Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 11:21
Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Rehoboam records his marital and familial statistics during his reign, following his marriage to Maacah, daughter of Absalom. This genealogical note immediately precedes his political decision to elevate Maacah’s son Abijah as chief prince.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיֹּאֱהַב (va/yi'ohav) literally means "and he loved," establishing Rehoboam’s explicit preference for Maacah over his other wives and concubines. The comparative phrase מִכָּל (mi/kol) translates "more than all," quantifying his partiality within a household of eighty female partners.
The thread — The text’s record of numerous wives and concubines parallels the warning in Deuteronomy 17:17 against multiplying wives and the historical precedent of 1 Kings 11:3. Judges 8:30 similarly notes how extensive polygamy produced numerous sons for a ruler.
Why it lands — The verse demands a reader to observe how royal preference and succession planning operate within a large household structure. It requires acknowledging that personal affection and political favoritism are recorded without moral commentary, leaving the reader to trace the consequences in the surrounding narrative.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; and begat twenty and eight sons, and threescore daughters.)
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 17:17 He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold.
- Judges 8:30 Gideon had seventy sons of his own, since he had many wives.
- 1 Kings 11:3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines—and his wives turned his heart away.
- 2 Samuel 3:2 And sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel;
- 2 Samuel 5:13 After he had arrived from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.
- 2 Chronicles 11:23 Rehoboam also acted wisely by dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions and sought many wives for them.
- Song of Solomon 6:8 There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number,
- 1 Chronicles 3:1 These were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was Amnon by Ahinoam of Jezreel; the second was Daniel by Abigail of Carmel;