2 Samuel 5:13
ESV
And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David.
NIV
After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.
NASB
Meanwhile David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were born to David.
CSB
After he arrived from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.
NLT
After moving from Hebron to Jerusalem, David married more concubines and wives, and they had more sons and daughters.
KJV
And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.
NKJV
And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron. Also more sons and daughters were born to David.
What does 2 Samuel 5:13 mean?
Second Samuel 5:1–16 describes how David advances politically and personally. He becomes king of all Israel. He conquers Jerusalem and establishes his capital city. He makes a strong international relationship with the king of Tyre who builds David's palace. And his family grows.When David lived in Hebron, he had six sons by six different wives: Ahinoam had Amnon, Abigail had Chileab, Maacah had Absalom, Haggith had Adonijah, Abital had Shephatiah, and Eglah had Ithream (2 Samuel 3:2–5). Now that he is king over the entire nation, and a powerful political leader, the lists of his wives, concubines, and children lengthen.
During this era, kings often took both wives and concubines for strategic purposes. Marrying the daughter of a neighboring king makes it far less likely that those two kingdoms will go to war. Taking wives and concubines from influential families among one's own people increases the level of support throughout the nation. A concubine has the same rights to children as a wife, but her sons are not guaranteed to receive an inheritance.
The Mosaic law only forbids kings over Israel from taking "many wives," which is a subjective term (Deuteronomy 17:17). Still, by most measures, David did exactly that. David began with six, and added more, including Saul's wives. Even so, God would rather David had taken more wives than sin against Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:8).
But compared to his son Solomon, David's household was very manageable. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Many were from pagan nations, which the Mosaic law expressly forbids (Deuteronomy 7:3–4). As the Law warned, they drew Solomon into the worship of foreign gods, bringing great harm to Israel (1 Kings 11:1–8).
Polygamy was never God's intent for marriage. God made marriage to be between one man and one woman (Genesis 2). Even in countries where polygamy is legal today, men with more than one wife are disqualified from being elders or deacons (1 Timothy 3:2, 12). A man with more than one wife has enough to do; he doesn't need to lead the church, too.
Second Samuel 5:14–16 gives a list of David's sons born in Jerusalem. First Chronicles 3:5–8 and 1 Chronicles 14:4–7 include these—sometimes with altered names—and two more. It's possible two of the boys died young and are not included here.
