“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.”
My Notes
What Does 2 Samuel 5:13 Mean?
"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." The QUIET WARNING embedded in a genealogical note: David accumulates more wives and concubines in Jerusalem. The narrator records this without commentary but with devastating implications. Deuteronomy 17:17 — the law of the king — explicitly prohibits this: 'Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away.' David violates the KING'S LAW at the height of his success.
The phrase "took him more concubines and wives" (vayyiqqach David od pilagshim venashim miYerushalaim — David took again concubines and wives from Jerusalem) uses 'MORE' (od — again, additionally) — indicating ACCUMULATION. David already had multiple wives from the Hebron period (3:2-5). Now he adds MORE. The pattern is ESCALATING. Each new capital brings new wives. Each new level of power brings new accumulation. The progression mirrors Gideon's (Judges 8:30) — military success funding personal excess.
The placement between Hiram's house-building (verse 11) and the Philistine battle (verse 17) makes the verse a PAUSE between triumph and trial: between international recognition and military challenge, David is accumulating wives. The warning sits between the blessings. The violation hides between the victories.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What quiet accumulation between victories is planting seeds for future consequences?
- 2.What does the law of the king ('shall not multiply wives') being violated BY the king teach about power and its exemptions?
- 3.How does the verse being tucked between triumphs (palace-building and battle) describe how warnings hide in success?
- 4.What 'MORE' — what escalating pattern — is your current level of authority enabling?
Devotional
Between the cedar palace (verse 11) and the Philistine battle (verse 17), one quiet verse: David takes MORE wives and concubines. No commentary from the narrator. No divine rebuke. Just the fact, stated plainly, tucked between two dramatic stories. The warning whispers while the victories shout.
The 'MORE' is the problem word: David already had wives from Hebron. Now he adds MORE from Jerusalem. The accumulation ESCALATES with each new stage of power. More authority produces more accumulation. More success produces more excess. The pattern that started in Hebron accelerates in Jerusalem. Power amplifies the appetite.
Deuteronomy 17:17 says it plainly: the king 'shall not multiply wives to himself.' The law of the king — written for this exact situation — prohibits exactly what David is doing. The king who is 'a man after God's own heart' is violating the king's own manual. The heart-connection doesn't prevent the behavioral violation. The anointing doesn't override the appetite.
The consequences will be DEVASTATING: multiple wives produce multiple sons. Multiple sons produce rival claims. Rival claims produce Amnon's assault on Tamar (chapter 13), Absalom's rebellion (chapters 15-18), and Adonijah's failed coup (1 Kings 1). The 'sons and daughters born to David' in this verse will become the actors in David's greatest tragedies. The accumulation in verse 13 funds the catastrophes of chapters 13-18.
What quiet accumulation in your life — hidden between victories — is planting seeds for future consequences?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron,.... He had six when he was…
David took him more concubines - He had, in all conscience, enough before; he had, in the whole, eight wives and ten…
Here is, I. David's house built, a royal palace, fit for the reception of the court he kept and the homage that was paid…
took him mo concubines and wives In accordance with the general custom of Oriental monarchs. The law of the king in Deu…
Cross References
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