This first matter Bathsheba brought to David’s remembrance is the oath that he swore to her concerning Solomon’s accession to the kingship after him. She quoted the oath in the same words that Nathan had used when he advised her to go to the king. Some might see this as showing dependence on Nathan rather than on her own memory; however, it might just as easily mean that both Nathan in her presence and Bathsheba later in David’s presence quoted word for word the oath that David swore.
We ought to understand that an oath, seriously entered into by the king, was not a casual piece of conversation. It was a formal declaration of the determination of King David regarding his successor. Therefore, the exact wording was important.
It is also important to notice that David did not stop Bathsheba at this point, either to deny that he had made such an oath or to profess that he had no memory of such a thing. It is inconceivable that, on a matter of such monumental importance to Israel, the king would remain silent, if he had no memory of such an oath.
17 She said to him, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the LORD your God, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’