According to the Bible, King Solomon is recorded as having 700 wives (who were princesses) and 300 concubines, totaling 1,000 women. His many foreign wives, including those from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and the Hittites, turned his heart away from God in his old age.
He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines—a thousand women in all! And they did seduce him away from God. As Solomon grew older, his wives beguiled him with their alien gods and he became unfaithful—he didn't stay true to his GOD as his father David had done.
According to the biblical account, Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. The wives were described as foreign princesses, including Pharaoh's daughter and women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon and of the Hittites.
Historical Narrations Mention a Much Higher Number
But Al-Hafidh ibn Hajar narrated in his story of Sulayman (peace be upon him) in Al-Bidayah wanl-Nihayah, vol. 2, from many of the Salaf, that the number of Sulayman's wives was one thousand.
Why did God allow Solomon to have 1,000 wives and concubines? | GotQuestions.org
Did Solomon have a black wife?
Both the Deuteronomist and the Chronicler repeatedly testify that Solomon married an African woman who was the daughter of Pharaoh. The fact that Pharaoh‟s daughter was singled out in this manner is significant as similar treatment was not given to his many other wives and concubines.
1Ahab had seventy sons living in the city of Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the elders and officials of the city, and to the guardians of King Ahab's sons.
Marriage is between two people: one man, and one woman. Polygamy—whether tolerated or condemned in previous generations—is not part of God's ultimate design.
God's love did not reject her because of sin, or rule her out because of brokenness. Bathsheba not only became the wife of King David (not just a concubine), but she was her husband's favorite, most beloved wife.
In some narrations the number of women with whom Prophet Sulayman vowed to sleep with is given as sixty. In another, it is ninety. In others it is even ninety-nine or hundred.
Also that Caleb had two wives, Azubah, the first, apparently the same as Jerioth, and Ephrah, the second, the mother of Hur; and that this second marriage of Caleb did not take place till after Hezron's death. SEE NEGEB-CALEB.
Generally, Islamic tradition holds that he was the third ruler of the Israelites and a wise one. In contrast to Talmudic tradition, Muslims maintain that Solomon remained faithful to God throughout his life and was blessed with authority given to none before nor after him.
Therein, Kipling identifies Balkis, "Queen that was of Sheba and Sable and the Rivers of the Gold of the South" as best, and perhaps only, beloved of the 1000 wives of Suleiman-bin-Daoud, King Solomon.
What is the difference between a wife and a concubine?
A concubine is a woman who has a long-term relationship with a man without being legally married to him. While she may fulfill many roles similar to that of a wife, she does not have the same legal status or rights.
Bathsheba, in the Hebrew Bible (2 Samuel 11, 12; 1 Kings 1, 2), wife of Uriah the Hittite; she later became one of the wives of King David and the mother of King Solomon. Bathsheba was a daughter of Eliam and was probably of noble birth.
David ruled there 7 years and 6 months. David ruled in Jerusalem 33 years. These were David's children who were born in Jerusalem: David and Bathsheba, Ammiel's daughter, had four children. They were Shammua, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon.
Abigail's story echoes in the hearts of all women as an example of true submission and courage, even in the face of danger… In 1 Samuel 25, a beautiful story emerges, one of submission and deliverance.
While some believe that Deuteronomy 24:1-4 provides support for the practice of divorce and remarriage, it in fact does the opposite, since it says that a woman is defiled if she remarries, which suggests that she is in fact still married in God's eyes to her first husband.
In about 1000 CE the Ashkenazic halachic authority Rabbeinu Gershom of Mainz is said to have issued four decrees through his court. His bans included a decree prohibiting polygamy, and a decree prohibiting a man from divorcing a woman without her consent.
Having so many wives was likely a status symbol for Solomon. Many of these wives were likely obtained as part of a political strategy : think foreign princesses given in marriage to secure peace or alliances. They were probably housed in different locations managed by eunuchs and officials.
Queen Athaliah is the only woman in the Hebrew Bible reported as having reigned as a monarch within Israel/Judah. After her son's brief rule, she kills the remaining members of the dynasty and reigns for six years, when she is overthrown.
She was undoubtedly the chief wife of Ahab and co-ruler with him. It is implied that she was the mother of Ahab's son and successor Ahaziah (1 Kgs 22:53) and alternately implied and stated that she was mother of the next king, Jehoram (2 Kgs 3:2, 13; 9:22).
