King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines?!?

Probably an exaggeration - he was the king of a small country. 700 is a scribes way of saying "a lot".

Tadashi. I will check the exact number of wives and concubines, but I do know what the Bible says that he had A BUNCH. .

And I do know from what the Bible says that having so many wives and concubines was his weakness and downfall ---- especially since many of them were from other countries that worship other gods than God. . But all the kings had many wives and concubines .... in all the countries around the world.

------------- but in Israel, all of the kings who did so were doing so in DIRECT disobedience to God because He gave the kings of Israel the DIRECT commandment that they were NOT to have more than four wives (quite a difference!) . But they were harems, as with the other countries, not like the current living relationship of Western marriages ............ more like on the idea of a man having all those ex-wives living in the same apartment building ... and their resulting children. .............................. sort of sounds like a bit of insanity, doesn't it, considering how frustrated Western men get with their one wife and children and how jealous women can get with each other ~~~~ which might explain the reason the men had all their women and children living in a different section of the residence than he did LOL :-D LOL .

Needless to say, only the wealthy man could afford to take care of so many wives and children ... and the reason that even in those countries that still legally allow polygamy that most men have only one wife and their children ... and in those countries, the husband is legally allowed to have four wives and he is required to treat all his wives exactly the same in ALL ways, including his "intimate" time with them. . Personally, I think a sane man would stay with just one wife; having more than one sounds like a major "crazy maker" ....... and I am a woman saying that LOL :-D LOL .

But, yes, that is true, Tadashi. And it was also true of all the other kings of Israel and other countries at that time. You have a great weekend :-) T ~~~~~~~~ Note: RE the size of Israel at that time ------ if you pull up a map of the size of Israel during the time of Kind David and King Solomon, that Isreal was HUGE.

It was not the tiny country that it is today. It took up a good chunk of the Middle East. ~~~~~~~~ I found that section of Scripture for you in case you'd like to read it: 1 Kings 11: 1-13 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.

2 They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.

4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

. 7 On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

. 9 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. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command.

11 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. 12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son.

13 Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.