Speaker: David M. Whitford, Department of History, Baylor University - Academia.edu

Abstract: »In 2023, controversy erupted on Twitter over whether or not Bathsheba was raped by David. Thousands of tweets shot back and forth over the topic. Memes were even generated from it. In a large number of tweets, the Reformers, most especially Martin Luther and John Calvin, were brought in to either attack or defend David, attack or blame Bathsheba.
This paper does not seek to examine the tweets, but the Twitterstorm does demonstrate that the status and role of women in the Bible and in contemporary society remains very much a live topic.
Using a line from Luther in which he noted that Bathsheba's pigtails likely enticed David as a starting point, this paper seeks to examine whether or not marriage and the raising of children changed how Luther and other early reformers saw the victims of sexual violence. Did they blame Bathsheba or David? Did husbands view Bathsheba differently than previous celibate exegetes? What about Dinah, a young unmarried woman? Did fathers look on her attack with different eyes?« (Source: Online Program)

Wikipedia: Ancient history: History of ancient Israel and Judah | History of Europe: History of Germany / Early Modern history of Germany | Bible: Hebrew Bible / David, Bathsheba | Christianity: Reformation / Martin Luther | Sex and the law: Rape / Rape in the Hebrew Bible