Any evidence of this ever happening?
Any evidence of a rape victim being forced to live with the perpetrator?
She was aware of the plot to get him home to sleep with her, therefore I would venture to say she would be aware of the other plot as well.
Read the verses. Uriah did not go home. Verses 9, 10 and 13 specifically say so. There is nothing to indicate she knew anything about any plot. There is no reason to believe that she had any knowledge of him being in the area.
9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house. 10 When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?" 11 Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!" 12 Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home. (NIV)
Do you think the people would question a King capable of the atrocities David had committed, or who was considered a national hero like David was?
Yes. It was all about David saving face.
You're telling me Israelites were ignorant of premature babies?
You’re telling me Israelites were ignorant of the difference between a full-term and a premature baby? If the baby had been 8 or 9 pounds, it would have been obvious that it was not a premature baby. He didn’t want to take the chance. Especially if he was going to present the baby to the priest, before the public, when the child was 8 days old.
Killing someone vs. lying, which is easier to get away with... I'm still going to go with lying as being far easier to pull off than murder.
Not necessarily, not in this case. The issue in David’s case was not whether or not he would get caught, but who would know. David was very concerned about what others thought of him. He was trying to get rid of the one person who did know so that others would not find out.
A sociological understanding is in order here. Shame, in any culture is a very powerful, painful thing to endure. People will go to great lengths to avoid it or relieve themselves of it.
In shame cultures, if one is shamed, that individual is highly motivated to get rid of the source of the shame. This is why honor killings and ritual suicide are common occurrences in honor/shame societies. It does not matter to the person that is shamed if the one killed is actually innocent. David was willing to go to any length to avoid being shamed. He decided to swat the fly with a sledgehammer.
Your assumptions about what would happen in the case of David are built on the paradigm of one who comes from a guilt society. The assumptions of a guilt culture paradigm do not apply to a shame culture. If one is going to make assumptions about the actions of ancient people, they should first study how the ancients thought, what motivated them, and how the culture at large would view the actions in question.
Shame- | Other people believe: |
culture |
I believe | I didn't do it | I did it |
I didn't do it | No problem | I am shamed and dishonored by their belief |
I did it | No-one knows, so I am not shamed | I am guilty and am punished |
| | |
| | |
Guilt- | Other people believe: |
culture |
I believe | I didn't do it | I did it |
I didn't do it | No problem | I protest my innocence and fight the accusation |
I did it | I am expected to feel guilty regardless | I am guilty and am punished |