Extended Summary
❝Let me see your eyes, darling.❞
❝My eyes are bound to an oath that you know nothing about, my king.❞
A baby’s cry. A mother’s dreams. A fatal reality.
And an oath sworn to Yahweh in the middle of it all.
After years of infertility, Eliam and his wife, Elisheva, are convinced there’s something they’re doing wrong in regards to Yahweh’s blessing of children. The house is too still, too quiet-- too out of the ordinary in a culture that prizes procreation.
Desperate, Elisheva prays for a girl instead of a boy, promising her Maker that the plans for the child will be His and His alone. She miraculously conceives, and a baby girl joins their family.
They name her Batsheva, the daughter of the oath they swore to Yahweh after seven years of agony.
15 years pass. Batsheva is a grown woman now, engaged to be married to one of her father’s comrades, Uriyah, a valiant soldier and one of the Mighty Men. But with marriage comes responsibility, and Batsheva soon finds herself in the same position as her mother, her womb barren as the arid landscape that makes up the Judean desert.
Uriyah leaves for war, this time battling the pagan Ammonites that refuse to relinquish Rabbah, an occupied fortress considered a necessity if you were to have the upper hand. Lonelier than ever, Batsheva distracts herself with a luxurious bath on a sweltering day. Unbeknownst to her, however, the king, Daveed ben Jesse, preferred to stay at home rather than accompany his armies in this season. She catches his eye, and overcome by lust he summons her to the palace, giving her a choice; sleep with him or the consequences will be dire.
With her defense crumbling, Batsheva falls into the king’s arms --and his bed-- without a second thought as to the Torah, the laws she’s breaking, or the shame and reproach she’ll bring upon her family. At least, not until she finds out during a whirlwind of circumstances that she is, indeed, with child. And not just any child; the child she carries in her womb may just be the future heir to the throne.
Terrified after her father confronts her, Batsheva reaches out to the one person who she knows can help her-- the king. In response he brings her husband home, sending her spirits rising but at the same time causing her to doubt his ability to resolve the problem.
Uriyah, however, does not sleep with Batsheva before he leaves, sending both Daveed and Batsheva’s plans spiraling downward. In a desperate show of authority, the king sends Uriyah back to the battlefield with his own death warrant in hand. Yoav, the king’s general, questions nothing, placing Uriyah in the forefront with the rest of the Mighty Men.
He falls. The news comes swiftly to Batsheva, who struggles with her new position as a widow when she catches a glimpse of his body before he is buried, the only favour she was allowed to ask during a break in war.
Not satisfied with the death of a soldier, Daveed takes it one step further, marrying Batsheva before she has a chance to say no. Now the kingdom’s newest queen, Batsheva is surrounded with whispers of her sin and enemies on every side, including Mikhal, Shaul’s daughter and estranged wife of the current Hebrew monarch. With so much to lose, how much more can Batsheva take before she crumbles, especially when Yahweh steps in to have His say in the matter?
This biblical retelling of a classic tale spun with political intrigue, scandal and the lives behind it all will leave you breathless.
