The Anointed by Michael Arditti;

Author:Michael Arditti;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mint Associates Ltd
Published: 2019-04-24T16:00:00+00:00

FOUR

Bathsheba

Just as the Law says that a bird must be free of blood before it can be eaten, so a woman must be free of blood before she can be touched. Until then she is unclean but not dirty, although no one has yet explained the difference to me. So once a month I climb on to the roof and cleanse myself of my stain. I would prefer to bathe indoors, especially in winter, but Uriah insists that to fulfil the Law, the water must flow freely from its source. As I have no wish to walk to the Gihon spring, with everyone in the district knowing the reason, I rely on rainwater gathered in the cistern. The prickling cold makes me feel purer than the ritual itself.

My husband Uriah, while not an Israelite by birth, has studied the Law more closely than many who are. When he came to the land, he gave up the worship of his Hittite gods: Wurusema, the sun-goddess, Teshub, the weather-god, and their children with names like tickles in the throat, and devoted himself to the Lord. He even changed his own name from Muttallu to Uriah, which means God is Light, a far more auspicious name than Bathsheba, which merely means Daughter of an Oath.

Uriah is a captain in King David's guard. No sooner had he founded his city than the king set up our first permanent army. Although the troops are drawn from all the tribes, his personal guard consists entirely of foreigners such as Uriah, whom he hired to command his charioteers. He had been impressed by the weaponry when he lived in Philistia, an episode of which it's wisest not to speak. Nathan, the prophet who is chronicling the king's story, maintains that he risked his life, ingratiating himself with the enemy so as to bring back the secrets of the iron swords, spears and chariots without which he would never have vanquished the Philistines, along with our other adversaries. But behind closed doors and in hushed voices, the elders who visited my grandfather spoke of his fleeing there from King Saul, fighting in the Philistine army, and even swearing allegiance to the King of Gath. How was a young girl, for whom the outside world was hearsay, to know what to believe?

The official reason for the king's employing foreigners is that they have skills that the Israelites lack. The Hittites are expert horsemen, whereas few of our men even ride donkeys. But according to my grandfather, the real reason is that the king fears that the Israelites owe their ultimate loyalty to their tribal chiefs rather than to him. He was holding forth to two fellow counsellors while I played with my doll in the courtyard. I paid them more attention than they did me, not because their conversation was interesting but because it was the only one there was. ‘Surely that's wrong?’ I interposed. ‘The king should trust his own people more than strangers.’ Grandfather looked as shocked as if I had aimed a rock at him rather than a question.

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