"She said to him, 'My lord, you swore to your handmaid by the LORD your God, saying, "Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit upon my throne."'" — Bathsheba invokes the divine name (*be-YHVH Elohekha*) in conjunction with the alleged oath, elevating it from personal promise to *covenantal oath* (shevua'). The phrase *yeshev 'al-kisi*, "he shall sit upon my throne," uses the verb *yashav* (to sit, to dwell, to establish)—the language of durational possession, not merely temporary rule. The oath's invocation of YHVH stakes divine honor on its fulfillment. Whether historically factual, the oath is now rhetorically *constitutive* of legitimate succession. Bathsheba's address—"my lord" and "your handmaid"—maintains the language of hierarchical submission even as she asserts claims against David's apparent intentions.

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