40 Bible Verses about Concubines
Most Relevant Verses
Gideon raised 70 sons as his direct descendants, since he had many wives. His mistress in Shechem bore him a son whom he named Abimelech.
But after arriving in Jerusalem after leaving Hebron, David took more wives and mistresses, and more sons and daughters were born to David.
Joab went up to the palace and rebuked the king: "Today you've humiliated your entire army who just saved your life, the lives of your sons and daughters, and the lives of your wives and mistresses!
Rehoboam loved Absalom's daughter Maacah more than he did all of his wives and mistresses. (He married eighteen wives and 60 concubines, fathering 28 sons and 60 daughters.)
Under the influence of wine, Belshazzar ordered that the gold and silver vessels his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem be brought in so the king, his officials, his wives, and his mistresses could drink from them. As ordered, they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the sanctuary of God's Temple in Jerusalem, and the king, his officials, his wives, and mistresses drank from them.
Abram listened to Sarai's suggestion, so Abram's wife Sarai took her Egyptian servant, Hagar, and gave her as a wife to her husband Abram. This took place ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.
Now it happened in those days, before there was a king in Israel, that a certain male descendant of Levi, who lived in a remote part of the mountainous region of Ephraim, took a mistress for himself from Bethlehem in the territory of Judah. But his mistress was sexually unfaithful to him, and then she left him to live in her father's home in Bethlehem in the territory of Judah. She had been living there for a period of about four months when her husband got up and went after her, intending to speak lovingly to her in order to win her back. He took with him his young man servant and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father's house to see him, her father was happy to have met him.read more.
The young woman's father (that is, his father-in-law) made him stay there for three days while they ate and drank during his visit there.
The child grew and eventually was weaned, so Abraham threw a tremendous banquet on the very day Isaac was weaned. Nevertheless, when Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian whom Hagar had borne to Abraham making fun of Isaac, she told Abraham, "Throw out this slave girl, along with her son, because this slave's son will never be a co-heir with my son Isaac!"read more.
Abraham was very troubled about what was being said about his son, but God told Abraham, "Don't be troubled about the youth and your slave girl. Pay attention to Sarah in everything she tells you, because your offspring are to be named through Isaac. Nevertheless, I will make the slave girl's son into a nation, since he, too, is your offspring." So early the next morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a leather bottle of water, gave them to Hagar, and placed them on her shoulder. He then sent her away, along with the child. She went off and roamed in the Beer-sheba wilderness.
"When a man sells his daughter as a servant, she won't go out as the male servants do. If she's displeasing to her master who selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He does not have the right to sell her to foreign people, because he has dealt unfairly with her. If he has selected her for his son, he is to treat her according to the ordinance for daughters. read more.
If he takes another woman for himself, he may not withhold from the first her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. If he does not do these three things for her, she may go out without paying anything at all."
Rachel responded, "Here's my handmaid Bilhah. Go have sex with her. She can bear children on my knees so I can have children through her." So Rachel gave Jacob her woman servant Bilhah to be his wife, and Jacob had sex with her. Bilhah conceived and bore a son for Jacob. read more.
Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me! He has heard my voice and has given me a son." Therefore, she named him Dan.
When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing children, she took her woman servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
Now Abram's wife Sarai had not borne a child for him. She had an Egyptian servant girl whose name was Hagar. So Sarai told Abram, "You are well aware that the LORD has prevented me from giving birth to a child. Go have sex with my servant, so that I may possibly bear a son through her."
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. Now the slave woman's son was conceived through human means, while the free woman's son was conceived through divine promise.
He had sex with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she looked with contempt on her mistress. Then Sarai told Abram, "My suffering is your fault! I gave you my servant so you could have sex with her, and when she discovered that she was pregnant, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!" Abram answered Sarai, "Look, your servant is under your control, so do to her as you wish." So Sarai dealt so harshly with Hagar that she ran away from Sarai.
Nevertheless, when Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian whom Hagar had borne to Abraham making fun of Isaac,
an unloved woman when she finds a husband, and a servant girl who inherits from her mistress.
But just as then the son who was conceived according to the flesh persecuted the son who was conceived according to the Spirit, so it is now.
she told Abraham, "Throw out this slave girl, along with her son, because this slave's son will never be a co-heir with my son Isaac!" Abraham was very troubled about what was being said about his son, but God told Abraham, "Don't be troubled about the youth and your slave girl. Pay attention to Sarah in everything she tells you, because your offspring are to be named through Isaac.
Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac. While he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to his concubines and sent them to the east country in order to keep them away from his son Isaac.
"But now as for you, you've rebelled against my father's house today. You've murdered his sons 70 men in one place, and you've installed Abimelech, the son of his mistress, as king to rule over the "lords" of Shechem, since he's related to you.
and not all of Abraham's descendants are his true descendants. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that descendants will be named for you."
But what does the Scripture say? "Drive out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman must never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman."
about whom it had been said, "It is through Isaac that descendants will be named for you."
But while Israel lived in that land, Reuben went inside his father's tent and had sexual relations with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Now Jacob had twelve sons.
"Reuben, you're my firstborn, my strength, and the first fruit of my vitality. You excel in rank and excel in power. But you're as undisciplined as a roaring river, so eventually you won't succeed, because you got in your father's bed, defiled it, and then approached my couch."
Here is a record of the descendants of Reuben, Israel's firstborn. (He was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father's marriage bed, his birthright was transferred to the descendants of Israel's son Joseph. As a result, Reuben is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright.
Meanwhile, Saul had a mistress named Rizpah, who was the daughter of Aiah. Ish-bosheth asked Abner, "Why did you have sex with my father's mistress?"
""I gave you your former master's household. ""I placed your former master's wives right in your arms. ""I gave you Israel and Judah. ""And if this had been too little, I would have added much more than that to you!
Ahithophel responded, "Go inside and have sex with your father's mistresses, whom he left to keep the palace in order. Then everyone in Israel will hear how your father has come to hate you and everyone who has joined you will be emboldened to act." So they erected a tent for Absalom on the palace roof and Absalom went in and had sex with his father's mistresses right in front of all Israel.
So she asked him, "Give Abishag the Shunammite to your brother Adonijah as a wife." But King Solomon replied to his mother, "Why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Why not ask me to give up the kingdom for him, since he's my older brother, and why not ask for Abiathar the priest, and for Zeruiah's son Joab?"
Bethuel fathered Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to Nahor, Abraham's brother. Also, his concubine Reumah gave birth to Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
Now it happened in those days, before there was a king in Israel, that a certain male descendant of Levi, who lived in a remote part of the mountainous region of Ephraim, took a mistress for himself from Bethlehem in the territory of Judah.
So the king left, taking his entire household with him except for ten mistresses, who were to keep the palace in order.
The descendants born to Keturah, Abraham's mistress, were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. The descendants of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan.
Caleb's mistress Ephah also bore Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran fathered Gazez. Jahdai's descendants were Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph. Caleb's mistress Maacah bore Sheber, Tirhanah,
Manasseh's descendants included Asriel, whom his Aramean mistress bore, along with Machir, who fathered Gilead.
"You've exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. "You've had the vessels from his Temple brought into your presence. "And you, your officials, and your wives and mistresses drank wine from them. "You praised gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which can't see, hear, or demonstrate knowledge. "But you didn't honor God, who holds in his power your very life and all your ways.
