The Sin of David

This will be brief yet deep, but it arms us with the same conclusion that we can we use regardless of how the following scripture is read.

King David in Psalm 51:5 NWT declared:

Look! I was born guilty of error,
And my mother conceived me in sin.
[Footnote: Or “And sinful from the moment my mother conceived me.”]

As Dr. Eli observed:

This verse, attributed to David after his sin with Bathsheba, is traditionally understood within all Christian communities as something that does not refer to David’s birth in particular but instead to the births of all children in this world. This implies that all children are inherently sinful from birth. This text is used to collaborate with other texts like “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Cor 15:22)^[1]

But he then observes that there is another interpretation, one that understands this to be about David’s own birth, one out of wedlock. This other interpretation would not refute the “Adamic original sin” doctrine, but would only remove one supporting scripture. To refute the illegitimate birth interpretation we would need to know who David’s mother was. However, both the Aid and Insight books (of Jehovah’s Witness reference fame) note that “The name of David’s mother is not given.” The Aid book added: “The idea advanced by some that David’s mother may have been a Moabitess has no basis in fact; David’s taking his family to the king of Moab for asylum is no proof of this.—1 Sam. 22:3, 4.”^[2]

The Hermeneia commentary even notes: “One is a sinner and lives under the power of sin, in some sense from the first moment of one’s existence, as [Psalm 51:5] emphasizes.” It then explains that this verse “does not mean”: “either a sin of the mother or of the parents, or a sin the speaker has inherited from ancestors or even from an original couple; nor is it a sin originating from procreation or through ritual impurity.” Instead, it is offering “insight into the sinfulness of human existence.”^[3] Thus, this reference shies away from specific identifications of either Adamic sin or illegitimate birth. It adds:

With pointed metaphors the poet evokes a truly wonderful counter-world over against the lamentable present: when the petitioner desires to be made “whiter than snow” through God’s purifying action he is asking not only for liberation from the blackness of sorrow over the death of sin that has seized him … and from the scarlet of violent deeds that weighs upon him. Instead he prays, by contrast, for a life that can be celebrated with festive, white garments … and jubilant songs, as only a rescue from death can be celebrated. He hopes for a reversal of his present condition: the bones crushed by God are to be filled again with vigorous life and break into a joyful dance.^[4]

Thus, for this scholar it is important to focus on the goal and not the identification of which sin.

Dr. Eli though offers a conclusion all can agree with, that “Regardless of David’s birth under the shadow of illegitimacy, the biblical narrative underscores a profound truth: God’s mercy transforms rejection into restoration, shame into honor, and brokenness into blessing.”

With this agreeable conclusion, Psalm 51:5 is still compatible with Adamic original sin, but this should not overshadow the goal of being ‘purified’ with a “pure heart!”—Psalm 51:7, 10.

Footnotes:
^[1] Was David the illegitimate son of Jesse? https://drelisblog.com/was-david-born-out-of-wedlock/
^[2] “David.” Aid p. 423, Insight vol. 1 p. 585.
^[3] Psalms 2: A Commentary on Psalms 51-100, p. 20.
^[4] Pages 20-1.