House of David: Who Was David's Mother?

2nd Wife, Mistress, or Something Else? (Article 3)

The show "House of David" caused quite the stir with some very vague descriptions and some scandalous presumptions about David's mother. Was David's mother a mistress of Jesse? Was she a second wife to Jesse, making her the stepmother to David's other brothers? What is this business of David's mother "seeing visions" from God? Who was David's mother?

This is one of those places where "House of David" is incredibly fun but moves from speculation to fiction. With that said, the goal of the show isn't biblical scholarship but to portray a possible historically accurate situation. Based on that, I think they did a phenomenal job!

Biblical Silence on David's Mother

The Bible is for the most part totally silent about David's mother. So it seems the writers of "House of David" picked up on some possible lines of trajectory to help point to what may have been the situation that left David in the fields, and why there could have been animosity between him and his brothers.

Parallels Between Joseph and David

Let me first make some connections within the Biblical narrative. These are my own connections; I haven't spoken with the writers of the show. I don't presume to suggest this was their intention. I just saw them and find them fascinating.

There seems to be a connection being made between Joseph and David:

• Family Dynamics: Joseph's mother was loved by Jacob, and when she died, there was chaos between the brothers. Similarly, David appears to have a complicated family situation.

• Exile and Adoption: Joseph is "exiled" and eventually brought into Pharaoh's family as his second in command. David will eventually be "adopted" by King Saul but never truly fits into the royal family.

• Leadership Journey: Joseph leads the Israelites into safety in Egypt. David leads the Israelites out of tribal insecurity from the Philistines to establish Israel as a great Kingdom.

David's Family Background

The Bible never names David's mother. However, we do know some family history that could help bring some possible connections. Remember, David's family line is a bit scandalous itself. David's great-grandmother was Ruth the Moabitess. The Moabites were the descendants of Moab who was the son of Lot and his eldest daughter (yea, that's not a typo; Gen 19:37; Deut 2:11, 29).

Clues from Scripture?

Psalm 51:5

Possibly one of the closer exegetical clues comes from David's words in reference to his conception in Psalm 51:

"Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me." (Psalm 51:5, CSB)

A once held view suggested that this was an indication of some kind of sin of David's mother and father. However, there is much lacking with this hypothesis in both exegetical and canonical evidence. Exegetically, the verse in its natural context deals with the overwhelming guilt because of sin (contrary to another popular position, this verse does not necessarily point to original sin. We can get there from other scriptures, this just isn't the best one.)

One scholar puts it this way:

"Many have understood the words to reflect the concept of 'original sin,' a depraved nature that is intrinsic to every human being, passed on to us by the first human pair. A more plausible interpretation, however, is that the psalmist is expressing in these words the all-pervasive quality of the guilt which accompanies the wrong-doing."¹

Additionally, we don't find much more in terms of scriptural evidence to such a historical situation for David's parentage, which we would expect to find in abundance with how prominent David becomes in Biblical history.

The Mystery of Nahash

Here is where things get a bit more interesting. In 2 Sam 17:25 we find that David's sisters are said to be the daughters of "Nahash." Now, who is Nahash? Three possibilities:

1. Nahash was another name for Jesse - This seems extremely unlikely.

2. Nahash was their mother's name - This is more likely but still leaves a lot of questions.

3. Nahash was David's mother's first husband - Nahash could have been another man who was the first husband of David's mother, who eventually died and left the mother as a widow.

It's this third option where I think "House of David" gets its possible trajectory for the narrative (along with some Jewish folklore) around David's mother.

Piecing Together David's Family Tree

If this third option is the case, we still have to determine the relationship between David, the mother, and the sisters. Based on 2 Samuel 17:25 contrasted with 1 Ch 2:13-16, we would determine that David's sisters are the two daughters of Nahash. But there seems to be intentional distance between the daughters and Jesse. Therefore:

• The daughters of Nahash would be the stepdaughters of Jesse

• David would have been born of Jesse and the widow of Nahash

• This means that David has half-brothers and half-sisters

Wild possibility!

David's Complicated Family Situation

This now leaves us wondering about the nature of Jesse's relationship with David's mother. "House of David" suggests that David's mother was not a legitimate wife of Jesse. This is what brought dishonor upon the house of Jesse. This also makes sense for why Jesse's other sons have animosity towards David. In the show, David's older brother at one point tells David his mother was a kind woman and he regrets being so cruel to her.

It seems like David did have a complicated family situation. In Psalm 69:8, David says he's a stranger to his own mother's children and a foreigner in his home.

Jewish Folklore: The Nitzevet Legend

There is one other legend that stems from the midrashim rooted in Jewish folklore that tells of David's mother named Nitzevet. Of course, this is the name that is given to David's mother in "House of David." In this Jewish legend:

• Jesse becomes stressed out because of his Moabite heritage and is worried about the ancestral line of his children

• After having seven sons, he stops sleeping with his wife and intends to marry and conceive a child with his Canaanite slave

• The Canaanite slave has pity on Nitzevet, and they come up with a plan that on the wedding night they would exchange places

• This plan succeeds, and this is how David is born

Obviously, this all has echoes of the Rachel and Leah story with Jacob! And it is all purely folklore and legend. But it seems to be where "House of David" is pulling from.

Fiction vs. Historical Probability

Now, this is all fiction in my opinion. Further, it seems from a historical standpoint very unlikely. Israelites had a process that allowed widows and those who were given a certificate of divorce the possibility to remarry.

It seems much more likely that if Jesse's first wife had died or was "sent away/divorced," then Jesse would have married the second woman and therefore adopted the daughters and had a legitimate son in David.²

Regardless, the show really did a great job coming up with a possible historical background situation for their fictional portrayal in order to get the viewer engaged and committed to the storyline. Well done, House of David screenwriters!³

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Read the previous articles:

House of David: A Theologian's Analysis: Introduction and Cosmic Geography

House of David: David vs. the Giant(s)

Watch My Limited Time Series on YouTube:

1. Nancy deClaissé-Walford and Beth Tanner, “Book Two of the Psalter: Psalms 42–72,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 456.

2. Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Nahash,” in Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 1519.

3. Another view, “It is likely that Jesse was actually David’s stepfather, that he married David’s mother after Nahash, her first husband and David’s father, died; this is a generally accepted interpretation of 2 Sam. 17:25.)” See - Allen C. Myers, “DAVID,” in The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1987), 262. I do not believe this is a viable option.