Marriage in the Bible: an introduction

 

         

                                                NOTE:  All texts are from the online Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre .                        Any RED lettering is my highlighting.

 

In the following 7 blogs, marriages as recorded in the Bible will be examined, and patterns highlighted.

 

The following patterns emerge:

1.   In the ancient world, marriage was not just the formal union of a man and woman but far more importantly, the union of two families and even clans and kingdoms.

 

2.   As such, marriages are arranged by the parents.

3. The Mesopotamian legal norms re: marriage, as recorded in the Code of Hammurabi, were carefully followed by Abraham, his brother Nachor and Isaac. Namely, only one wife, but if she is childless, a second wife (concubine) could be added and her son deemed the legal heir of the father -- even if the first, 'full wife' has a son thereafter.

This rule was relaxed somewhat in Jacob's case.  He ended up with 2 wives and 2 concubines while living in Mesopotamian Haran.

4. Under Mesopotamian law and culture, av concubine gets the status of full wives once she bears an offspring – preferably a son.

5. A concubine's son(s), is, if the father declares him "My son", is legally a full heir equal to any later son(s) by the 'first wife'.

4. Esau, living continuously in Canaan, followed local custom and married multiple wives: 3 women as co-wives.  

5. By the time of the Book of Judges, having numerous 'full wives' was accepted, as displayed by the story of Gideon's 70 'full' sons.

6. The story also reveals that by now, a concubine relationship and offspring, are no longer considered as 'equal' and 'official'. 

 

Hence the fratricide by Gideon's concubine son, Abimelech.

King Saul had one wife as queen, and a second, concubine spouse in Rizpah, who gave birth to at least 2 sons by Saul. but she and her offspring are never listed in   1 Chronicles ch. 3 'official' genealogy,

She and her offspring would have remained 'unknown' but for the fact she and her 2 sons appear in a most dramatic and tragic event.

Similarly, the concubines of King David and their offspring remain anonymous, and so too those of King Solomon.

This change from patriarch earlier times re: concubines sand their children, may well be due to the fact polygamy, i.e., having multiple 'full wives' was now the accepted norm.

 

King Solomon had, according to 1 Kings 11:3, 700 'full wives' and 300 concubines  (= 1000), all or nearly all, apparently politically motived unions; beginning with Solomon's marriage – as the text literally states - with Pharoah via a union with Pharoah's daughter (I Kings 3:1).

 

 

Conclusion

The minimalist marriages of the early patriarchs, with rare concubines as 'surrogate' child bearing spouses – with both concubine and her offspring deemed of equal status,  as per Hammurabi's Code, eventually  dissolved as multiple wives became the accepted norm.

And now concubines and their offspring become deemed "the wrong side of the bed".

 

 

Marriage in the Bible: Ancient Mesopotamian law

 

            NOTE:  All texts are from the online Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre .                                            Any RED lettering is my highlighting.

 

Young Abraham and his entire family were Mesopotamians, originally from the ancient city of Ur (Gen. 11: 26 – 31).

As such, Abraham was steeped in Mesopotamian culture and law.       

So it is not surprising that he, his brother Nahor and even his son Isaac and Jacob thereafter, followed Mesopotamian law re: marriage.

 

Mesopotamian Law

As recorded in the Code of Hammurabi[i], Mesopotamian culture believed in monogamy: one man – one wife (See Code 138, 144).

However, a baren wife could be divorced (Code 138).

But, if the wife was unable to bear children, the law allowed for a concubine wife to be added (Code 145) – preferably the wife's handmaiden (Code 144 and 146).

If the maidservant produces a child, she is to be treated as an equal wife (Code 146)

The concubine's offspring were deemed legitimate and sons potential heirs to the father -- if the father formally declares the concubine's son(s) "My son" (Code 146, 170).

Even if the wife thereafter has a son or sons, the concubine's son or sons still get an equal share as heir(s) (Code 170).

If the father does not formally declare the concubine's son(s) as "My son", then that son(s) is disqualified from inheriting (Code 171).

But this son(s) and his mother are to be set free on the father's death (Code 171).

Lasty, Code 147 states that only if the maidservant concubine is unable to bear a child, her mistress can sell her off (without needing the husband's consent).

 

Abraham and Mesopotamian law

Abraham came to Canaan with his wife Sarah when he was 75 years old (Gen. 12:   4) and she 65 (based on calculation from Gen. 17: 17).

She was childless on arrival and stayed baren.

Then, after 10 years in Canaan, she -- as per Mesopotamian law – gave Abraham her maidservant Hagar to bear a child (Gen. 16: 3).

Abraham had sex with Hagar and she became pregnant (Gen. 16: 4).

Now Hagar, once clearly pregnant, acted haughtily towards Sarah, and Sarah confronted Abraham over this, and he 'returned' Hagar to Sarah 'to do as you wish' (Gen. 16: 5 – 6).

Sarah then mistreated Hagar so badly that she ran off, briefly (Gen.16: 6).

 

Once returned, Hagar gave birth to a son.

The newborn child is named Ishmael, by his father, Abraham, as Ishmael means "God has answered my prayers."

 

Skip forward some 15 years.

Sarah, at age 90, becomes pregnant and bears Abraham, age 100, a son (Gen. 21: 5).

Abraham names him Isaac.

The Hebrew YITZCHAK literally means "to laugh".  Here, as Gen. 21:6 explains, quoting Sarah, to rejoice.

Then, at the party to celebrate Isaac's weaning at age 2[ii], i.e., that he no longer is breast fed and is now considered entering human maturity, Sarah suddenly sees Ishmael "laughing" and tells Abraham Ishmael must be expelled, so he will not be an heir with Isaac (Gen. 21: 9- 10).

 

Reluctantly, and only after God tells him to follow Sarah's wishes, does Abraham agrees, and sends Ishmael, now age 17, and his mother, Hagar, away. (Gen 21: 11 – 14).

 

This unhappy Hagar and Ishmael story, is fairly consistent with Mesopotamian law.

1.     Abraham has only one wife, Sarah

2.     Sarah is barren and gives Abraham her handmaiden, Hagar, to provide a son to her husband, Abraham.

3.     Hagar conceives, but acts disrespectfully to Sarah – contrary to Mesopotamian cultural norms and law. Hagar only is to be treated as Sarah's 'equal' only once the offspring is born. And not before.

4.     Abraham returns Hagar to Sarah's control as Hagar (before the birth of the child) is still technically her property (in line with code 147)

 

Now the expulsion of 17 year old Ishmael and his mother, would be allowed under Mesopotamian law, if, as per Code 171, Abraham had never officially proclaimed Ishmael as "My son".

But Abraham surely did so formally as he tells God:

 

Gen. 17: 18

יח  וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם, אֶל-הָאֱלֹהִים:  לוּ יִשְׁמָעֵאל, יִחְיֶה לְפָנֶיךָ.

18 And Abraham said unto God: 'Oh that Ishmael might live before Thee!'

 

 

But God the Eternal replies that His covenant with Abraham will be solely through the son Sarah is about to bear him, Isaac.

 

Gen. 17: 19

יט  וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, אֲבָל שָׂרָה אִשְׁתְּךָ יֹלֶדֶת לְךָ בֵּן, וְקָרָאתָ אֶת-שְׁמוֹ, יִצְחָק; וַהֲקִמֹתִי אֶת-בְּרִיתִי אִתּוֹ לִבְרִית עוֹלָם, לְזַרְעוֹ אַחֲרָיו.

19 And God said: 'Nay, but Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son; and thou shalt call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.

 

 

So, Ishmael's expulsion is a breach of Mesopotamian law, but one endorsed by God the Eternal.

 

**** For greater detail, see the earlier blog, "Sarah, Hagar and Ishmael".

 

 

NOTE:  When Ishmael was of age to marry, his mother, Hagar, arranged the marriage with a woman she chose for him from her native Egypt. (Gen. 21: 21)

This single wife bore Ishmael 12 sons (Gen. 25: 12 – 15, 1 Chronicles 1: 28-31).

 

 

Nahor's wives

It is noteworthy that Abraham's brother Nahor, who remained in Ur, had a similar situation: one wife plus one concubine (Gen. 22:20 -24).

A wife named Milcah and a concubine named Reumah.

As Bekhor Shor and Tur HaAroch point out, the wording of Gen. 11:20 indicates that Milcah was baren, Nahor took on a concubine named Reumah who gave him a son (4 sons in total), and thereafter Milcah became pregnant and had a son (8 in total).[iii]

Otherwise, why add the superfluous words גַם-הִוא – "she also" in verse 20 for the first wife, Milcah.[iv]

 

Gen. 22:20

כ  וַיְהִי, אַחֲרֵי הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, וַיֻּגַּד לְאַבְרָהָם, לֵאמֹר:  הִנֵּה יָלְדָה מִלְכָּה גַם-הִוא, בָּנִים--לְנָחוֹר אָחִיךָ.	20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying: 'Behold, Milcah, she also hath borne children unto thy brother Nahor:
כא  אֶת-עוּץ בְּכֹרוֹ, וְאֶת-בּוּז אָחִיו, וְאֶת-קְמוּאֵל, אֲבִי אֲרָם.	21 Uz his first-born, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram;
כב  וְאֶת-כֶּשֶׂד וְאֶת-חֲזוֹ, וְאֶת-פִּלְדָּשׁ וְאֶת-יִדְלָף, וְאֵת, בְּתוּאֵל.	22 and Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.'
כג  וּבְתוּאֵל, יָלַד אֶת-רִבְקָה; שְׁמֹנָה אֵלֶּה יָלְדָה מִלְכָּה, לְנָחוֹר אֲחִי אַבְרָהָם.	23 And Bethuel begot Rebekah; these eight did Milcah bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother.
כד  וּפִילַגְשׁוֹ, וּשְׁמָהּ רְאוּמָה; וַתֵּלֶד גַּם-הִוא אֶת-טֶבַח וְאֶת-גַּחַם, וְאֶת-תַּחַשׁ וְאֶת-מַעֲכָה.  {פ}	24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she also bore Tebah, and Gaham, and Tahash, and Maacah. {P}

 

 

 

 

Isaac's marriage

The marriage between Issac and Rebecca was orchestrated by Abraham (all of Gen. Ch. 24).

It involved 2 principals:

One, that the wife also be of Mesopotamian culture.

Two, and more importantly, as per the universal norm, marriages are alliances to be arranged by parents. Youthful 'attraction' and even romantic love are to be ignored. (See ensuing blogs on marriage.)

 

Now the marriage of Isaac and Rebecca did not produce any offspring for 20 years (Gen. 25: 20 and 26).

But no handmaid concubine wife occurs.

Maybe Rebecca and Isaac remembered the ongoing hostile situation that resulted between Sarah and Hagar, and, ultimately, Abraham's pain when having to expelling 17-year-old Ishmael– once his 'first' wife Sarah finally gave birth to a son, and she insisted Ishmael and his mother be exiled – thereby disinheriting Ishmael (Gen. 21:1-12)

Avoiding Canaanite custom, Isaac did not take on a 2^nd or even 3rd wife. (As did Esau. Gen. 26:34, 28: 8-9)

 

Jacob's 4 wives

Jacob ended up with 4 spouses, and all their offspring were accepted as equal.

No signs of hostility between 'first wives' and concubines – as with Sarah and Hagar, only jealousy between first wive sisters.

 

Now having 2 'first wives' is not consistent with Hammurabi's monogamy rule, but Jacob ended up with 2 sisters due to a sneaky trick by their father Laban, who had promised Jacob his younger daughter Rachel – only to have the veil covered bride at the wedding, be Leah.   

Whatever the validity of Laban's justification – i.e., the older daughter must marry first (Gen. 29: 26-27), Jacob was so in love with Rachel that he insisted on having Rachel as a second wife (Gen. 29: 18, 27).

 

As for the 2 concubines, Rachel, unable to get pregnant, gives her handmaiden Bilhah to Jacob as a wife (Gen. 30: 1, 3-4).

Billah conceived and had a son. And as Rachel continues to be barren, Jacob again has sex with Bilhah, and she has a second son (Gen. 30:      5-7).       

Now, in the true spirit of Mesopotamian law and culture, Rachel is overjoyed for as she states:

 

GEN. 30: 3

ג  וַתֹּאמֶר, הִנֵּה אֲמָתִי בִלְהָה בֹּא אֵלֶיהָ; וְתֵלֵד, עַל-בִּרְכַּי, וְאִבָּנֶה גַם-אָנֹכִי, מִמֶּנָּה.

3 And she said: 'Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; that she may bear upon my knees, and I also may be builded up through her.'

 

Not only did Rachel see Bilhah's sons as 'her own', but it is Rachel who choses their names: names thanking God for giving her offspring!

 

So this is 100% consistent with Hammurabi's laws and intent.

 

 

Gen. 30: 6-8

ו  וַתֹּאמֶר רָחֵל, דָּנַנִּי אֱלֹהִים, וְגַם שָׁמַע בְּקֹלִי, וַיִּתֶּן-לִי בֵּן; עַל-כֵּן קָרְאָה שְׁמוֹ, דָּן.	6 And Rachel said: 'God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son.' Therefore called she his name Dan.
ז  וַתַּהַר עוֹד--וַתֵּלֶד, בִּלְהָה שִׁפְחַת רָחֵל:  בֵּן שֵׁנִי, לְיַעֲקֹב.	7 And Bilhah Rachel's handmaid conceived again, and bore Jacob a second son.
ח  וַתֹּאמֶר רָחֵל, נַפְתּוּלֵי אֱלֹהִים נִפְתַּלְתִּי עִם-אֲחֹתִי--גַּם-יָכֹלְתִּי; וַתִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ, נַפְתָּלִי.	8 And Rachel said: 'With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed.' And she called his name Naphtali.

 

Leah, however, as she feels in competition with Rachel, and as she has stopped becoming pregnant after 4 sons (i.e., Reuben, Simon, Levi and Judah), gives Jacob her handmaiden, Zilpah, as a spouse: to bear more children – like Bilhah.

And Leah, too, is happy Zilpah produces 2 sons, and Leah names them herself with names meaning I am fortune!   

 

Gen. 30: 9 - 13

ט  וַתֵּרֶא לֵאָה, כִּי עָמְדָה מִלֶּדֶת; וַתִּקַּח אֶת-זִלְפָּה שִׁפְחָתָהּ, וַתִּתֵּן אֹתָהּ לְיַעֲקֹב לְאִשָּׁה.	9 When Leah saw that she had left off bearing, she took Zilpah her handmaid, and gave her to Jacob to wife.
י  וַתֵּלֶד, זִלְפָּה שִׁפְחַת לֵאָה--לְיַעֲקֹב בֵּן.	10 And Zilpah Leah's handmaid bore Jacob a son.
יא  וַתֹּאמֶר לֵאָה, בגד בָּא גָד; וַתִּקְרָא אֶת-שְׁמוֹ, גָּד.	11 And Leah said: 'Fortune is come!' And she called his name Gad.
יב  וַתֵּלֶד, זִלְפָּה שִׁפְחַת לֵאָה, בֵּן שֵׁנִי, לְיַעֲקֹב.	12 And Zilpah Leah's handmaid bore Jacob a second son.
יג  וַתֹּאמֶר לֵאָה--בְּאָשְׁרִי, כִּי אִשְּׁרוּנִי בָּנוֹת; וַתִּקְרָא אֶת-שְׁמוֹ, אָשֵׁר.	13 And Leah said: 'Happy am I! for the daughters will call me happy.' And she called his name Asher.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

For 3 generations, Mesopotamian law and custom were strictly followed in the marital relations of Abraham, his brother Nahor and Isaac.

Jacob's 4 spouses while in Mesopotamian Haran, being a partially, unintended twist.

 

As for Esau, Jacob's twin brother, who remained and married in Canaan, Mesopotamian custom no longer applied.

His story is for a later blog.

 

---

[i] All Code citations are from https://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/hamframe.asp

[ii] EiKhah Rabbah 1:27 states nursing lasted 24 months.

[iii] See right column Commentary at Sefaria Gen. 22:20 at https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.22.20?lang=bi&with=Commentary%20ConnectionsList&lang2=en  The issue of why Nahor had a concubine is ignored by nearly all commentators, though Radak sees the addition of a concubine as similar to Leah giving Jacob her handmaiden as a 'wife' when she stopped having more children (Gen. 340 9) – i.e., temporary barren period.

[iv] That the same phrase also is used for Reumah's offspring, verse 24, probably means she had more sons after Milcah became productive, as Nahor did not end conjugal relations with her.

Unlike Abraham who only had Ishmael with her though they lived in the same encampment until she and Ishmael were expelled when Ishmael was 17 years old.

Marriage in the Bible Part 1: Royal Unions

  

NOTE:  All texts are from the online Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre .                 Any RED lettering is my highlighting.

 

In the ancient world, marriage was not just the formal union of a man and woman but far more importantly, the union of two families and even clans and kingdoms.

 

Royal Marriages

Kings often used their daughters as tools in creating and cementing political alliances.

The first mentioned in the Bible is Joseph’s marriage.

As a reward for Joseph correctly interpreting Pharaohs two dreams (of cattle then of wheat), the king not only makes him his is second-in-command as Viceroy, but also gives him a wife, Asenath the daughter of Poti-phera.  

 

Gen. 41: 45

מה  וַיִּקְרָא פַרְעֹה שֵׁם-יוֹסֵף, צָפְנַת פַּעְנֵחַ, וַיִּתֶּן-לוֹ אֶת-אָסְנַת בַּת-פּוֹטִי פֶרַע כֹּהֵן אֹן, לְאִשָּׁה; וַיֵּצֵא יוֹסֵף, עַל-אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם.

45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-phera

 

 

And King Solomon married a daughter of Egypt’s pharaoh as recorded in                          1 Kings ch 3: 1.

 

א  וַיִּתְחַתֵּן שְׁלֹמֹה, אֶת-פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ מִצְרָיִם; וַיִּקַּח אֶת-בַּת-פַּרְעֹה, וַיְבִיאֶהָ אֶל-עִיר דָּוִד, עַד כַּלֹּתוֹ לִבְנוֹת אֶת-בֵּיתוֹ וְאֶת-בֵּית יְהוָה, וְאֶת-חוֹמַת יְרוּשָׁלִַם סָבִיב.

1 And Solomon became allied [ literally “married”] to Pharaoh king of Egypt by marriage, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

                                                                                                                                                          [My square bracket addition.]

 

Note the wording.  King Solomon literally “married“ pharaoh, king of Egypt, and the female – the wife – was the ‘means’ to complete this state-to-state bonding.

And as part of the wedding arrangement, pharaoh gave Solomon as a dowry gift the ‘land’ of the city of Gezer; a city which he had just conquered and burned to the ground. And Solomon then rebuilt it as a fortification.

 

 1 Kings 9: 16 -17

 

טז  פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ-מִצְרַיִם עָלָה, וַיִּלְכֹּד אֶת-גֶּזֶר וַיִּשְׂרְפָהּ בָּאֵשׁ, וְאֶת-הַכְּנַעֲנִי הַיֹּשֵׁב בָּעִיר, הָרָג; וַיִּתְּנָהּ, שִׁלֻּחִים, לְבִתּוֹ, אֵשֶׁת שְׁלֹמֹה.	16 Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a portion unto his daughter, Solomon's wife.
יז  וַיִּבֶן שְׁלֹמֹה אֶת-גָּזֶר, וְאֶת-בֵּית חֹרֹן תַּחְתּוֹן.	17 And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether,

Solomon similarly made formal alliances via marriage with many adjoining tribes and kingdoms as listed in 1 Kings 11: 1 – 3

 

א  וְהַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה, אָהַב נָשִׁים נָכְרִיּוֹת רַבּוֹת--וְאֶת-בַּת-פַּרְעֹה:  מוֹאֲבִיּוֹת עַמֳּנִיּוֹת אֲדֹמִיֹּת, צֵדְנִיֹּת חִתִּיֹּת.	1 Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, besides the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;
ב  מִן-הַגּוֹיִם, אֲשֶׁר אָמַר-יְהוָה אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא-תָבֹאוּ בָהֶם וְהֵם לֹא-יָבֹאוּ בָכֶם, אָכֵן יַטּוּ אֶת-לְבַבְכֶם, אַחֲרֵי אֱלֹהֵיהֶם--בָּהֶם דָּבַק שְׁלֹמֹה, לְאַהֲבָה.	2 of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel:  'Ye shall not go among them, neither   shall they come among you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods'; Solomon did cleave unto these in love.
ג  וַיְהִי-לוֹ נָשִׁים, שָׂרוֹת שְׁבַע מֵאוֹת, וּפִלַגְשִׁים, שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת; וַיַּטּוּ נָשָׁיו, אֶת-לִבּוֹ.	3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.

 

As per verse 3, Solomon married a total of 700 princesses; most notably, from the    tribes or kingdoms of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and    Hittites --as they are mentioned by name.

 

And to underscore such marriages were strictly ‘political’ and not romantic in natures, Solomon removed pharaoh’s daughter -- and his other wives -- from Jerusalem once    the holy Temple was completed; relocating Pharoah’s daughter to a new palace at Millo.

 

See 1 Kings 3:1 above, 1 Kings 9:24 and 2 Chronicle 8 11.

 

1 Kings 9:24

כד  אַךְ בַּת-פַּרְעֹה, עָלְתָה מֵעִיר דָּוִד, אֶל-בֵּיתָהּ, אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה-לָהּ; אָז, בָּנָה אֶת-הַמִּלּוֹא.

24 But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which [Solomon] had built for her; then did he build Millo.

 

2 Chronicle 8: 11.

יא  וְאֶת-בַּת-פַּרְעֹה, הֶעֱלָה שְׁלֹמֹה מֵעִיר דָּוִיד, לַבַּיִת, אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה-לָהּ:  כִּי אָמַר, לֹא-תֵשֵׁב אִשָּׁה לִי בְּבֵית דָּוִיד מֶלֶךְ-יִשְׂרָאֵל--כִּי-קֹדֶשׁ הֵמָּה, אֲשֶׁר-בָּאָה אֲלֵיהֶם אֲרוֹן יְהוָה.

11 And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her; for he said: 'No wife of mine shall dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come.'

 

 

Before this, KING SAUL gave his daughter Michal to the young hero David thereby bringing him into the royal family via this arranged marriage.

 

The text, verse 19, notes David expected another daughter to be his bride, Merab, but Saul gave her to one Adriel the Meholathite: a political alliance with

an important Jordan valley tribe.[i]

So instead, he was given Michal – who happened to love David (verse 20).

For a bride price (called a dowry in the English) King Saul required from David not money but the foreskins of 100 Philistines.  And once David did so,[ii] the marriage    deal was sealed (verses 25 and 27).

But later, when King Saul sought David's death and he fled, Saul annulled the marriage and arranged Michal’s marriage with another -- Palti the son of Laish, of Gallim: a very prominent Benjaminite family.[iii]  (1 Samuel 25:44)

  

1 Samuel 18: 17 - 28

יז  וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל אֶל-דָּוִד, הִנֵּה בִתִּי הַגְּדוֹלָה מֵרַב אֹתָהּ אֶתֶּן-לְךָ לְאִשָּׁה--אַךְ הֱיֵה-לִי לְבֶן-חַיִל, וְהִלָּחֵם מִלְחֲמוֹת יְהוָה; וְשָׁאוּל אָמַר, אַל-תְּהִי יָדִי בּוֹ, וּתְהִי-בוֹ, יַד-פְּלִשְׁתִּים.	17 And Saul said to David: 'Behold my  elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee   to wife; only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD'S battles.' For Saul said:  'Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.'
יח  וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל-שָׁאוּל, מִי אָנֹכִי וּמִי חַיַּי, מִשְׁפַּחַת אָבִי, בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל--כִּי-אֶהְיֶה חָתָן, לַמֶּלֶךְ.	18 And David said unto Saul: 'Who am I, and what is my life, or my father's family    in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?'
יט  וַיְהִי, בְּעֵת תֵּת אֶת-מֵרַב בַּת-שָׁאוּל--לְדָוִד; וְהִיא נִתְּנָה לְעַדְרִיאֵל הַמְּחֹלָתִי, לְאִשָּׁה.	19 But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul's daughter should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife.
כ  וַתֶּאֱהַב מִיכַל בַּת-שָׁאוּל, אֶת-דָּוִד; וַיַּגִּדוּ לְשָׁאוּל, וַיִּשַׁר הַדָּבָר בְּעֵינָיו.	20 And Michal Saul's daughter loved   David; and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
כא  וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל אֶתְּנֶנָּה לּוֹ, וּתְהִי-לוֹ לְמוֹקֵשׁ, וּתְהִי-בוֹ, יַד-פְּלִשְׁתִּים; וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל אֶל-דָּוִד, בִּשְׁתַּיִם תִּתְחַתֵּן בִּי הַיּוֹם.	21 And Saul said: 'I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the   hand of the Philistines may be against him.' Wherefore Saul said to David: 'Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law through the one  of the twain.'
כב  וַיְצַו שָׁאוּל אֶת-עֲבָדָו, דַּבְּרוּ אֶל-דָּוִד בַּלָּט לֵאמֹר, הִנֵּה חָפֵץ בְּךָ הַמֶּלֶךְ, וְכָל-עֲבָדָיו אֲהֵבוּךָ; וְעַתָּה, הִתְחַתֵּן בַּמֶּלֶךְ.	22 And Saul commanded his servants: 'Speak with David secretly, and say:   Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and  all his servants love thee; now therefore be the king's son-in-law.'
כג  וַיְדַבְּרוּ עַבְדֵי שָׁאוּל, בְּאָזְנֵי דָוִד, אֶת-הַדְּבָרִים, הָאֵלֶּה; וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד, הַנְקַלָּה בְעֵינֵיכֶם הִתְחַתֵּן בַּמֶּלֶךְ, וְאָנֹכִי, אִישׁ-רָשׁ וְנִקְלֶה.	23 And Saul's servants spoke those words   in the ears of David. And David said: 'Seemeth it to you a light thing to be the king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?'
כד  וַיַּגִּדוּ עַבְדֵי שָׁאוּל, לוֹ--לֵאמֹר:  כַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, דִּבֶּר דָּוִד.	24 And the servants of Saul told him,  saying: 'On this manner spoke David.'
כה  וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל כֹּה-תֹאמְרוּ לְדָוִד, אֵין-חֵפֶץ לַמֶּלֶךְ בְּמֹהַר, כִּי בְּמֵאָה עָרְלוֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּים, לְהִנָּקֵם בְּאֹיְבֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ; וְשָׁאוּל חָשַׁב, לְהַפִּיל אֶת-דָּוִד בְּיַד-פְּלִשְׁתִּים.	25 And Saul said: 'Thus shall ye say to David: The king desireth not any dowry,   but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines,  to be avenged of the king's enemies.' For Saul thought to make David fall by the   hand of the Philistines.
כו  וַיַּגִּדוּ עֲבָדָיו לְדָוִד, אֶת-הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, וַיִּשַׁר הַדָּבָר בְּעֵינֵי דָוִד, לְהִתְחַתֵּן בַּמֶּלֶךְ; וְלֹא מָלְאוּ, הַיָּמִים.	26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. And the days were not expired;
כז  וַיָּקָם דָּוִד וַיֵּלֶךְ הוּא וַאֲנָשָׁיו, וַיַּךְ בַּפְּלִשְׁתִּים מָאתַיִם אִישׁ, וַיָּבֵא דָוִד אֶת-עָרְלֹתֵיהֶם, וַיְמַלְאוּם לַמֶּלֶךְ לְהִתְחַתֵּן בַּמֶּלֶךְ; וַיִּתֶּן-לוֹ שָׁאוּל אֶת-מִיכַל בִּתּוֹ, לְאִשָּׁה.	27 and David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might be the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.
כח  וַיַּרְא שָׁאוּל וַיֵּדַע, כִּי יְהוָה עִם-דָּוִד; וּמִיכַל בַּת-שָׁאוּל, אֲהֵבַתְהוּ.	28 And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David; and Michal Saul's daughter loved him.

 

1 Samuel 25: 44

מד  וְשָׁאוּל, נָתַן אֶת-מִיכַל בִּתּוֹ--אֵשֶׁת דָּוִד:  לְפַלְטִי בֶן-לַיִשׁ, אֲשֶׁר מִגַּלִּים.

44 Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

Much later, we learn that Ahab, King of the northern Kingdom of Israel, arranged his own wedding to Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians:a powerful Phoenician king.[iv]

 

1 Kings 16: 31

לא  וַיְהִי הֲנָקֵל לֶכְתּוֹ, בְּחַטֹּאות יָרָבְעָם בֶּן-נְבָט; וַיִּקַּח אִשָּׁה אֶת-אִיזֶבֶל, בַּת-אֶתְבַּעַל מֶלֶךְ צִידֹנִים, וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיַּעֲבֹד אֶת-הַבַּעַל, וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ לוֹ.

31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king     of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.

Royal marriages and religion

When an Israelite male married an Israelite female, there was no issue or question whether she would worship and follow the same deity as her husband: God the Eternal of the Torah.

But when the bride was a non-Israelite, there seems have been two different standards and rules: one for princesses and another for ordinary brides.

Royal brides were allowed to keep their own, ancestral pagan beliefs and gods.

This is clear re: Solomon’s wives as recorded in I Kings 11: 1 – 8.

Solomon built pagan temples for these wives so they could continue to worship their ancestral pagan gods, and even participated in the wives’ idolatrous services (1 Kings 11: 7). He also attended/participated in their pagan rituals when no temple building was involved, such as in the sacred woods of the mother goddess/tree goddess Ashtoret (1 Kings 1: 5).[v]

As these wives knew that they were simply ‘means’ to a political union of kingdoms, and that they would soon be ushered off to their own palaces far away from their husbands (as Solomon did), their maintaining their ancestral religious practices is understandable.

 

1 Kings 11: 1 - 8

א  וְהַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה, אָהַב נָשִׁים נָכְרִיּוֹת רַבּוֹת--וְאֶת-בַּת-פַּרְעֹה:  מוֹאֲבִיּוֹת עַמֳּנִיּוֹת אֲדֹמִיֹּת, צֵדְנִיֹּת חִתִּיֹּת.	1 Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, besides the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;
ב  מִן-הַגּוֹיִם, אֲשֶׁר אָמַר-יְהוָה אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא-תָבֹאוּ בָהֶם וְהֵם לֹא-יָבֹאוּ בָכֶם, אָכֵן יַטּוּ אֶת-לְבַבְכֶם, אַחֲרֵי אֱלֹהֵיהֶם--בָּהֶם דָּבַק שְׁלֹמֹה, לְאַהֲבָה.	2 of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel: 'Ye shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods'; Solomon did cleave unto these in love.
ג  וַיְהִי-לוֹ נָשִׁים, שָׂרוֹת שְׁבַע מֵאוֹת, וּפִלַגְשִׁים, שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת; וַיַּטּוּ נָשָׁיו, אֶת-לִבּוֹ.	3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.
ד  וַיְהִי, לְעֵת זִקְנַת שְׁלֹמֹה, נָשָׁיו הִטּוּ אֶת-לְבָבוֹ, אַחֲרֵי אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים; וְלֹא-הָיָה לְבָבוֹ שָׁלֵם עִם-יְהוָה אֱלֹהָיו, כִּלְבַב דָּוִיד אָבִיו.	4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not whole with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
ה  וַיֵּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה--אַחֲרֵי עַשְׁתֹּרֶת, אֱלֹהֵי צִדֹנִים; וְאַחֲרֵי מִלְכֹּם, שִׁקֻּץ עַמֹּנִים.	5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the detestation of the Ammonites.
ו  וַיַּעַשׂ שְׁלֹמֹה הָרַע, בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה; וְלֹא מִלֵּא אַחֲרֵי יְהוָה, כְּדָוִד אָבִיו.	6 And Solomon did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.
ז  אָז יִבְנֶה שְׁלֹמֹה בָּמָה, לִכְמוֹשׁ שִׁקֻּץ מוֹאָב, בָּהָר, אֲשֶׁר עַל-פְּנֵי יְרוּשָׁלִָם; וּלְמֹלֶךְ, שִׁקֻּץ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן.	7 Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the detestation of Moab, in the mount that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestation of the children of Ammon.
ח  וְכֵן עָשָׂה, לְכָל-נָשָׁיו הַנָּכְרִיּוֹת, מַקְטִירוֹת וּמְזַבְּחוֹת, לֵאלֹהֵיהֶן.	8 And so did he for all his foreign wives, who offered and sacrificed unto their gods.

 

 

However, when King Ahab of the northern Kingdom of Israel married Jezebel, the daughter of the king of the Zidonans (i.e., Tyre[vi]), she was not ushered off but  remained in Ahab’s palace and not only allowed to keep her ancestral religion       but she -- and he -- actively ‘spread it’ among his people.

Ahad built a temple in his capital to Baal, the male Phoenician god (1 Kings 16: 32)    and also a tree grove for the worship of Baal’s ‘wife’ Asherot (1 King 16:33).

Jezebel hosted at her table 450 Baal priests and 400 Asherot priests (1 Kings 18: 19).

Moreover, Jezebel was permitted to expel or kill off any prophets and supporters of    God the Eternal, the ancestral deity of the Israelites (1 Kings   18: 13).

To challenge her Baal god, a prophet from the southern Kingdom of Judah had to be called in: Elijah.

He confronted the hundreds of Baal priests on Mount Carmel and defeated them in a spectacular test (! Kings 18:  19 – 40) 

And when Ahab rushed back to their palace to tell Jezebel what happened, she ordered Elijah’s death – so he fled back to Judah. (1 Kings 19: 1 – 3)

 

Clearly, Jezebel and Ahab’s marriage was more than just a typical ‘political arrangement’ and she welded great power in his kingdom.

Her actions and Ahab’s acquiescence re: her worship and belief in Baal and Asherot, simply reinforces proof of the pattern: royal foreign princesses were not expected to adopt the religion of their royal husbands.

 

1 Kings 16: 30- 33

ל  וַיַּעַשׂ אַחְאָב בֶּן-עָמְרִי הָרַע, בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה--מִכֹּל, אֲשֶׁר לְפָנָיו.	30 And Ahab the son of Omri did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.
לא  וַיְהִי הֲנָקֵל לֶכְתּוֹ, בְּחַטֹּאות יָרָבְעָם בֶּן-נְבָט; וַיִּקַּח אִשָּׁה אֶת-אִיזֶבֶל, בַּת-אֶתְבַּעַל מֶלֶךְ צִידֹנִים, וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיַּעֲבֹד אֶת-הַבַּעַל, וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ לוֹ.	31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.
לב  וַיָּקֶם מִזְבֵּחַ, לַבָּעַל, בֵּית הַבַּעַל, אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה בְּשֹׁמְרוֹן.	32 And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.
לג  וַיַּעַשׂ אַחְאָב, אֶת-הָאֲשֵׁרָה; וַיּוֹסֶף אַחְאָב לַעֲשׂוֹת, לְהַכְעִיס אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, מִכֹּל מַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ לְפָנָיו.	33 And Ahab made the Asherah; and Ahab did yet more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

 

 

NOTE: On Solomon’s death, he was succeeded by his 41-year-old eldest son, Rehoboam, whose mother was Naamah the Ammonite (1 Kings 14:21 and 2 Chronicles 12:13). Now 1 Kings 11:5 and 7 state this Ammonite wife caused Solomon to worship her ancestral deity, Milcom, and have Solomon build Milcom a temple outside Jerusalem.

 

ה  וַיֵּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה--אַחֲרֵי עַשְׁתֹּרֶת, אֱלֹהֵי צִדֹנִים; וְאַחֲרֵי מִלְכֹּם, שִׁקֻּץ עַמֹּנִים.

5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the detestation of the Ammonites.

 

ז  אָז יִבְנֶה שְׁלֹמֹה בָּמָה, לִכְמוֹשׁ שִׁקֻּץ מוֹאָב, בָּהָר, אֲשֶׁר עַל-פְּנֵי יְרוּשָׁלִָם; וּלְמֹלֶךְ, שִׁקֻּץ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן.

7 Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the detestation of Moab, in the mount that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestation of the children of Ammon.

 

So, it would appear Rehoboam was ‘Jewish’ only on his father’s side as his mother  never converted or practiced Judaism.

But Rabbinic tradition holds that Naamah was a righteous person and converted at     some point before her son’s birth: as inferred from the discussion in Talmud Bavli,   Bava Kama 38b: 1 -8 re: Moab and Ammon.[vii]

Rambam in his Mishnah Torah, Forbidden Intercourse 13: 16 asserts that Solomon converted all his foreign wives before or at their marriage (as did Samson) but they    later reverted to their pagan ways.[viii] 

This last point is probably based on the text which mentions in 1 Kings 11: 4 that Solomon (only) built them these temples “in his old age”, i.e., after many years of marriage during which the wives pretended to fully reject their ancient paganism.[ix] 

Rambam even holds that the wives themselves built the pagan temples and worship    sites rather than the literal words (quoted above) that name Solomon.[x]

 

 

The matrilineal descent rule re: who is a ‘Jew’, is ultimately based on Deut. 7: 3-4 where Moses warns the Israelites not to inter-marry with the pagan Canaanite dwellers: both male and female.

Talmud Bavli, Kiddushin 68b, 2-3 explains based on the pronoun usage in Deut. 7: 3-4 that the offspring of a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother is not Jewish, but the offspring of a Jewish mother are Jews even of the father is not.[xi]

Some suggest the matrilineal rule only came into effect under Erza (mid – 5^th c. BCE). Once he became aware of the high rate of male Israelites returning from Babylon now married to Canaanite women, he declared -- and the people agreed-- that the Israelites   all give up their pagan wives and even their children.  And remarry Jewish women  (Ezra chapters  9 – 10).[xii]

 

Deut. 7: 1 - 4

א  כִּי יְבִיאֲךָ, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר-אַתָּה בָא-שָׁמָּה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ; וְנָשַׁל גּוֹיִם-רַבִּים מִפָּנֶיךָ הַחִתִּי וְהַגִּרְגָּשִׁי וְהָאֱמֹרִי וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי וְהַפְּרִזִּי, וְהַחִוִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי--שִׁבְעָה גוֹיִם, רַבִּים וַעֲצוּמִים מִמֶּךָּ.	1 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and shall cast out many    nations before thee, the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
ב  וּנְתָנָם יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, לְפָנֶיךָ--וְהִכִּיתָם:  הַחֲרֵם תַּחֲרִים אֹתָם, לֹא-תִכְרֹת לָהֶם בְּרִית וְלֹא תְחָנֵּם.	2 and when the LORD thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou  shalt smite them; then thou shalt utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them;
ג  וְלֹא תִתְחַתֵּן, בָּם:  בִּתְּךָ לֹא-תִתֵּן לִבְנוֹ, וּבִתּוֹ לֹא-תִקַּח לִבְנֶךָ.	3 neither shalt thou make marriages with them: thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

 

The Pattern

 

So, in the ancient Near East, royal marriages were carefully arranged by the kings,      i.e., their fathers, as means to creating a permanent bond and alliance between two countries or peoples.

The brides were merely tools to this end and usually sent to live in palaces far from   their husband’s throne and capital – and his bed.

 

So it is not surprising these pagan wives continued to worship their ancestral gods.

Rabbinic suggestions they converted to Judaism at their marriage and only reverted       to idolatry much later is doubtful and wishful thinking.

No biblical text supports such a claim.

 

Finally, there is Ahab and Jezebel: the great exception in the Bible.      

Jezebel was not a ‘token wife’ to be sent off but a true love and co-ruler with her  husband Ahab.

She too continued to worship Baal and Asherot after her marriage and even convinced Ahab to promote these deities among his Israelite people.

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[i] Topical Bible: Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite

[ii] According to this text, 1 Samuel 18:27, David gave Saul double, 200, but this is certainly a scribal error and should read 100.  In 2 Samuel 3:14, where David asks Michal to be returned to him, he states he gave only 100 foreskins to King Saul.  The Greek Septuagint also uses 100 for 1 Samuel 18: 27 .

 

[iii] Topical Bible: Palti son of Laish

[iv] Topical Bible: Ethbaal

[v] ASHTORETH - JewishEncyclopedia.com and https://religionsfacts.com/asherah-an-ancient-goddess-and-her-modern-symbol/

[vi] Sidon - Wikipedia

[vii] https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/129923/how-is-rehoboam-jewish

[viii] https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Forbidden_Intercourse.13.16?lang=bi

[ix]  His point is stressed in the Steinsaltz translation, https://www.sefaria.org/I_Kings.11.4?lang=bi&with=Steinsaltz&lang2=en

[x] Ibid.

[xi] https://www.sefaria.org/Kiddushin.68b.4?lang=bi   See Wikipedia for a full discussion of this topic at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrilineality_in_Judaism

[xii] Ibid,