2 Samuel 5:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David.

NIV: After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.

NASB: Meanwhile David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were born to David.

CSB: After he arrived from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.

NLT: After moving from Hebron to Jerusalem, David married more concubines and wives, and they had more sons and daughters.

KJV: And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.

NKJV: And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron. Also more sons and daughters were born to David.

Second Samuel 5:1–16 describes how David advances politically and personally. He becomes king of all Israel. He conquers Jerusalem and establishes his capital city. He makes a strong international relationship with the king of Tyre who builds David's palace. And his family grows.

When David lived in Hebron, he had six sons by six different wives: Ahinoam had Amnon, Abigail had Chileab, Maacah had Absalom, Haggith had Adonijah, Abital had Shephatiah, and Eglah had Ithream (2 Samuel 3:2–5). Now that he is king over the entire nation, and a powerful political leader, the lists of his wives, concubines, and children lengthen.

During this era, kings often took both wives and concubines for strategic purposes. Marrying the daughter of a neighboring king makes it far less likely that those two kingdoms will go to war. Taking wives and concubines from influential families among one's own people increases the level of support throughout the nation. A concubine has the same rights to children as a wife, but her sons are not guaranteed to receive an inheritance.

The Mosaic law only forbids kings over Israel from taking "many wives," which is a subjective term (Deuteronomy 17:17). Still, by most measures, David did exactly that. David began with six, and added more, including Saul's wives. Even so, God would rather David had taken more wives than sin against Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:8).

But compared to his son Solomon, David's household was very manageable. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Many were from pagan nations, which the Mosaic law expressly forbids (Deuteronomy 7:3–4). As the Law warned, they drew Solomon into the worship of foreign gods, bringing great harm to Israel (1 Kings 11:1–8).

Polygamy was never God's intent for marriage. God made marriage to be between one man and one woman (Genesis 2). Even in countries where polygamy is legal today, men with more than one wife are disqualified from being elders or deacons (1 Timothy 3:2, 12). A man with more than one wife has enough to do; he doesn't need to lead the church, too.

Second Samuel 5:14–16 gives a list of David's sons born in Jerusalem. First Chronicles 3:5–8 and 1 Chronicles 14:4–7 include these—sometimes with altered names—and two more. It's possible two of the boys died young and are not included here.

Second Samuel 5:11–16 gives more examples of God's blessings on David. He and his men have taken Jebus and renamed it Jerusalem: a place established in peace (1 Chronicles 11:9—12:40). The king of Tyre sends the materials and tradesmen necessary to build a house. David takes more wives and concubines and has several more sons. First Chronicles 14:1 also records Hiram's contributions, and 1 Chronicles 3:1–9 and 14:3–7 repeat the list of David's expanding family. Next, David furthers his domination over the armies of the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:17–25).

Second Samuel 5 is a series of vignettes describing how God blesses David after his inauguration as king over the nation. David took Jerusalem from the Jebusites and made the city the nation's capital (2 Samuel 5:6–9). His first international ally, Hiram, king of Tyre, built his palace (2 Samuel 5:11). His family grew: exponentially (2 Samuel 5:13–16)! And he soundly beat his enemies (2 Samuel 5:17–25). David did all this because of God's favor, to bless the nation, not through his own skill or because of any good in him (2 Samuel 5:10, 12). First Chronicles 11:1–9 and 14:1–17 also record these events.

Second Samuel 5 is a pivot point for all of Israel's history. After Saul's son Ish-bosheth is killed, no opposition remains to David's kingship (2 Samuel 4:5–6). Convinced by Abner before his death to follow David (2 Samuel 3:17–19), the elders of Israel gather at Hebron to anoint David king over the entire nation. David moves his capital to Jerusalem and defends the nation against the Philistines. Now, he has enough security to bring the ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:1–15). The following chapters seem to collectively describe David's accomplishments (2 Samuel 5:9—10:19) and his mistakes (2 Samuel 11—20).