תּלמוד אויף דברים 17:17

MISHNAH: He shall not add wives¹⁶⁸Deut. 17:17., only eighteen¹⁶⁹This is the number of wives David could have had, as explained in the Halakhah.. Rebbi Jehudah says, he may have many on condition that they not deflect his mind¹⁷⁰Deut. 17:17 reads: And he shall not add wives, lest his mind be deflected (from his religious duties.) If the prohibition were absolute, it would not need a rationale.. Rebbi Simeon says, he should not marry even one if she deflects his mind¹⁷¹R. Simeon in principle objects to R. Jehudah’s argument. For him, every biblical commandment has a rationale indicated in the text, even if it is not explicit (Babli 21a). Therefore, lest his mind be deflected is a commandment in itself. Hence, 18 wives is the maximum permitted to a king under any circumstances.. Then why was it said, he shall not add wives? Even one like Abigail¹⁷²Who prevented David from sinning, cf. Halakhah 3. Since she predicted that David would be king, she is counted as a prophetess (Seder Olam Chap. 2)..
He shall not add horses¹⁷³Deut. 17:16., over and above what he needs for his chariots. And silver and gold he shall not add excessively¹⁶⁸Deut. 17:17., over and above what he needs for his payroll¹⁷⁴Greek ὀψώνιον, Latin obsonium,“victuals, allowance, gratuity”, here taken as allowances for everybody on the king’s payroll.. And he shall write a Torah scroll¹⁷⁵Deut. 17:18. for himself. If he goes to war, it is with him; if he returns, it is with him; if he sits in court, it is with him; if he sits down for dinner, it is with him, as it is said: It shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life¹⁷⁶Deut. 17:19..
One does not ride on his horse, nor does one sit on his throne, nor does one use his scepter. One may not see him when he is barbered, nor when he is naked, nor when he is in the bath, as it is said¹⁷⁷Deut. 17:15.: You certainly shall put a king over you, that his fear be upon you.

Rebbi Aḥa said: Solomon said, three things I desecrated where I got the better of the law¹⁸¹Eccl. r. 2(3), Tanhuma Aḥare Mot 1, Tanhuma Buber Ahare Mot 2, Pesiqṭa dR. Cahana(Buber) Ahare Mot 168b–168a.
Most of the verses quoted in these paragraphs are also quoted in the Babli, 21b. Cf. also Cant. rabba 1(10).. He shall not add wives, and it is written: King Solomonloved foreign women¹⁸²1K. 11:1.. Rebbi Simeon ben Ioḥai said, he really made love to them immorally¹⁸³He did not marry them but slept with them unmarried to increase his sexual enjoyment.. Ḥananiah, Rebbi Joshua’s nephew, says, because you shall not intermarry with them¹⁸⁴Deut. 7:3. He agrees with R. Simeon ben Iohai and notes that by behaving immorally he avoided violating the law. In Num. r. 10(8) only Hanania and R. Yose are mentioned.. Rebbi Yose said, to draw them to the words of the Torah and bring them under the Wings of the Divine Presence¹⁸⁵He married all those women with good intentions but violated Deut. 17:17. The expression “to take shelter under the Wings of the Divine Presence” for “to convert to Judaism” is from Ru. 2:12.. Rebbi Eliezer said, because also the foreign wives made him sin¹⁸⁶Neh. 13:26. He violated Mishnah 7 according to all authorities quoted there.. It turns out that one may say that Rebbi Simeon ben Ioḥai, Ḥananiah, and Rebbi Eliezer mean the same. Rebbi Yose disagrees with all three of them.

¹⁸¹Eccl. r. 2(3), Tanhuma Aḥare Mot 1, Tanhuma Buber Ahare Mot 2, Pesiqṭa dR. Cahana(Buber) Ahare Mot 168b–168a.
Most of the verses quoted in these paragraphs are also quoted in the Babli, 21b. Cf. also Cant. rabba 1(10). It is written¹⁹³Eccl. 2:2.: To amusement I said, be praised. The Holy One, praise to him, said to Solomon: What is this crown on your head? Descend from My throne! Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina said, at that moment an angel came down looking like Solomon, removed him from his throne, and sat in his stead. He was going around in synagogues and houses of study, saying I am Ecclesiastes, I used to be king over Israel in Jerusalem¹⁹⁴Eccl. 1:12.. They were telling him, the king sits on his chair of honor¹⁹⁵Latin bisellium; cf. Löw in Krauss’s Lehnwörter. and you say, I am Ecclesiastes? They hit him with a stick and brought a dish of split beans before him. At that moment, he said: that is my part¹⁹⁶Eccl. 2:10.. Some say, a staff. Others say, a rod. Others say, with his belt. ¹⁹⁷Cant. r. ad 5:10, Lev. r. 19(2), Ex. r. 6(1). Solomon is accused of wanting to remove the imperative from Deut. 17:17. Who had accused him? Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, י in יַרְבֶּה¹⁶⁰2S. 23:15–16; 1Chr. 11:17–18. accused him. Rebbi Simeon ben Ioḥai stated: The book Deuteronomy ascended, bowed down before the Holy One, praise to Him, and said to Him: Master of the Universe, You wrote in Your Torah that any disposition¹⁹⁸Greek διαθήκη “will, disposition”. which is partially invalid is totally invalid, and now Solomon wants to uproot a י from me! The Holy One, praise to Him, said to it: Solomon and a thousand like him will disappear but nothing from you will disappear.