'Wives' in the Bible
Later, Lamech married two wives. One was named Adah and the other was named Zillah.
Lamech told his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to what I have to say: You wives of Lamech, hear what I'm announcing! I've killed a man for wounding me, a young man for bruising me.
some divine beings noticed how attractive human women were, so they took wives for themselves from a selection that pleased them.
However, I will establish my own covenant with you, and you are to enter the ark you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives.
Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives entered the ark with him before the flood waters arrived.
On that very day, Noah entered the ark with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, Noah's wife, his sons' three wives with them,
"It's time for you, your wife, your sons, and your sons' wives who are with you to leave the ark.
So Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives emerged.
Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran, who was the father of Milcah and Iscah.
Give me my wives and children for whom I've served you. Then I'll leave, since you're aware of my service to you."
If you mistreat my daughters or if you take other wives besides them, though no one is watching us, keep in mind that God stands as a witness between you and me."
Later that night, he woke up, quickly took his two wives, his two women servants, and his eleven children, and forded the river at Jabbok.
"These men are at peace with us," they announced. "Therefore, let them live in the land and trade in it. Look! The land is large enough for them. Let's take their daughters as wives for ourselves and let's give our sons to them.
They carried off all their wealth, their children, and their wives as captives, plundering everything that remained in the houses.
Later, Esau took his wives, his children, everyone in his household, his livestock, all his animals, and all his possessions that he had acquired in the territory of Canaan and moved far away from his brother Jacob,
When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was helping his brothers tend their flocks. He was a young man at that time, as were the children of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. But Joseph would come back and tell his father that his brothers were doing bad things. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his brothers, since he was born to him in his old age, so he had made a richly-embroidered tunic for him.
In addition," Pharaoh ordered, "Do this: take some transport wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones to ride in, along with your wives, and bring your father and come!
So Jacob got up and left Beer-sheba, and Israel's sons carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives in the transport wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry them.
All of these people, who belonged to Jacob's family, traveled to Egypt. All of Jacob's direct descendants, not including his sons' wives, numbered 66 persons in all.
And I'll be angry and will kill you with swords, and your wives will become widows and your children orphans.
Aaron told them, "Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me."
What's the point in the LORD bringing us to this land? To die by the sword so our wives and children would become war victims? Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt?"
Now Korah, Dathan, and Abiram stood at the entrance to their tents with their wives, sons, and little children. Then Moses said, "This is how you'll know that the LORD has sent me to do all these awesome works they're not coming merely from me.
"Our children, wives, flocks, and all our cattle will be settled in the cities of Gilead,
Also, he must not accumulate wives for himself (otherwise, his affection will become diverted), nor accumulate for himself excessive quantities of silver and gold.
"If a man has two wives where one is loved but the other is unloved, and both of them bear him sons, but the firstborn is the son of the unloved wife,
along with your children, your wives, even the foreigner in your camp, including the woodchopper and the water drawer
Your wives, your young children, and your livestock will remain in the land that Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan River, but you and all your warriors will cross, ready for battle, in full view of your relatives, and you will help them
taking their daughters as wives for themselves, giving their own daughters to their sons, and serving their gods.
Gideon raised 70 sons as his direct descendants, since he had many wives.
What can we do to find wives for the survivors who remain, since we've already taken an oath in the LORD's presence not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?"
So the elders of the congregation asked, "What will we do to obtain wives for the survivors, since the women of Benjamin have been devastated?"
But we can't give them wives from our own daughters, since we've taken this vow: "May the LORD curse anyone who gives his daughter as a wife to the tribe of Benjamin!'"
So the descendants of Benjamin did all of this: they chose and carried away just enough wives from those who danced to meet the number needed, then they left to return to their inheritance, to rebuild their cities, and to live there.
He had two wives; the name of one was Hannah and the name of the other was Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, and both of them became his wives.
David stayed with Achish in Gath along with his men, each of whom was with his household. David had his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, who had been the wife of Nabal of Carmel.
David and his men came to the town, and it had been burned down. Their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.
David's two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal's former wife, had been captured.
David rescued everyone whom the Amalekites had captured, including his two wives.
So David went there, along with his two wives Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, widow of Nabal from Carmel.
But after arriving in Jerusalem after leaving Hebron, David took more wives and mistresses, and more sons and daughters were born to David.
""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!
"This is what the LORD says: ""Listen very carefully! ""I'm raising up evil against you right out of your own household. ""I'm going to take your wives away from you right before your eyes. ""Then I'll give them to your neighbor. ""And then he's going to have sex with your wives in broad daylight!
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!
He had 700 princess wives and 300 mistresses who turned his heart away from the LORD,
because as Solomon grew older, his wives turned his affections away after other gods, and his heart was not fully as devoted to the LORD his God as his father David's heart had been.
Solomon did this for all of his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their own gods.
"Your silver and gold belong to me. So do the most beautiful of your wives and children.'"
After delivering Ahab's answer, the envoys returned with this message: "This is what Ben-hadad says: "I've sent my envoys to you to tell you that your silver, gold, wives, and children are to be given to me.
Then the king of Israel called together all of the elders of the land and told them, "Please note that this man is here looking for trouble. He sent a message to me, demanding my wives, my children, and my silver and gold, and I haven't refused him."
He sent Jehoiachin into exile to Babylon, along with the king's mother, the king's wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land. He took them into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
These were the descendants of Hur, Ephrathah's firstborn, who fathered Bethlehem: Tekoa's father Ashhur had two wives, Helah and Naarah.
In addition to them, according to their ancestral records were 36,000 members of their trained army by their generations, because they had many wives and children.
Machir chose wives for his sons Huppim and for Shuppim. He had a sister named Maacah. His second son was named Zelophehad, and Zelophehad fathered only daughters.
Shaharaim fathered sons in the land of Moab after he had divorced his wives Hushim and Baara.
But while he was living in Jerusalem, David married more wives and fathered more sons and daughters.
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.)
Rehoboam was wise to distribute some of his children throughout all of the territories of Judah and Benjamin, placing them in all of the fortified cities. He allotted them abundant supplies of food and sought many wives for them.
but Abijah continued to grow more powerful. He took fourteen wives for himself and fathered 22 sons and sixteen daughters.
All of Judah was standing in the LORD's presence, along with their little babies, their wives, and their children.
Look what's going to happen! The LORD is going to strike your people, your children, your wives, and everything you own with a massive tragedy.
and they attacked Judah, invading it and carried off everything he owned in his royal palace, along with all of his sons and wives except for his youngest son Jehoahaz.
who found two wives for him, so he fathered sons and daughters.
Now look! Our ancestors have been killed with swords and our sons, daughters, and wives are being held captive because of all of this.
These genealogical enrollments also included all of their little children, their wives, and their sons and daughters for the entire assembly, because they were being faithful to consecrating themselves in holiness.
Jehiel's son Shecaniah, one of Elam's descendants, responded to Ezra: "We have sinned against our God by marrying foreign wives from the people of the land, but even now there is hope in Israel, despite this.
So let's make a promise to our God by which we divorce all of these foreign wives as well as those born to them in accordance with the counsel of our Lord and of those who tremble at our God's command. Furthermore, let it be done according to the Law.
Ezra the priest stood up and spoke to them, "You have sinned by marrying foreign wives, thereby increasing the transgressions of Israel.
Now confess this to the LORD God of your ancestors, and separate yourselves from the nations of the land and from foreign wives."
So let's have our officials remain on behalf of the whole community. Then all who have married foreign wives are to come appear at specific times before the elders and judges of each city until the fierce anger of our God has been turned away from us in this matter."
By the first day of the first month they concluded their investigation of all of the men who had married foreign wives.
Pleading guilty, they promised to divorce their wives. Then they offered a ram from their flocks for their offense.
All of these had married foreign wives, and some of them had children by them.
Looking things over, I stood up and spoke to the officials, the military leaders, and the rest of the people: "Don't fear them. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord. Fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes."
The rest of the people, the priests, the descendants of Levi, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Temple Servants, and everyone who had separated themselves from the nations of the surrounding lands for the Law of God their wives, their sons, their daughters, and all who had knowledge and understanding
That day they offered a large number of sacrifices, and they rejoiced, because God had caused them to rejoice enthusiastically. Their wives and children rejoiced, so that Jerusalem's joy was heard from a long distance.
Should we listen to you and do all of this terrible evil by transgressing against our God to marry foreign wives?"
This very day the wives of the officials of Persia and Media who hear the report about the queen will speak in the same way to all the officials of the king, and there will be more than enough contempt and anger.
Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, and their houses will be looted, and their wives slept with.
Their houses will be turned over to others their fields and wives together when I stretch out my hand against those who live in the land," declares the LORD.
Therefore, I'll give their wives to others, and their fields to new owners. Indeed, from the least important to the most important, they're all greedy for dishonest gain. From prophet to priest, they all act deceitfully.
The people to whom they have prophesied will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. There will be no one to bury them, their wives, their sons, or their daughters. I'll pour out on them the judgment they deserve.'"
Take wives and father sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so they may have sons and daughters. Increase in numbers there, don't decrease.
because they did something stupid in Israel. They committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and in my name they spoke lies that I didn't command them. I'm the one who knows, and I'm a witness," declares the LORD.'"
We have obeyed everything that our ancestor, Rechab's son Jonadab, commanded us. So we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters have drunk no wine all our lives,
Have you forgotten the evil deeds of your ancestors, the evil deeds of the kings of Judah, the evil deeds of their wives, your evil deeds, and the evil deeds of your wives, that they did in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem?
Then all the men who knew that their wives were offering sacrifices to other gods and all the women who were standing by a large group, including all the people who were living in the land of Egypt in Pathros answered Jeremiah:
This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and acted with your hands: "We will certainly carry through on the vows that we vowed to offer sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pour out liquid offerings to her!" Go ahead, carry through on your vows, and diligently do what you vowed!'
You keep trusting in your weapons, you continue to commit loathsome deeds, men keep defiling their neighbors' wives, and you're going to take possession of the land?'
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.
"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.
Then the king gave orders to bring those men who had tried to have Daniel devoured, and they threw them, their children, and their wives into the lions' pit. They had not reached the floor of the pit before the lions had overtaken them and crushed all their bones.
You have evicted the wives of my people from their dream homes; you have removed my majesty from their children permanently.
And so the land will mourn, families by families, alone by themselves the family of the house of David by itself with their wives by themselves, the family of the house of Nathan by itself with their wives by themselves,
the family of the house of Levi by itself with their wives by themselves, the family of Shimei by itself with their wives by themselves
all of the surviving families by themselves, along with their wives by themselves.
He told them, "It was because of your hardness of heart that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives. But from the beginning it was not this way.