Concubines and Slaves for Kings

G

Glenn Gould

Registered Member
First Kings 11:1-3 indicates that King Solomon had 700 hundred wives and 300 hundred concubines. David would have also enjoyed similar privileges, yet these men, the Bible tells us, exemplify wisdom and virtue. Not surprisingly, some of the "holy" manuscripts were written by, you guessed it, David and Solomon. History tells us they were men of war, lived in shameless luxury, and were "deeply" religious, of course.
My question is, how do Jews and Christians view this ethical paradox? To even talk of old Israel as "God's chosen nation" seems absurdely misguided.
 
It's unfair to judge the actions of yesterday by the values of today. You'd have to judge the actions of yesterday by the values of yesterday, in which case these guys weren't doing anything unusual.
 
If you think about it war has always been destructive, the ruling elite has always sought to use power to their advantage, often at the expense of the voiceless majority. King Solomon and David were no different than the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, or any other ruling elite of old for that matter. We read of their wonderful deeds in the Bible, but I wonder how much different it would be if some of these old testament books had been written by former concubines or slaves.
 
Glenn Gould said:
If you think about it war has always been destructive, the ruling elite has always sought to use power to their advantage, often at the expense of the voiceless majority. King Solomon and David were no different than the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, or any other ruling elite of old for that matter. We read of their wonderful deeds in the Bible, but I wonder how much different it would be if some of these old testament books had been written by former concubines or slaves.
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M*W: Quite a bit, I would imagine. First of all, it would be called herstory instead of history! Secondly, all the heroic war stories of conquering other peoples would not be so egotistically embellished. Thirdly, there would by far be fewer wars and conflicts. History would then focus on how we lived at that time and how we survived.

True, men conquered and wrote history, but if weren't for the nurturing women, we wouldn't have survived.
 
They chosed this way of life (luxuries) before jebus explicited the message of god, so all is forgiven.
 
Hey, uh, Medicine Woman? Mayybe you'd better give Guida M. Jackson's "Women Who Ruled" a peek. It's a biographical encyclopedia of female rulers throughout history. There are plenty of bios showing that the female rulers were no more or less aggressive or egotistical than the men.
 
Oxygen said:
Hey, uh, Medicine Woman? Mayybe you'd better give Guida M. Jackson's "Women Who Ruled" a peek. It's a biographical encyclopedia of female rulers throughout history. There are plenty of bios showing that the female rulers were no more or less aggressive or egotistical than the men.
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M*W: Thanks, Oxygen, this book sounds interesting. I'll look for it the next time I go to Barnes&Noble.
 
a_ht said:
They chosed this way of life (luxuries) before jebus explicited the message of god, so all is forgiven.
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Actually, God himself, we are told, had instructed the Israelites to build a temple made of the finest gold, silver and bronze, and decorated by marble, gems and precious stones (1 Chronicles 16).

Question: Why would God need such an extravagant display of luxury?
Answer: God had nothing to do with it, building large and extravagant temples was a common display of power in the past.

The concubines and slaves arrangements, were also part of God's plan, and not only for the ruling elite I might add. Slavery was commonplace in old Israel.

Question: Why would God impose such dismaly unequal arrangements?
Answer: Women were regarded as inferior and disposable, to be taken as a concubine or slave was a privilege and honour.
 
MW-That's where I got it. I was really surprised to see how many entries there are! We usually only think of Cleopatra when we think of strong female rulers of antiquity, but there's an astonishing number of highly effective women who have led mighty empires over the centuries. Maybe we're just in a "dry spell"? :)
 
I don't think this should be taken literally. Of course, Solomon may have had 700 wives, but it may also be similar to saying that a teacher has 30 children (read: students).
 
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