What Is A Concubine?

Shalom Beloved Daughters of Tzyon,

Lift up your voices in praises and thanks unto YAHWAH, The Creator of Life!!!

Sisterhood, what is a concubine?  This question has been asked of me more times than I can remember, and I honestly did not know.  I wondered like many sistahs, what exactly is a concubine?

It wasn’t until last year that I was blessed to get the understanding to that question, therefore I would like to share it with all of you now.

Some people today may think that concubinage in the Scriptures was a form of an immoral sexual relationship, similar to having a personal mistress. Nothing could be further from the truth. When the Hebrew word peh’ly’gesh (Strong's #6370) is used, it speaks of a female concubine that is MARRIED to her male partner.

Qeturah is called Abraham's concubine in 1 Chronicles 1:32, but in Genesis 25:1, she is called Abraham's “wife.” King David's ten concubines are indeed called concubines, but they are also called his “wives” by YAHWAH Himself (2 Samuel 12:11; 16:21-22). In Judges 19 and 20, the Levite's concubine "committed whoring against him" (Judges 19:2) and left "her husband" (Judges 19:3). She is called a concubine in Judges 19:1, 2, 9, 24, 25, 29; 20:4 and 5, yet at the same time, her male partner, the Levite, is called "her husband" in Judges 19:3 and 20:4. In addition, the concubines father is called the "father-in-law" (Judges 19:4, 7, 9), and the Levite is called the "son-in-law" (Judges 19:5). Clearly, being a concubine is displayed as a marital commitment.

So then, what is the difference between a "wife" and a "concubine?" Wives are free; concubines are not.  It's as simple as that. Scripture portrays concubinage as the marriage of a slave girl, without the ceremony of betrothal, and without property jointure (Ketubah).

     'And when a man has intercourse with a woman who is a female servant, engaged to a man, and who has not at all been ransomed or redeemed, there should be an inquiry. But they are not put to death, because she was not free.' (Leviticus 19:20, The Scriptures)

In the above example, we have a slave girl who has been engaged or betrothed (married without the marriage having been consummated) to a man. Being a slave, she is not killed as a free woman would be for having committed adultery (Deuteronomy 22:23-24), precisely "because she was not free".

 In Judges, the concubine’s husband is twice called "her master" (Judges 19:26, 27). Other concubines are identified likewise. Bilhah, Jacob's concubine (Genesis 35:22), whom Rakhel gave to him for a wife (Genesis 30:3-4), was a “slave” (Genesis 35:25, "female servant"). Likewise, Zilpah was a “slave”, but she was also his “wife” (Genesis 35:26; 30:9). Marrying a slave/servant girl was not only practiced, it was legislated in the Torah as well.

     "And when a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she does not go out as the male servants do. If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who has engaged her to himself, then he shall let her be ransomed. He shall have no authority to sell her to a foreign people, because of him deceiving her. And if he has engaged her to his son, he is to do to her as is the right of daughters. If he takes another wife, her food, her covering, and her marriage rights are not to be diminished. And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out for naught, without silver." (Exodus 21:7-11, The Scriptures)

 Notice that it doesn't say, "He cannot take another wife." It says, "If he takes another wife." Here we have another mentioning in Torah concerning polygyny, and it is not forbidden. Although there are people today who view concubinage as an evil deed, Le’ah, in the Scriptures, viewed it as part of that which pleased YAHWAH, Elohym.

     And Elohym listened to Le'ah, and she conceived and bore Ya'qob (Jacob) a fifth son. And Le'ah said, "Elohym has given me my hire, because I have given my female servant to my husband." So she called his name Yeh’sas’kar. (Genesis 30:17-18, The Scriptures)

 Le’ah had given Zilpah, her maidservant, to Ya’qob/Jacob as a wife because she had perceived that she had stopped bearing children (Genesis 30:9). Yet, she continued to pray for more sons. YAHWAH heard her plea and Le’ah understood this to be a reward from Him for giving Ya’qob a concubine.

Therefore, all of this was said to simply say, that a “concubine” is a “married female servant/slave.”

Receive the Wisdom and pass it on…