What are your thoughts when you read about kings and prominent men of the Bible having concubines? Have you ever wondered why those men even needed concubines if they already had multiple wives? I have. Can you imagine all that female hormone under one roof, oh my.
And one more thought. . .have you ever noticed how infrequently daughters are mentioned? But when there was victory over a king, among the list of things taken were the concubines. Why did they rate being mentioned?
Until recently I thought of concubines as in-house mistresses. But they weren't. In fact, concubines were the showcase of a king's power. The more territory he conquered or wealth he gained the more concubines he had.
But a concubine wasn't just a mistress or some piece of purchased property. She was like a back-up wife. There was even an official ceremony appointing her to that position. She ate with the family and bore the king legitimate sons; that's why they're listed in the family tree. She had all the rights as a wife, in fact, she could even be divorced.
Here's a killer fact. . .when a man wanted to usurp power from a weak leader or seal the overthrow of a king, he didn't make some kind of political move and then bed the king's wife. No, he took a concubine. (2 Samuel 3 and 16)
Go figure. A concubine holding the position that dictated who had power. Unbelievable. But, true.
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