preservation of the Valiant
Israeli Nation!

Morgan Bible - MS M.638, fol. 42v – c. 1250 A.D.
Upper left: How, upon hearing about the death of her husband, his wife mourns for him. (2 Samuel 11: 26)
Upper right: How, when the mourning was over, David led Bathsheba to his house and made her his wife. (2 Samuel 11: 27)
Lower left: How Bathsheba, once Uriah’s wife, now king David’s, gives birth to a son. (2 Samuel 11:27)
Lower right: How Nathan the prophet came to David and told him a fable about a rich man who, although having many sheep and cattle, had deprived his poor neighbor of his sheep, little indeed, but dearly beloved and used to eat and drink and sleep with him. Having thus made the seriousness of his sin manifest to him, he revealed God’s many grave threats to him. At length, David confesses to his sin and hope of forgiveness is not denied to him. (2 Samuel 12: 1–14)

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HEN Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war; And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king, And if so be that the king's wrath arise,

and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?

Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for.

And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate.

And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.

And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.

And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

_____________________________________2 Samuel 11:18-27 (KJV)

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH For ML In This Time Of Tribulation.

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH For A Rapid Recovery For Our Own Yorkie.

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH For A Rapid Recovery For Our FRiend Uri'el2012.

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH For The Safety Of Our Gallant Troops And For The Success Of Their Vital Mission.

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH For The Repose Of The Souls Of Our Embassy Staff In Libya Who Were Assassinated 11 September 2012.

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH For The Deliverance Of Our Beloved Nation From The Lion’s Mouth.


PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH For Our Brethren Of All Faiths Throughout The World Suffering Persecution.

We pray in particular on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Libya and throughout the Mideast. The members of the oldest of our Christian Communities, some of which date from the days of the Apostles, suffer under cruel, merciless and unrelenting persecution. They are Orthodox and Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical, Coptic, Pentecostal, and Baptist. To the persecutors, we are all "Nazarenes."

[etabeta]

More from the French scholar on the differences between Romanesque and Gothic: “Gothic induces external reflection. Gothic is the demonstration of the belief of spirituality while Romanesque is the experience of that belief.”

[Hebrews 11:6]

Ooooh, that’s well-put! “the belief of spirituality” vs. “the experience of that belief.” That’s what I was trying feebly to say. Does this scholar have a name?

[Hebrews 11:6]

Thanks for your valuable addition to this thread. The Maciejowski-Morgan Bible is unique and wonderful--perhaps you've noticed the link to it in the Resources section which I added recently.

I've always wondered how you produce your unique and wonderful graphics, but I've never inquired because (a) I know magicians don't reveal how they do their tricks, and (b) if I knew, I'd be tempted to emulate it.

[etabeta]

Yes, Dom Angelico Surchamp, French historian and musicologist, he died in 2018.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Thanks for educating me about Dom Angelico Surchamp and his pithy views on church architectural styles. It’s always fun to arrive at a judgment independently and then to see that same view articulated elsewhere.

[Albion Wilde]

Art is merely the Toy Department of Bible study, so I’m just having fun here—I hope you are, too!

Au contraire—art or illustration is a vital tool for some folks to integrate their understanding. Social science research has found that people process and store information in their brains in different ways. Some children, for instance, are diagnosed as "kinetic learners", who have to move around in order to sort out new info; that's why recess and gym period are more vital for them than for those who think in words. Some kids and adults are intuitive and can discern the implications or emotions "between the lines" of a written account. Others are visual thinkers—they may read and understand the pronunciation of words and an approximation of what the paragraph implies, but a picture or diagram is received by their brains much more rapidly than mere words, and thus can be a powerful aid to sorting out the deeper meaning.

I hope you and "left that other site" are archiving all this valuable research you have been doing. One or both of you should offer to teach this topic as a lecure or a semester of classes, either at community colleges or at churches. There are so many interesting comparisons and contrasts to be made.

In this selection, the old theatrical gesture of accusation—pointing with an outstretched arm—is used in picture after picture to illustrate Nathan's accusation to David. That was before the days of film or digital media, microphones and close-ups. Then, large gestures were more visible from the platform of an amphitheatre or stage, and hence, the broad gesture as part of the visual vocabulary of Western Civ. People these days. however, have been taught that pointing is rude, and might be more likely to confront a close friend or relative by thrusting their shoulders forward while keeping their feet planted; and show their anger by constraining their arms (and any threat of violence) by making fists with straight arms held down at their sides. Or, an intimate accuser might open their arms, palms up, with a wide shrug, a more typically Jewish gesture in the northeastern U.S., and one that President Trump as a New Yorker often uses to express his disdain for negative behavior among those whom he criticizes.

Naturally every reader draws his own mental pictures of the unspecified aspects of a written account; but some folks' imaginations just "can't draw", so the story lacks impact for them. For them, looking at an array such as you provide of diverse artists' visual interpretations can stimulate their mental "agreement" or "disagreement" with the scene and body language based on their own culture or experience, and thus drive the story deeper into their consideration.

[Albion Wilde]

Ping to post 14.

[left that other site]

Good point about the gestures! :-)

[Hebrews 11:6]

Thanks for your thoughtful response. Two responses:

1. I am indeed archiving each episode. The FR site itself retains them, which I link to in each post; additionally, I save each episode on a MS Word.doc in the cloud. The Lord has made very clear to me, as I explained in detail in post #68, that he wants me to produce this series; but He has given me no indication that He has other plans for it. Some have suggested other publishing media, and now you recommend collegiate interaction. If and when I get marching orders from the Spirit....

2. "thus drive the story deeper into their consideration." This is my prayer before and during every episode. My tongue-in-cheek reference to the Toy Department belies how seriously I take this. I regret there is not more visible evidence that it is occurring, but that is wholly the Lord's purview: I supply a few loaves and fishes, and He....

[Maudeen]

Just saw your reply to left that other site and Albion Wilde after looking up visuals https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/get-psyched/201207/learning-through-visuals. We know that if we ask, the Holy Spirit directs our learning . . .and we would hope that before drawing, the artist seeks the Holy Spirit to direct his or her hands (although we know that is not often the case). I led a women’s Sunday School class a couple of years ago for two years and used PowerPoint each Sunday. We even sang through the Proverbs using a children’s tape I had always used for the kids. I was told by the group (ages 18-84)that visuals and active participation made the difference for them.

Keep up the good work, Hebrews 11:6!

[Hebrews 11:6]

A picture is worth 10³ words.

[Albion Wilde]

Great article, Maudeen!