Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records David’s actions after relocating his capital from Hebron to Jerusalem, following the LORD’s establishment of his kingship over Israel. This moment marks the consolidation of his royal household and lineage in the newly secured city.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיִּקַּח (va.yi.kach) translates literally as "and he took," paired with עוֹד (od), meaning "again" or "more." These terms emphasize the continued expansion of David’s domestic holdings beyond his initial household in Hebron.
The thread — This expansion of royal polygamy echoes the warning in Deuteronomy 17:17 against kings accumulating many wives, which could lead their hearts astray. The chronicler later clarifies in 1 Chronicles 3:9 that David’s offspring included sons by both his wives and concubines.
Why it lands — The text records a factual increase in David’s family without moral commentary, leaving the reader to weigh the historical reality against the later biblical restrictions on royal marriage. It demands recognition of how political consolidation and personal conduct intersect in the narrative of Israel’s monarchy.
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 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.
Cross-references
- 1 Chronicles 3:9 These were all the sons of David, besides the sons by his concubines. And Tamar was their sister.
- 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.
- Genesis 25:5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.
- 1 Chronicles 14:3 And David took more wives in Jerusalem and became the father of more sons and daughters.
- 2 Chronicles 11:18 And Rehoboam married Mahalath, who was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab.
- 2 Chronicles 13:21 But Abijah grew strong, married fourteen wives, and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.