Did David Do It? Chronicles's Cover Up

I Chronicles.20.1

Amichai Lau-Lavie (he/him)

Jun 25, 2025

What happens when leaders are beyond the law and get a pass that forgives their faults?

David, the bible’s beloved poet and founder of a majestic dynasty, also did some awful things in his life but one of his most famous crimes is covered up in this chapter, Chronicles style.

In 2 Samuel 11 we get the full ugly backstory and plot of the rape of or affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband in the battlefield, under the fog of war.

But not here.

Compare the first verse of today’s chapter with almost the identical first line of chapter 11 in 2 Samuel:

וַיְהִ֡י לְעֵת֩ תְּשׁוּבַ֨ת הַשָּׁנָ֜ה לְעֵ֣ת ׀ צֵ֣את הַמְּלָכִ֗ים וַיִּנְהַ֣ג יוֹאָב֩ אֶת־חֵ֨יל הַצָּבָ֜א וַיַּשְׁחֵ֣ת ׀ אֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ בְּנֵי־עַמּ֗וֹן וַיָּבֹא֙ וַיָּ֣צַר אֶת־רַבָּ֔ה וְדָוִ֖יד יֹשֵׁ֣ב בִּירוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם וַיַּ֥ךְ יוֹאָ֛ב אֶת־רַבָּ֖ה וַיֶּהֶרְסֶֽהָ׃

At the turn of the year, the season when kings go out [to battle], Joab led out the army force and devastated the land of Ammon, and then besieged Rabbah, while David remained in Jerusalem; Joab reduced Rabbah and left it in ruins.

וַיְהִי֩ לִתְשׁוּבַ֨ת הַשָּׁנָ֜ה לְעֵ֣ת ׀ צֵ֣את הַמְּלָאכִ֗ים וַיִּשְׁלַ֣ח דָּוִ֡ד אֶת־יוֹאָב֩ וְאֶת־עֲבָדָ֨יו עִמּ֜וֹ וְאֶת־כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וַיַּשְׁחִ֙תוּ֙ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י עַמּ֔וֹן וַיָּצֻ֖רוּ עַל־רַבָּ֑ה וְדָוִ֖ד יוֹשֵׁ֥ב בִּירוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃

At the turn of the year, the season when kings go out [to battle], David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him, and they devastated Ammon and besieged Rabbah; David remained in Jerusalem.

Nothing could illustrate more strikingly the Chronicler’s revision of the portrait of David in the older narrative than what the author then proceeds to omit. In Samuel’s version the verse ends with David in Jerusalem while the war is fought on his behalf on the frontlines. This leads right into what happens while the king is in Jerusalem and many of its men away in uniform.

In Chronicles the verse ends with the savagery of war, and goes on to describe more massive loot. But Samuel proceeds to describe the infamous rooftop scene and its bloody aftermath.

Nothing to see here about David’s seeing the beautiful Bathsheba bathing on a roof, the subsequent adultery, and his murder of her husband Uriah, a loyal soldier.

Robert Alter comments:

“The Chronicler is determined to give us a David who is an exemplary conquering king, and he will have nothing to do with the warts-and-all representation of him in the narrative he inherited.”

Did the authors of Chronicles assume the future readers will forget or won’t find out about the incident?

Perhaps they wanted no blame attached to the king or to the woman who would become queen, and the mother of the next king, Solomon, mostly thanks to her wise politics. By covering up the king’s crimes, this chapter also erases the queen.

J. Cheryl Exum points out that Chronicles erases women’s subjectivity—“under patriarchal control” in what Exum calls “literary silencing.”

And while this attempted cover-up is deeply troubling, what is also deeply troubling is what the author does choose to include in this chapter - deeds of David that did not seem to be offensive but rather more triumphant wins to boast about. Chronicles repeats the rest of the story is recounted in Samuel, down to these next despicable details.

The war is won by David’s men and they return to him with precious plunder, including a costly crown with gemstones that was worn by the king or the god of Amon, and was placed on David’s head instead.

What happens to the conquered people?

וְאֶת־הָעָ֨ם אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֜הּ הוֹצִ֗יא וַיָּ֨שַׂר בַּמְּגֵרָ֜ה וּבַחֲרִיצֵ֤י הַבַּרְזֶל֙ וּבַמְּגֵר֔וֹת וְכֵן֙ יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה דָוִ֔יד לְכֹ֖ל עָרֵ֣י בְנֵי־עַמּ֑וֹן וַיָּ֧שׇׁב דָּוִ֛יד וְכׇל־הָעָ֖ם יְרוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃

“He led out the people who lived there and he hacked them with saws and iron threshing boards and axes; David did thus to all the towns of Ammon. Then David and all the troops returned to Jerusalem.”

The commentaries through the ages report on what these forms of torture may have been but none dispture the narrative. David’s army, under his command, tortures and kills the local conquered population in horrific ways. It is assumed to be a way to deter the other local nations from rising up against the kind King of Jerusalem.

The Chronicles hide some inconvenient truths and celebrate others. We, with eyes wide open, and hurting hearts, read our legacy and heritage, with questions and doubts. What do we do with this information? How do we reconcile our origins with the current state of affairs in which war is waged and cruelty continues? Whoever edited the bible made sure that we read it all - despite attempted cover-ups. The truth may be a lot of things but we now have access to these accusations and accounts of immorality and abuse, war crimes and cruelty.

What are we to do with it?

Chronicles is not immune from critical thinking and some accusations against the beloved king. The next chapters will include both his blame and claim to fame in yet another important story about the origins of the House of David and the rise of Jerusalem’s central role in world history.

Whatever the present and future holds, it feels important that we are made aware of our inheritance: what was celebrated, what was hidden, the sources of pride and of shame.

Somehow from all this we get to piece together our perspective, talk back to texts of terror and polemical politics that prioritize patriarchal power over human kindness and care.

Revealing the attempted cover-up is one vital step in the process of reclaiming the truth, protecting what we believe in, resisting the rest, and take part in active protest against the uglier part of our history, as it is repeated, as tragedy, again and again.

How else will we interrupt the hurt and trauma, from domestic abuse of power to war crimes, and prevent these actions from being normalized, hurting so many of us again and again?

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Below the Bible Belt

Did David Do It? Chronicles's Cover Up

I Chronicles.20.1

What happens when leaders are beyond the law and get a pass that forgives their faults?

David, the bible’s beloved poet and founder of a majestic dynasty, also did some awful things in his life but one of his most famous crimes is covered up in this chapter, Chronicles style.

In 2 Samuel 11 we get the full ugly backstory and plot of the rape of or affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband in the battlefield, under the fog of war.

But not here.

Compare the first verse of today’s chapter with almost the identical first line of chapter 11 in 2 Samuel:

At the turn of the year, the season when kings go out [to battle], Joab led out the army force and devastated the land of Ammon, and then besieged Rabbah, while David remained in Jerusalem; Joab reduced Rabbah and left it in ruins.

I Chronicles.20.1

At the turn of the year, the season when kings go out [to battle], David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him, and they devastated Ammon and besieged Rabbah; David remained in Jerusalem.

II Samuel.11.1

In Chronicles the verse ends with the savagery of war, and goes on to describe more massive loot. But Samuel proceeds to describe the infamous rooftop scene and its bloody aftermath.

Nothing to see here about David’s seeing the beautiful Bathsheba bathing on a roof, the subsequent adultery, and his murder of her husband Uriah, a loyal soldier.

Robert Alter comments:

“The Chronicler is determined to give us a David who is an exemplary conquering king, and he will have nothing to do with the warts-and-all representation of him in the narrative he inherited.”

Did the authors of Chronicles assume the future readers will forget or won’t find out about the incident?

Perhaps they wanted no blame attached to the king or to the woman who would become queen, and the mother of the next king, Solomon, mostly thanks to her wise politics. By covering up the king’s crimes, this chapter also erases the queen.

J. Cheryl Exum points out that Chronicles erases women’s subjectivity—“under patriarchal control” in what Exum calls “literary silencing.”

The war is won by David’s men and they return to him with precious plunder, including a costly crown with gemstones that was worn by the king or the god of Amon, and was placed on David’s head instead.

What happens to the conquered people?

“He led out the people who lived there and he hacked them with saws and iron threshing boards and axes; David did thus to all the towns of Ammon. Then David and all the troops returned to Jerusalem.”

I Chronicles.20.3

What are we to do with it?

Chronicles is not immune from critical thinking and some accusations against the beloved king. The next chapters will include both his blame and claim to fame in yet another important story about the origins of the House of David and the rise of Jerusalem’s central role in world history.

Whatever the present and future holds, it feels important that we are made aware of our inheritance: what was celebrated, what was hidden, the sources of pride and of shame.

Somehow from all this we get to piece together our perspective, talk back to texts of terror and polemical politics that prioritize patriarchal power over human kindness and care.

Revealing the attempted cover-up is one vital step in the process of reclaiming the truth, protecting what we believe in, resisting the rest, and take part in active protest against the uglier part of our history, as it is repeated, as tragedy, again and again.

How else will we interrupt the hurt and trauma, from domestic abuse of power to war crimes, and prevent these actions from being normalized, hurting so many of us again and again?

Below the Bible Belt: 929 chapters, 42 months, daily reflections.

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