Hello and welcome to another RE lesson with me, Mr. Robertson.

I love RE and I'm really excited to be learning with you today.

Today's lesson is part of our unit with a big inquiry question, Prophethood, how are Abrahamic faiths connected through prophets? And in this unit, we are learning about some of the key prophets for Muslims, Jews, and Christians, and thinking about ways in which there's a shared understanding and ways in which there are differences.

Today's lesson is called David and Bathsheba.

And we're going to be looking at the story of one of the most famous kings of the Jewish people.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to analyse different beliefs about David held by Muslims compared to Jews and Christians.

As always, we have some keywords.

The keywords for this lesson are: adultery, which is a relationship between people where one or more of them is already married; divergence, which is when something has developed in different directions; the Old Testament, which is the first part of the Christian Bible, also known as the Tanakh for Jews; and repented, which means showing sincere regret for sins and a promise to do better in the future.

These words are going to help us understand our lesson as we progress through it today.

So our lesson on David and Bathsheba is in two parts.

In the first part of our lesson, we're going to be considering David's story in Judeo-Christian theology.

And in the second part of our lesson, we're going to be looking at its divergence in Islam.

This is a theology lesson.

So we're going to be thinking and using the tools of theologians today, looking at sacred texts to find out ways in which there are commonalities and differences between the traditions of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

So theologians, shall we begin? So you may have heard of David.

He is an incredibly important leader in Judaism and Christianity.

He was one of the greatest kings in the Jewish tradition.

He's found in the Old Testament, which forms the Jewish Tanakh, and that is a common text for Jews and Christians.

Muslims view David as a prophet as well and he's known through the Arabic Dawud.

Now what about David's story? As I mentioned earlier, theologians study religions and their texts, and this means that there can be different understandings of these texts and points of divergence between religions.

And understanding these differences and divergencies are a really interesting way of finding out some of the key ways in which traditions are different from each other, as well as the fact they share lots of important values and stories.

The Abrahamic faiths have a shared origin.

That is, of course, why they're called Abrahamic because the prophet Abraham is a common ancestor for Jews, Christians and Muslims, and they can draw meaning from the same text.

Now as we've already understood, Jews and Christians share many aspects of the Old Testament and stories such as Abraham are found in the Jewish, Christian texts, and also in the Qur'an.

And as theologians, we're interested in points of divergence as well.

David's story is particularly interesting because there's a clear divergence here between the Abrahamic faiths.

So to understand this point of divergence, we're going to look closely at the story of David as it's presented in the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament.

We're gonna go through this story to really understand the narrative and what happens in it, and that will allow us to summarise and understand how many Christians and Jews interpret the figure of David and will allow us to go on to understand where there may be divergence for many Muslims. One of the most famous stories around King David, apart from when he defeated the giant Goliath, and you may have heard of that story, is around his role as a king during some wars.

So our story begins when King David was at the height of his power with many enemies of Israel defeated.

That spring, King David chose to stay at home in Jerusalem while he sent the rest of the Israelite army to fight other nations and kings.

One hot, languid afternoon, David awoke from his siesta and was walking on the relative cool of the palace roof.

Remember, we are in Israel, which is a very hot country.

From his vantage point, he spied a beautiful woman bathing on her roof.

This was the custom at the time as it was a place of privacy.

David was immediately drawn to her and sent messengers to find out who she was.

The messages returned and told David that her name was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah.

Despite David knowing she was married, he sent for her and slept with her.

Bathsheba later sent word to David that she was pregnant.

And you can see an illustration here of Bathsheba bathing.

Of course, in this picture, which from the middle ages, they haven't positioned her on the roof and you have David looking down at her.

So King David committed adultery with this woman Bathsheba and she became pregnant.

Let's move on.

David was nervous that his sin of adultery would now be found out.

He called for Uriah to come home from battle so that he could spend a night with his wife Bathsheba and cover up the sin that she was pregnant with David's child.

However, Uriah refused to sleep with his wife while his fellow men were off fighting.

David was filled with anger that his plan did not work.

And in the illustration on the screen, you can see an image of David sending Uriah to battle.

David knew he'd broken a commandment and tried to cover up his adultery.

Let's just check our understanding so far.

With his behaviour, which commandment did David break? Was it A, do not worship false gods; B, do not commit adultery; or C, honour your father and mother? Theologians, pause the video and have a think.

Excellent thinking, theologians.

It was do not commit adultery because he slept with Bathsheba.

When Uriah went back to war, King David sent a note to the army commander with instructions to place Uriah right at the front line, and then to withdraw the rest of the soldiers.

This was carried out and led to the death of Uriah.

Bathsheba mourned her husband's death and was then brought to King David to live as his wife.

The Prophet Nathan visited King David and told him of the Lord's disapproval and displeasure with David.

Even though he repented of his sin, Nathan told David that the son Bathsheba was expecting would die.

You can see an image on the screen here of the Prophet Nathan admonishing David for the sin he carried out.

You can see the body language of David, can't you? As he leans back, frightened by what the prophet is telling him.

Let's just check our understanding.

True or false? God punished David by killing his wife, Bathsheba.

Is that true or false, theologians? Pause the video and have a think.

You're correct, aren't you? It's false because God punished David through the death of the son Bathsheba was pregnant with and not Bathsheba herself.

Let's continue with our story.

Before his encounter with Bathsheba, David was celebrated as a hero and an excellent king.

He went from achievement to achievement, which began with the story of defeating the giant Goliath when he was just a boy.

This is said to be a testament to his strong faith in God.

He was known to people as a mighty warrior and later became king of all Israel and Judah.

And you can see in image of David, a sculpture there of him with the head of the giant Goliath whom he killed.

So he was a famous king and many people admired him.

Before meeting Bathsheba, David is seen as demonstrating the qualities shown by other prophets.

Where did David demonstrate the nature of a prophet in his early life? We have a diagram here of the different qualities that we might expect to see prophets in the Abrahamic traditions.

And these qualities are fourfold.

So firstly, we have the quality of loyalty.

So prophets generally show great loyalty to God and they are, and they stay faithful to the message of God.

Many prophets have had to overcome personal challenges in their stories.

So they may have had problems or setbacks in childhood or adulthood which they've had to overcome to carry out their mission as prophets.

Prophets often show great strength of character, being able to overcome these challenges, being able to overcome the setbacks that they have and manage to persevere and still carry out God's messages and God's wishes.

And finally, prophets show great commitment to the will of God.

Even if they're asked to do seemingly impossible things, they stay committed and loyal to God.

So thinking about these different qualities, where do you think David demonstrated that nature in his early life? Why don't you pause the video and ponder this or perhaps talk to the person next to you? You may have had some discussions about things like this.

So David shows loyalty and commitment when he believed he could succeed with God's support.

He overcame personal challenges because when he was young, he was underestimated due to his age and inexperience, although actually he managed to kill the giant Goliath when he was a boy.

He showed great strength of character because when faced by enemy like Goliath, he showed huge courage.

So in lots of ways, especially in his early life, David demonstrates the nature and qualities that we expect to see in a prophet in the Abrahamic tradition.

Which of these is an example of David showing the nature of a prophet? Is it A, defeating the giant Goliath? Is it B, having Bathsheba's husband killed in battle? Or is it C, committing adultery with Bathsheba? Pause the video and have a think.

Brilliant thinking, theologians.

Yes, it's A, isn't it? Because we've said that one of the qualities of a prophet is being able to overcome personal challenges and show strength of character, and David did this when he defeated the giant Goliath.

He certainly did not show any of those qualities by committing adultery or having Bathsheba's husband killed in battle so he could win her for himself.

So let's think where we are in the story.

David was a great and honoured king and warrior.

He saw Bathsheba one day and desired her.

They slept together.

She became pregnant.

He tried to bring Uriah back and have her sleep with Bathsheba so that he could claim the baby was Uriah's and not his.

However, that didn't happen.

And as a result of that, King David engineered it for Uriah to be killed in battle and he's now brought Bathsheba back to be his wife.

But the Prophet Nathan has exclaimed to him that God is now going to kill any son or child that is a result of their union.

After his transgression, however, his life was fraught with pain and betrayal.

David and Bathsheba's son died.

His daughter Tamar was raped by David's son Amnon who was then murdered by her brother Absalom.

Absalom betrayed David and went after the kingship in a stunning coup d'etat.

David is eventually restored but is bitter and leaves instructions with Solomon to exact revenge on his enemies.

Even after his death, another of his sons is murdered in the conflict for succession.

So you can see that the rest of King David's life was pretty grim and you could see a painting of him there in despair at the things that have befallen him: his children being killed, his wives disgraced, and battles lost.

He had a life of tragedy and hardship.

But although David committed these sins, he's still honoured in Judaism and Christianity.

So let's just check our understanding here.

David is honoured in Judaism and Christianity despite having done what? A, lying about his beliefs in God.

B, stealing money from those he lived with.

C, having committed the sin of adultery.

Theologians, think about everything we've learned about David so far.

Pause the video, have a think.

Excellent, theologians, it's C, isn't it? He committed the sin of adultery with Bathsheba and that led to great consequences for the rest of his life.

So let's think about what we've been learning here.

Jacob says, "David committed sins, so I don't understand why he's still celebrated in Judaism and Christianity." It's a really good point, Jacob, isn't it? Let's see if we can help him.

I'd like you to write a paragraph to help Jacob think a little bit about why David is still celebrated in Judaism and Christianity despite the sins he committed.

And I'd like to use these statements to help him.

Remember, David showed strength of character in his battle with Goliath.

He ruled as a good king for many years.

Judaism and Christianity teach repentance.

So David did repent of his sins.

And David suffered in later life for his actions.

Can you use these statements to create a really well-constructed paragraph to answer Jacob so he understands better why David is still celebrated? Come on, theologians.

Let's see if we can draw together our understandings and write an excellent paragraph.

I look forward to reading them.

Amazing thinking, theologians.

So, you might have said: In his early life, David showed the qualities of other prophets, such as strength of character in his battle with Goliath.

After rising to power, he ruled as a good king for many years.

David sinned with Bathsheba and his treatment of Uriah, however these religions teach repentance and forgiveness which means he was able to be forgiven for his sins.

David was punished by God and suffered in later life for his actions.

So well done, theologians.

If you've managed to construct a paragraph which looks something like this.

If you've been able to draw together those facts and information we've learned about David's great qualities about being a good king.

And well done if you've managed to link it to some of the qualities of prophets we talked about such as strength of character.

Fantastic work so far.

So now we move to the second part of our lesson and we're going to be thinking about divergence in Islam.

Let's make a start.

So the story of David, or as we said, Dawud in Arabic, is similar but not identical.

There are some divergence about the Bathsheba story.

And that's because Muslims believe that the scripture in Abrahamic faith before the Qur'an contains errors.

So for most Muslims, the Qur'an is the perfect Word of God.

Most Muslims do value and set store by the Torah and the Bible, but they believe that there are inaccuracies in them.

And this is one of the key areas where Muslims believe there are inaccuracies, in the texts, in the Tanakh, the Torah and the Bible, and the later ideas in the Qur'an.

Most Muslims do not believe that a prophet would commit the sins described in the Judeo-Christian account of the Old Testament because the idea of prophets in Islam is that they are not sinners in the way in which David would be.

Let's just check our understanding of this word divergence.

True or false? Divergence means that things are interpreted in the same way.

Is that true or false? Pause the video, theologians, and have a think.

Excellent thinking, theologians.

It's false, isn't it? Because divergence means that things developed in different directions.

David's story is a point of divergence between Judaism and Christianity on one hand and Islam on the other.

So let's think a little bit more about this divergence.

In the Qur'an, David does not commit adultery with Bathsheba, although he does desire her.

David marries Bathsheba once her husband is dead, but his actions in getting to that point were not honourable as he arranged for Uriah to be on the front line of battle, where he would likely die.

So here is where we see in the Qur'an a point divergence.

You can already see that there is a difference in the way that the Qur'an is interpreting the story of David.

We have a bit more here.

In Surah 38 of the Qur'an, we have a story of two angels coming to visit David to help him to see the error of his ways.

And when they visited him, they used an analogy to help him.

So an analogy is like a picture, a way of trying to make someone understand something using a language that they will understand themselves.

The Qur'an says: When they came into David's presence, he was startled by them.

They said, "Have no fear.

We are merely two in a dispute: one of us has wronged the other.

So judge between us with truth, do not go beyond it, and guide us to the right way." So here we can see the angels realising that David was a great king with a keen sense of justice.

And so they come to him talking about the idea of a dispute and they want David as king to make a ruling.

And this was the analogy they used.

This is my brother.

He has ninety-nine sheep while I have only one.

Still he asked me to give it up to him, overwhelming me with his argument.

This is similar to David's situation.

According to the text, he already has 99 wives and Uriah was only married to Bathsheba whom David desired.

It's important to realise that in the context we're in, thousands of years ago, powerful men often had many wives and that at the time was seen as completely normal and as a great and powerful king.

David would certainly have had a number of wives.

We don't know whether it was 99 or not.

But the point here being made is that David has lots of wives.

Uriah only has one.

David eventually ruled, "He has definitely wronged you in demanding to add to your sheep to his.

And certainly many partners wrong each other, except those who believe and do good, but how few are they!" Then David realised that We had tested him so he asked for his Lord's forgiveness, fell down in prostration, and turned to him in repentance.

It's important here that when we see the words We and Him, we are talking about Allah here.

So David recognised it would not be right for the man with the 99 sheep to take the one of his brother.

You can see we've highlighted the words here, "He has definitely wronged you." And then, the analogy clicked for David and he understood the situation he was in.

Then, David realised that that We had tested him.

So he asked for his Lord's forgiveness and this made him realise that the situation with Bathsheba was wrong and he was in the wrong.

So we have here evidence in the Qur'an that David repented and didn't carry out the sin which he commits in the Bible and the Tanakh.

Let's just check our understanding.

How did the angels help David realise his bad choices? A, by threatening him with punishment; B, by using an analogy; or C, by reminding him of the 10 commandments? Think what we've just been reading, theologians.

Pause the video.

Absolutely right, theologians.

It was B, by using an analogy.

They used the analogy of someone who had 99 sheep and someone who had one sheep.

Well done if you got that right.

We're going to continue here, the story looking at the Qur'an.

Surah 25 of the Qur'an explains that David was forgiven once he accepted his actions were wrong and repented.

The Qur'an says: So We forgave him for that.

And he will indeed have a status of closeness to Us and an honourable destination! So this passage shows that David repented for his wrongdoing, but Muslims do not believe he sinned with Bathsheba.

Because David repented of his sins, he did not sin in the same way.

However, Jews and Christians believe that David repented and was punished for the sin of adultery.

So we have divergence here between Muslims who do not believe that David committed adultery and was forgiven and repented for his wrongdoing and Jews and Christians who believed that David was punished for the sin of adultery.

Let's look again at a subsequent passage in the Qur'an.

We instructed him: "Oh David! We have surely made you an authority in the land, so judge between people with truth.

And do not follow your desires or they will lead you astray from Allah's Way.

Surely those who go astray from Allah's Way will suffer a severe punishment for neglecting the Day of Reckoning." Now in this extract, I'd like you to think about this: what responsibility does David have in this passage? According to the Qur'an, what responsibility is there on David? You might want to pause the video and read that text carefully to think about this.

Excellent, it talks about the idea of him being an authority and judging between people with truth, and that means that David has to maintain good character and judgement so he can be a figure of authority.

So Muslims believe that David learned his lesson and could be trusted to make good decisions.

So unlike the story in the Jewish and Christian tradition where David's life turned and became one of despair because of the mistakes he'd made, in the Qur'an, David repents of his poor choices, and therefore can still be seen for the rest of his life as someone who can make good decisions and carry out Allah's judgement.

Let's see who understands this point of divergence.

Lucas says, A, David committing adultery is the point of divergence.

And Alex says, B, David's role in Uriah's death is the point of divergence.

Who of these has understood most carefully about how Muslims and Christians and Jews diverge? Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent, it's Alex, isn't it? Because in the story, David does not commit adultery from an Islamic perspective, but he does have a role in Uriah's death, which he brings about so he can then marry Bathsheba.

And so it's the repentance of Uriah's death that's really important.

So we're going to move to our final task now.

Laura is summarising David's story.

She doesn't mention anything about the sin of adultery and divergence in the Abrahamic faiths.

What could she have included to improve her explanation? Laura says, "The Old Testament and the Qur'an tell a similar story of David being tempted by Bathsheba and arranging to have Bathsheba's husband die in battle.

David marries her once Uriah is dead.

Once he accepted the error of his ways, David repents and is forgiven." So I want you to think a little bit about what Laura said and think about the idea of the sin of adultery, which we've talked about, and the idea of divergence.

Could you help expand Laura's explanation to explain a little bit more about what Jews, Christians, and Muslims believe about David's sin of adultery? And secondly, where Muslims and Islam diverges from Judaism and Christians about the idea of this adultery and repentance.

So theologians, think back over what we've been looking at, the different texts from the Qur'an and the Bible, have a go at rewriting this explanation.

I look forward to reading it.

So you might have added: However, in the Old Testament, David commits adultery with Bathsheba and tries to cover it up.

This is a point of divergence because Muslims believe there are errors in the original story and a prophet would not commit such serious sins.

Okay, let's see what we've learned today.

We've learned that the Abrahamic faiths all agree on the early successes of David and view him as a leader in their faiths.

We've also learned that the Old Testament describes David committing adultery with Bathsheba.

This is a point of divergence as the Qur'an states that he was tempted by her and marries her after her husband's death.

All faiths state that David repented and was forgiven.

So fantastic work today, theologians, you've analysed a story which is common for Muslims, Jews, and Christians, but you've also understood how there is a key point of divergence in the idea of what level of sin a prophet can commit for Jews and Christians on one side and Muslims on the other.

Thank you ever so much for learning with me today and I look forward to seeing you in another lesson soon, thank you.