Hebrew Bible Study
Hebrew Bible Study

Commentary for I Kings 1:4

וְהַֽנַּעֲרָ֖ה יָפָ֣ה עַד־מְאֹ֑ד וַתְּהִ֨י לַמֶּ֤לֶךְ סֹכֶ֙נֶת֙ וַתְּשָׁ֣רְתֵ֔הוּ וְהַמֶּ֖לֶךְ לֹ֥א יְדָעָֽהּ׃

And the damsel was very fair; and she became a companion unto the king, and ministered to him; but the king knew her not.

Rashi on I Kings

Was not intimate with her. Because a virgin is more suitable for [the purpose] of warming than a non-virgin.6He therefore preferred that she remain a virgin. But our Rabbis said [he was not intimate with her] because “He shall not have too many wives,”7Devarim 17:17. See Rashi there. and he already had eighteen.8I.e., because Dovid already had eighteen wives, the maximum permitted for a king, he therefore did not marry her. See Maseches Sanhedrin 22a and Rashi there.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Previous VerseFull ChapterNext Verse