And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; and begat twenty and eight sons, and threescore daughters.)
Parallel translations
- WEB Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines; for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and became the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
- BSB Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
- NKJV Now Rehoboam loved Maachah the granddaughter of Absalom more than all his wives and his concubines; for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and begot twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
- NASB Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom more than all his other wives and concubines. For he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
- NLT Rehoboam loved Maacah more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and they gave birth to twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Rehoboam loves Maacah most among his eighteen wives and sixty concubines, fathering many children. His many marriages reveal a departure from God's design.
Overview
Rehoboam's large harem echoes the very pattern of multiplying wives that Scripture warned would turn kings' hearts astray (Deuteronomy 17:17), the sin that had ensnared his father Solomon. Though the Chronicler reports it plainly, this excess foreshadows the spiritual decline soon to follow (12:1). It reminds readers that even kings in David's line fall short and need the perfect King who would come.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Deut 17:17Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
- 1 Kgs 11:3And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
- Judg 8:30And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.
- 2 Sam 5:13And 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.
- 2 Sam 3:2–5And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
- Song 6:8–9There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.
- 2 Chr 11:23And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he desired many wives.
- 1 Chr 3:1–9Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess:
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Temple, priesthood, and the repeated need for a faithful king who seeks the LORD all point past every imperfect reign to the King and Temple who finally and fully dwell with God's people.
How 2 Chronicles 11:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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