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Showing posts from July, 2007

Caleb's Concubines (1 Chron. 2:46, 48) -- corrected

Just read 1 Chron 2:18-4:4 and learned that Caleb , the man who wholly followed God (Deut. 1:36), had two concubines: Ephah and Maacah (1 Chron. 2:46, 48)! 9/12/13 Correction: The Caleb who had concubines was the son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah, and not Caleb, son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. Same name, different person. My apologies to Caleb the son of Jephunneh!   Post revised to refer solely to King David who apparently had enough concubines that they aren’t even named (cf. 1 Chron. 3:9) From what we know about the Ancient Near East (cf. Nuzi) concubinage was a specific, legal status that was public—a kind of sub-wife position. Being a concubine was not to be a private ‘mistress’ at all. I can imagine someone decrying the worldliness of David, articulating the doctrine of marriage from Gen. 1-2 which Jesus himself would later teach, and then separating from these individuals as disobedient to God’s will and plan, compromisers with worldliness. Would such a person