David's many wives in the Bible

David is familiar to most people as a great Bible hero because of his confrontation with Goliath of Gath, a (gigantic) Philistine warrior. David is also known for playing the harp and writing psalms. However, these were just a few of David's many achievements. David's story also includes many marriages that have influenced his rise and fall.

Many of David's marriages were politically motivated. For example, King Saul, David's predecessor, offered both of his daughters at separate times as David's wives. For centuries, this concept of "blood bond" - the idea that rulers feel connected to the realms ruled by the relatives of their wives - has often been employed and just as often violated.

How many women married David in the Bible?
Limited polygamy (a man married to more than one woman) was allowed during this era in Israel's history. While the Bible names seven women as David's brides, it is possible that he has had more, as well as multiple concubines who may have given him children not considered.

The most authoritative source for David's wives is 1 Chronicles 3, which lists David's descendants for 30 generations. This source names seven wives:

Jezreel's Ahinoam
Abigail the Carmel
Maachah, daughter of the Talmai king of Geshur
Haggith
Abital
Egla
Bath-shua (Bathsheba), daughter of Ammiel

The number, location and mothers of David's children
David was married to Ahinoam, Abigail, Maacha, Haggith, Abital and Eglah during the 7-1 / 2 years that he reigned in Hebron as king of Judah. After David moved his capital to Jerusalem, he married Bathsheba. Each of his first six wives gave birth to David, while Bathsheba gave birth to four children. Altogether, the scriptures report that David had 19 children from various women and one daughter, Tamar.

Where in the Bible David Marry Michal?
In the list of 1 Chronicles 3 of sons and wives Michal is missing, daughter of King Saul who reigned c. 1025-1005 BC His omission from genealogy may be related to 2 Samuel 6:23, who says: "in his days of death Michal, daughter of Saul, had no children."

However, according to the Jewish Women encyclopedia, there are rabbinic traditions within Judaism that place three claims on Michal:

who was really David's favorite wife
which for its beauty was nicknamed "Eglah", which means calf or similar to a calf
who died giving birth to David's son, Ithream
The end result of this rabbinic logic is that the reference to Eglah in 1 Chronicles 3 is taken as a reference to Michal.

What were the limits of polygamy?
Jewish Women says that equating Eglah with Michal was the rabbis' way of aligning David's marriages with the requirements of Deuteronomy 17:17, a Torah law that requires the king "not to have many wives". David had six wives while ruling in Hebron as king of Judah. While there, the prophet Nathan tells David in 2 Samuel 12: 8: "I would give you double more," which the rabbis interpret as meaning that the number of David's existing wives could have tripled: from six to 18. David he brought his spouses to seven when he later married Bathsheba in Jerusalem, so David had far less than a maximum of 18 wives.

Scholars dispute whether David Married Merab
1 Samuel 18: 14-19 lists Merab, Saul's eldest daughter and Michal's sister, as David's betrothed. Women in Scripture notes that Saul's intention here was to tie David up as a soldier for life through his marriage and then bring David to a position where the Philistines could kill him. David didn't take the bait because in verse 19 Merab is married to Adriel the Meholathite, with whom she had 5 children.

Jewish women claim that in an attempt to resolve the conflict, some rabbis claim that Merab did not marry David until after the death of her first husband and that Michal did not marry David until after the death of his sister. This timeline would also solve a problem created by 2 Samuel 21: 8, in which Michal is said to have married Adriel and given him five children. The rabbis claim that when Merab died, Michal raised his sister's five children as if they were his own, so that Michal was recognized as their mother, although she was not married to Adriel, their father.

If David had married Merab, his total number of legitimate spouses would have been eight, always within the limits of religious law, as later interpreted by the rabbis. Merab's absence from the Davidic chronology in 1 Chronicles 3 could be explained by the fact that the scriptures do not record any child born of Merab and David.

Of all David's wives in the Bible 3 stand out
In the midst of this numerical confusion, three of David's many wives in the Bible stand out because their relationships provide significant insights into the character of David. These wives are Michal, Abigail and Bathsheba and their stories have greatly influenced Israel's history.