15. Bathsheba
Wife. Mistress. Mother to a king. How does one go from being the wife of a regular soldier in the Israelite army, to the mother of one of the greatest kings in biblical history? Take a bath on your roof, that’s how. Bathsheba is one of the few on this list who did not go looking to become the mistress of the king. It really did sort of happen to her because we all know, what the king wants, the king usually gets. So one day while she innocently bathed outside, she caught the eye of King David. Yes, David and Goliath, David, who now ruled the nation of Israel. Once he saw Bathsheba, he had to have her. The timing was especially convenient since her husband, Uriah was off fighting his war. Soon Bathsheba became pregnant, thus creating a problem that David was determined to solve.
Often described as the ‘man after God’s own heart’, it is surprising that David would commit this sin. The guilt became too much and he tried to cover up Bathsheba’s pregnancy. David brought Uriah home from the battlefront and encouraged him to sleep with his wife. Uriah went back to the front lines instead. Since Uriah failed to sleep with Bathsheba, David did the next logical thing and set him up to be killed in battle. Once Uriah was dead, he took Bathsheba as his own. The couple’s first child died as a consequence of David’s sin, according to some religions. The couple repented and God blessed them with more children. Bathsheba gave birth to Solomon, who would become arguably the greatest king to rule the Israelite people. Since then, her story and likeness have been a subject of art and literature for thousands of years.
Read More: When David Beat Goliath: 10 Small Armies that Defeated Large Ones.