Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses King David’s religious test:
A person should never bring himself to undergo a test of faith, as David, king of Israel, brought himself to undergo a test of faith and failed. David said before God: Master of the Universe, for what reason does one say in prayer: God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, and one does not say: God of David?
God said to David: They have undergone ordeals before Me, and you have not undergone an ordeal before Me. David said before Him: Examine me and subject me to a test….
The verse states: “And he walked upon the roof of the king’s house; from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very fair to look upon” (II Samuel 11:2). Bathsheba was shampooing her head behind a beehive, which concealed her from sight. Satan came and appeared to David as a bird. David shot an arrow at the bird, the arrow severed the beehive, Bathsheba was exposed, and David saw her.
There is something odd about the use of “beehive” in this story. First of all, how is a beehive big enough to obscure a bathing woman? Second, if an arrow shot down the beehive, the result should generate panic and flight, not a romantic encounter!
I believe the arrow and the beehive are a metaphor for David asking for a test of faith. He literally stirred up a hornet’s nest! In fact, an arrow is also used in other Talmudic aggados to represent provoking the evil inclination. For example, Gemara Succah (38a) states:
When Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov would move the lulav to and fro, he would say: This is an arrow in the eye of Satan.
The Gemara acknowledges that it is not a good idea to provoke Satan, and it can incite Satan to tempt with extra vigor. There is a story in Kiddushin (81a) about a sage, Falimo, who similarly provoked Satan and suffered a test and downfall.
Interestingly, Ben Yehoyada (ibid) says that an arrow is used in reference to the evil inclination because, like an arrow, it causes damage from afar. The evil inclination operates over a long game and counts on emotional shortsightedness for us to choose the quick and easy gratification over the harder, long-term investment and gain.
Another thought about the beehive in this story: King David asked for a test to prove his worthiness, but ultimately, it would have been better for him not to overshoot his estimation of his abilities. There is an idiom in the language of our sages: “One says to the bee, I do not want your honey nor your stinger.” (See, for example, Midrash Tanchuma, Balak 6:1.) The Gemara was subtly hinting at David’s choice: Better he should have not looked for the honey and then he would have avoided the stinger.
The Maharal (Nesivos Haolam, Nesiv Koach Hayetzer, 4) expands on the idea of not goading Satan in a psychologically insightful manner.
The Gemara Kiddushin 30b teaches us that we cannot fight the Yetzer Hara alone:
A person’s inclination overpowers him every day and seeks to kill him… And if not for the fact that the Holy One, Blessed be He, assists each person in battling his evil inclination, he could not overcome it. Maharal says that when one believes it is only up to his willpower alone to fight the evil inclination, he is directly taking on a powerful opponent whom he may lose to. However, if he believes he cannot do it alone and asks for assistance from God, then he is not directly battling the Yetzer Hara, but also has a partner.
This echoes the sentiments of the first three steps of AA:
- We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
- Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation 
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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com