- Family and Society
- Names and Name Changing
The name Batsheva
Question
I am curious, as to why a parent would name a daughter, Batsheva?
Answer
We see that David HaMelech, undoubtedly one of the outstanding figures in the entire Tanach, felt extremely close to Batsheva, and trusted her more than any of his 17 other wives. It’s also significant that he promised her to choose her son Shlomo, as his heir and continuation. Our rabbis in the midrash view her very positively, being a good influence and religious advisor to Shlomo, despite his being the wisest of all men, and even after he was already king (e.g. Sanhedrin 70b; Yalk.Sh. Mish. 964). Many even explain that Shlomo wrote the “Eshet Chayil” (Mishlei 31) about the ideal woman of Israel, as a poem in admiration of his mother, Batsheva! In short, she’s surely a woman to emulate, and that would warrant naming children after her, no matter what the meaning of her name.
If you’re asking about the meaning of her name (literally: “the daughter of seven”) and why her parents named her that: some explain that she was the 7th daughter/child, others, that she was born on Shabbat (the 7th day) or Tishrei (the 7th month). Notice that in Divrei HaYamim (Chron. I, 3, 5), she’s called Bat-Shu’a, like Yehuda’s wife (Breishit 38, 12), so it must have been a common name, short for Bat-Y’shua, the daughter of redemption/deliverance (perhaps after a difficult birth?).
Shabbat Shalom!
Rav Ari Shvat

Father’s name
Various Rabbis | Iyyar 28, 5768

Naming of a Child
Various Rabbis | 29 Iyyar 5765

meaning of Hebrew name
Rabbi Yoel Lieberman | Nisan 22, 5780

Naming a Child
Rabbi Jonathan Blass | 19 Cheshvan 5764

Rabbi Ari Shvat
Lectures at various yeshivot, michlalot and midrashot. Has published many books & Torani articles and is in charge of Rav Kook’s archives.

Yericho conquest by Yehoshua
Tevet 28, 5771

Delaying aliya for career and studies
Adar II 25, 5771

Kri u'ktiv
Adar II 25, 5771

Davening if Hashem knows future
Adar II 25, 5771

’Bein Ha’arbayim’
Rabbi Chaim Tabasky | 12 Av 5764

Mazal Tov and Astrology
Various Rabbis | 6 Shevat 5764

Mazal Tov and Astrology
Various Rabbis | 6 Shevat 5764

’Bein Ha’arbayim’
Rabbi Chaim Tabasky | 12 Av 5764
Apartment Eviction
Rabbi Moshe Leib Halberstadt | Shevat 9, 5783

How can someone change their community?
Rabbi David Sperling | Shevat 11, 5783
