While we're on the toic of erotica.. I was tryng to think of scriptural examples and stumbled upon the odl "riddle" of harems.

The Old Testament is filled with examples of certain kings of Israel having both a wife and a harem.. Solomon , David, Saul...and yet nowhere in Scripture do we see God or even the prophets or priests, condemning the use of harems by a king or condemning their existence at all, for that matter.

Why, in your opinion, is this the case?

Actually, according to scripture, kings are not to take many wives:

The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, "You are not to go back that way again." He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray... - Deuteronomy 17:16-17

I know that. The women of the harem are not "wives". they are concubines.

So, you are saying that Solomon's 700 wives were not a harem?

So, if taking multiple wives was a sin in the OT, why did God let Solomon get away with it? The God in the OT doesn't seem like the type to turn a blind eye to sin... I mean, he did give Noah's son a lifelong curse for seeing his dad naked...

BryneVampyr wrote:

So, you are saying that Solomon's 700 wives were not a harem?

Where does it say they were wives? Harems are not made up of women who get married to their king..typically or ever.

They were there to service his needs.. both sexually and as servants.. I know. hard to deal with it from a modern perspective. But his wive was their to give him sons.. princes who would take his place.

The point then is.. why did God allow this sexual unfaithfulness.. in the old testament?

Harems are made of all the women of the household...wives, concubines, sisters, daughters, servants, etc.

har·em
   
–noun

1. the part of a Muslim palace or house reserved for the residence of women.

2. the women in a Muslim household, including the mother, sisters, wives, concubines, daughters, entertainers, and servants.

"harem." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 05 Jun. 2010. Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/harem .


Word Origin & History

harem

1634, from Turk. harem, from Arabic haram "wives and concubines," originally "women's quarters," lit. "something forbidden or kept safe," from root of harama "he guarded, forbade."

"harem." Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. 05 Jun. 2010. Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/harem .



The Bible states that King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.

He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. - 1 Kings 11:3

A concubine was a type of wife in the old Testament:

Among the early Jews, from various causes, the difference between a wife and a concubine was less marked than it would be amongst us. The concubine was a wife of secondary rank.

"concubine." Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary. 05 Jun. 2010. Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/concubine .

Word Origin & History

concubine

c.1300, from L. concubina (fem.), from concumbere "to lie with," from com- "with" + cubare "to lie down." Recognized by law among polygamous peoples as "a secondary wife."

"concubine." Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. 05 Jun. 2010. Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/concubine .


Therefore, the verse that I posted would apply to King Solomon's many wives and concubines.



The passage in 1 Kings continues:

So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done...The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice...So the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 1 Kings 11:6,9,11

All of this happened as a direct result of Solomon taking many wives and being led astray by them...exactly what the verse in Deuteronomy warned against.

So again.. why was God silent on the Harem?

He wasn't

You must understand that the bible is a progressive revelation. Some things in the old testament God hadn't revealed as wrong, in fact he encouraged it for probably multiple reasons. Now thoise things could be condemned.

I think it was more of a worldly thing. Back in the day, when the Greeks got back from war, they would be compensated with -puke- little boys to uh..... take care of their... needs.


I think that in Israel, they saw this and understood how wrong it was, so their own sin seemed less of a sin to them.
But yeah, I'm still in the dark as to why polygamy and concubines were not punished more.