As for the Old Testament characters, King David is probably the most famous. The giant slayer, the hero of Israel, the man who sought God with all his heart. While we talk a lot about his heroic power, we don’t talk much about David’s wives. Depending on what Sunday school you attended, you may not know that there were multiple wives. Let’s take a look at what the Bible tells us about them.
Who were David’s wives?
There are several key places in the Bible that describe David’s wives. 1 Chronicles 3:1-9 lists the children David had by seven women, six of whom he married while living in exile in Hebron. The list of wives married during his exile is repeated in 2 Samuel 3:2-5. However, these lists only mention the wives with whom David fathered children, and the 1 Chronicles list ends with “these were the sons of David, not counting his sons by concubines” (1 Chronicles 3:9). A wife not included in either list, David’s first wife, is mentioned in several stories about David’s deed. Since biblical genealogies are not always definitive (sometimes they only mention notable family members or notable offspring), there could be wives that the Bible does not mention.
So from what we know, David had at least eight wives, and we learn in 2 Samuel that he had at least ten concubines. Here are the eight wives:
michal she was David’s original wife, the daughter of Saul whom David won by slaying 100 Philistines (1 Samuel 18:24-27). She later helped David escape before her father could kill him (1 Samuel 19:11-18) and married a man named Palti. David got it back after he became king of Judah (2 Samuel 3:12-6). When David danced before the Ark of the Covenant as he entered Jerusalem, Michal rebuked him for his unworthy behavior. David replied that he was celebrating before God, and that story concludes by saying that Michael “remained childless all his life” (2 Sam 6:23).
Abigail She was the second of David’s wives. As described in 1 Samuel 25, she first married a rich man named Nabal who treated David badly. Abigail wisely pleaded with David not to kill Nabal, and he had mercy. After Abigail told her husband that she saved him, Nabal had a heart attack and died. David later married Abigail, and she had a son named Daniel.
Ahinoam she married David while in exile from Saul, and had David’s firstborn son, Amnon. Amnom would create much pain for David and the rest of the family when he sexually abused his half-sister Tamar (2 Samuel 13).
Maaca, whose father Talmai was king of Geshur. her, she married David while he was in exile and her children included a son named Absalom and a daughter named Tamar. After Amnon raped Tamar, Absalom killed him (2 Samuel 13:23-38). Later, Absalom tried to usurp David.
Haguit she married David while he was in exile, and had a son named Adonijah. Adonijah would be David’s oldest living son when David died and would attempt to claim the throne for himself.
abital she married David while he was in exile and had a son named Shephatiah.
Eglah she married David while he was in exile, and had a son named Itream.
Bathsheba she was the last wife of David (at least the last one mentioned in the Bible) and probably the most famous. As told in 2 Samuel 11-12, Bathsheba was married to Uriah, one of David’s mighty men (2 Samuel 23:39). David slept with Bathsheba and arranged for Uriah’s death when he discovered that Bathsheba was pregnant (2 Samuel 11:14-27). The prophet Nathan rebuked David and Bathsheba’s son died. Later, she and David had a second son, Solomon, whom God favored (2 Samuel 12:25).
The Bible also mentions a woman who was not strictly a wife or concubine, but close enough that she became a problem. In David’s old age, David could no longer keep warm in bed, so his counselors found “a young virgin” named Abisag to sleep in the same bed with David and provide warmth. 1 Kings 1:4 says that Abisag “cared for the king and cared for him. But the king did not have sexual relations with her.” So, Abishag slept with the king, but not (if you’ll pardon the pun) “in the biblical sense.”
However, after Solomon became king, Adonijah used Bathsheba to ask Solomon for a favor: he wanted Abishag’s hand in marriage (1 Kings 2:13-23). Solomon replied, “You might as well ask me to give him the kingdom!” (1 Kings 2:22). The implication seems to be that if Adonijah were to marry a woman who had been intimate with David, it would be like marrying one of David’s wives: a claim to power and succession. Thus, although Abishag was not David’s wife or concubine, her intimate connection with her king resulted in her being used as a pawn by the people.
If God is against polygamy, why did David have multiple wives?
The Bible usually describes polygamy in a negative way, so it can be difficult to understand why David, a “man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14), had multiple wives. Some scholars have suggested that he married some of these women for political reasons; as noted above, Maacah was the daughter of a king. Others have speculated that in the pagan societies surrounding Israel, having multiple wives was a way for kings to display their power.
Pastor and therapist Ted Roberts gives an interesting theory in his book Pure Desire and other resources: David may have been trapped in a cycle of “sexual slavery”. Like many men who struggle with pornography or sexual problems, David had a rocky relationship with his father, who called him his “youngest son,” using a Hebrew word that also means “unimportant.” Men with sexual problems also have illicit behaviors that they try to hide (David hid his affair with Bathsheba) and pass on their dysfunctional behavior to their children without even confronting the problem (Amnon rapes his half-sister, David got mad but did nothing when regard). it’s). Given that context, David may have had so many partners because he was in an addictive cycle. It may be shocking to suggest that King David had sexual problems, but it’s not out of the question.
All of these theories have some evidence behind them and leave us with something to chew on. Regardless of which is correct, the fact is that David made a mistake by having so many wives. He was a man after God’s own heart, but that doesn’t mean he did everything right.
Although the Bible does not describe God or the prophets openly condemning David for polygamy, it does not praise him. not for that either. The Bible says that he had many wives, but never adds something like “and this was granted to him as wisdom”, which would imply that God approved of him. Although God favored his second child with Bathsheba, this does not mean that God wanted their relationship to happen. It is more of an example of God taking a sinful situation and bringing something good out of it, much like Joseph’s imprisonment led him to meet Pharaoh (Genesis 41).
In fact, the Bible narrative makes it clear that David’s marriage choices created big problems. His many wives resulted in many children with rivalries and unhealthy relationships with each other. In fact, this would fulfill a prophecy Nathan gave when he rebuked David for his unfaithfulness: someone in his house would rebel against him, someone who would shame David by sleeping with David’s wives in public (2 Samuel 12:11 -12). Years later, after Absalom killed his brother Amnon for what he did to Tamar, Absalom rebelled against David and forced him to flee Jerusalem. To establish his authority as the new king, Absalom took ten of his father’s concubines and slept with them in public (2 Samuel 16:15-23).
Ultimately, Absalom was cast out and killed (2 Samuel 18). ), but the problems continued. In David’s old age, Adonijah declared himself king, and David had to quickly crown Solomon to set the record straight (1 Kings 1:5-52). As mentioned above, Adonijah then used Abishag’s “quasi-concubine” status to try to get closer to the throne. Solomon responded by having Adonijah put to death (1 Kings 2:25).
Still, the Bible makes it clear that David’s polygamy created an enormous amount of pain.
Who was David’s? Favorite wife?
The Bible does not directly say which of David’s wives he favored more, nor does it give us enough information to guess. We don’t know about five of his wives other than what children they had. We learn more about Michal, Abigail, and Bathsheba, but not much about how David related to them over time.
We know that Michal was devoted to David, enough to hide him from his own father. However, it is unclear if they reconciled after she rebuked David. The fact that she had no children could mean that they grew apart. We know that Abigail was unusually wise, and nothing about how she related to David later in her life. We know that David promised Bathsheba that her son Solomon would succeed him and that she warned him that Adonijah was trying to usurp the throne (1 Kings 1:17). So at least they talked to each other later in life. Still, we don’t know if David named Solomon his successor because he favored Bathsheba, because God favored Solomon, or to make up for all that Bathsheba had suffered.
Why should we know about David’s wives?
Since the Bible doesn’t give us many details about David’s wives, and many of the details we do get are very sad, it’s easy to wonder why we should study their history. There are a variety of reasons to learn about them, with two particularly clear.
The first is that everything in the Bible is worth learning at some level. Some details may not have important stories attached to them, and not all of them have detailed themes or conclusions. However, nothing in the Bible is accidental, everything is inspired by God and useful (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
The second is that his stories show us a side of David that we often forget. While David did some great and wise things, he didn’t always do the right thing. Like his son Solomon, David had many wives, but he created problems and conflicts. Learning about David’s poor decisions and the results of those decisions helps us understand that he was more than the heroic figure we discover in Sunday School. David was a fallible human being who made good and bad decisions and had to face the consequences of those actions.
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