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Year 7

David and Bathsheba

I can analyse different beliefs about David held by Muslims compared to Jews and Christians.

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New
New
Year 7

David and Bathsheba

I can analyse different beliefs about David held by Muslims compared to Jews and Christians.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. There is a divergence in the story of David across Abrahamic faiths.
  2. The Judeo-Christian account involves David committing adultery with Bathsheba.
  3. Muslims do not believe that prophets would ever commit serious sin.

Keywords

  • Adultery - relationships between people where one or more of them is already married

  • Divergence - developed in different directions

  • Old Testament - the first five books of the Bible which make up the Torah for Jews

  • Repented - showed sincere regret for sins and do better in future

Common misconception

Pupils may not realise that David is seen as a prophet in the Islamic tradition.

David is seen as a prophet. However, as he repented, he did not sin.


To help you plan your year 7 religious education lesson on: David and Bathsheba, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

You may want to make links to divergence in other stories, such as Adam and Moses. You may want to explain that in the context of the time, women were treated very differently to men and that is reflected in the text.
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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
  • Depiction or discussion of sexual violence
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Supervision

Adult supervision required

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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5 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to the correct definitions.
Correct Answer:divergence,developed in different directions
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developed in different directions

Correct Answer:ancestor,a person related to you who lived a long time ago
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a person related to you who lived a long time ago

Correct Answer:descendant,your children and any further generations that begin from them
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your children and any further generations that begin from them

Correct Answer:sacrifice,to give up/kill something very important to you as an offering to God
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to give up/kill something very important to you as an offering to God

Q2.
Which religions form the Abrahamic tradition?
Buddhism
Correct answer: Christianity
Hindu Dharma
Correct answer: Islam
Correct answer: Judaism
Q3.
Which religions trace their ancestry back to Isaac?
Correct answer: Christianity
Islam
Correct answer: Judaism
Q4.
Which religion traces its ancestry back to Ishmael?
Christianity
Correct answer: Islam
Judaism
Q5.
What did God ask Abraham to sacrifice?
his wife
Correct answer: his son
his life

5 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to the correct definitions.
Correct Answer:adultery,relationships between people where one or more of them is married
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relationships between people where one or more of them is married

Correct Answer:divergence,developed in different directions
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developed in different directions

Correct Answer:Old Testament,the first five books of the Bible which make up the Torah for Jews
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the first five books of the Bible which make up the Torah for Jews

Correct Answer:repented,showed sincere regret for sins
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showed sincere regret for sins

Q2.
In which religion is David seen as a prophet?
Christianity
Correct answer: Islam
Judaism
Q3.
According to the Judeo-Christian tradition, which event in David’s life showed his trust in God?
Correct answer: killing Goliath
sending Uriah to battle
committing adultery
Q4.
How does the idea of Dawud in Islam diverge from the Judeo-Christian idea?
he marries Bathsheba
he doesn’t ever meet Bathsheba
Correct answer: he doesn’t sin
Q5.
What did Dawud do after he realised his actions were wrong?
he ran away
he made excuses for his actions
Correct answer: he repented

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