What Was a Concubine, Really?

“Concubine” isn’t a word you hear much outside Bible stories or the occasional history documentary. But back in ancient times, it was part of everyday life in many cultures, including the world of the Old Testament.

In plain terms, a concubine was a woman who lived with a man in a relationship that looked a lot like marriage. She didn’t have the full legal rights of a wife, and her children usually had a lower social status. But she was still considered part of the man’s household, and the relationship was publicly recognized, even if it wasn’t fully honored.

The Hebrew word used in the Old Testament is pilegesh (פִּילֶגֶשׁ), which likely came from non-Hebrew roots, possibly borrowed from nearby cultures like Akkadian or Greek. That alone tells you something: this wasn’t a uniquely Israelite idea. It was part of the broader world they were living in.

A Normal (If Complicated) Part of Ancient Life

It’s easy to look back and think, How could anyone think this was okay? But in the ancient world, concubinage wasn’t seen as scandalous or shady. It was just... normal.

In ancient cultures like Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Canaan, families were built for survival. Children weren’t just blessings. If a man’s wife couldn’t have kids or if he wanted to strengthen his family line or political standing, taking a concubine was often the next step.

In a society where wars were frequent and women were sometimes taken captive, concubinage also became a way to give a measure of social protection (however limited) to women who otherwise would have had none. It’s a far cry from anything we would consider just or good today, but back then, it was a way of surviving a rough world.

Israel, as much as it was called to be different, wasn’t living in a bubble. Many of the patriarchs and kings reflected the customs around them, sometimes faithfully following https://thebiblechat.com/is-jesus-god, other times drifting into the ways of their neighbors. Concubinage was one of those drift areas.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from studying these ancient stories, it’s this: the Bible is brutally honest about the world people lived in. It doesn’t sugarcoat it or pretend that everything they did was right. Instead, it shows how God worked through real people in real, broken systems.

Concubine vs Wife

Concubines and wives shared some similarities: they both lived with the man, could have children with him, and were considered part of his household. But that’s where the similarities pretty much end.

• A wife had formal status. Her marriage usually involved a legal contract, a bride price, and full rights when it came to inheritance. If she had children, they were the primary heirs. She had certain protections under the Law of Moses that spelled out her rights pretty clearly.
• A concubine, on the other hand, didn’t have that same legal standing. She might be respected in the household, but she wasn't officially “on paper” like a wife was. Her children could be recognized, but they weren’t always treated the same when it came to things like inheritance or leadership positions. In some cases, the sons of concubines were given smaller portions or, sadly, pushed aside altogether.

A concubine lived in a strange in-between space. She wasn’t a servant, but she wasn’t a full wife either. She had intimacy, she had children, but she didn't always have security.

Representation of a wife (left) and a concubine (right). (image generated with Midjourney)

The Bible's Most Famous Concubine Stories

Concubines weren’t just side characters in the Bible. Some of them played some pretty big roles. Here are some of the most important concubines in the Old Testament.

Abraham and Hagar (Genesis 16) 

This is probably the most famous concubine in Scripture. Hagar was an Egyptian servant to Sarah, Abraham’s wife. When Sarah couldn't have children, she gave Hagar to Abraham to bear a child for her.

What ended up happening was that Hagar was mistreated, Sarah was bitter, and Abraham seemed caught in the middle. Hagar's son, Ishmael, became the father of a great nation, but the situation was a painful reminder that human shortcuts usually complicate God's promises.

Jacob, Bilhah, and Zilpah (Genesis 30)

Jacob’s family tree is... complicated, to say the least. After marrying Leah and Rachel (sisters, no less), he also had children with their maidservants, Bilhah and Zilpah. These women were treated as concubines, bearing children who became part of the twelve tribes of Israel.

This was a house full of rivalry, competition, and emotional messiness. If you’ve ever felt like your family gatherings are chaotic, just remember that Jacob's family made modern drama look tame.

The Levite and His Concubine (Judges 8:30-31)

Gideon, the warrior-judge who led Israel to victory, also had many wives, and at least one concubine. One of her sons, Abimelek, would later cause serious trouble, trying to crown himself king through bloodshed and betrayal. Yet another example that multiplying relationships didn’t multiply peace.

David’s Household and Solomon’s Downfall (2 Samuel 5:13; 1 Kings 11:3)

David had plenty of wives, concubines, and heartbreak to match it. His family was riddled with betrayal, violence, and division. His son Solomon took it even further, with hundreds of wives and concubines, many from foreign nations. Eventually, these relationships pulled his heart away from God, a slow drift that cost Israel dearly.

Did God Approve of This

This is where a lot of people get stuck. If concubines show up so much in the Bible, does that mean God approved of it? Was He okay with men having multiple wives and concubines?

No, not really.

When you look at the very beginning (the way God designed things in Genesis 2), you see something different: one man, one woman, joined together as one flesh. That was the blueprint. Not polygamy. Not concubinage. Just a man and a woman, committed to each other.

But human beings, then and now, have a way of straying from the blueprint.

Instead of stepping in to micromanage every bad decision, God often allowed people to live with the natural consequences of their choices. He was patient. He worked through messy, broken families because that's what He had to work with. (And honestly, that gives me a lot of hope, because none of us come from perfect stories either.)

You can see the cracks everywhere:

• Abraham's household was divided over Hagar and Ishmael.
• Jacob’s sons, born from four different women, spent years fighting each other.
• Solomon’s heart was slowly pulled away from God by the many foreign wives and concubines he married.

God never said, "Hey, this is the way to go." He allowed it, but He also showed, through real stories, how these choices led to jealousy, rivalry, heartbreak, and sometimes even national collapse.

One of the things I’ve noticed is that people often expect the Bible to spell out every moral lesson in big, bold letters. But sometimes, the message is quieter: it’s woven into the consequences we see play out. And with concubines, the Bible lets the results speak for themselves.

Image showcasing the lonelier aspects of a concubine’s life (image generated with Midjounrey)

One of the Darkest Stories: The Levite's Concubine (Judges 19)

Speaking of consequences, some parts of the Bible are hard to read. Not because they’re confusing, but because they’re just plain awful.

The story of the Levite’s concubine in Judges 19 is one of those moments.

Here’s the short version:

A Levite takes a concubine. She leaves him, he goes to find her and bring her back. On the way home, they stop for the night in a town called Gibeah. At first, an older man offers them hospitality. But the night takes a dark turn.

The men of the city surround the house and demand to hurt the Levite. Instead, he sends out his concubine to them, and she’s assaulted all night. In the morning, she’s found collapsed at the doorstep, and she dies.

It’s a horrifying story. The Levite’s response is shocking, too. He cuts her body into pieces and sends them throughout Israel as a call to action. The whole nation is outraged, war breaks out, and tens of thousands die.

Whenever I’ve discussed this story with other people, they always ask the same thing: Why is this even in the Bible? A fair question to ask, honestly. 

The answer, for me, is: the Bible doesn’t hide how bad things got when "everyone did what was right in their own eyes" (Judges 21:25).

This wasn’t a story of God's approval. It was a warning. A mirror held up to a society that had abandoned justice, mercy, and covenant loyalty. It reminds us that when people walk away from God’s ways, real people, especially the vulnerable, suffer.

The story of the Levite’s concubine is meant to make us sick to our stomachs. It's supposed to. Because some parts of the human story are that broken, and God doesn’t gloss over it.

By the New Testament, Everything Had Shifted

By the time we get to the New Testament, you don’t hear about concubines anymore.

You don’t see apostles or early Christians keeping multiple wives or secondary partners. Instead, the teaching moves clearly and intentionally back toward God’s original design: one man, one woman, joined together in a covenant of love and faithfulness.

Jesus, when asked about marriage, pointed back to Genesis:

 "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female... Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?" (Matthew 19:4–5, ESV)

Jesus was calling people back to the blueprint, and the early church picked up the same thread. 

Leaders like Paul also emphasized the importance of mutual love, respect, and faithfulness in marriage (Ephesians 5:22–33).

The messy, complicated household structures of the Old Testament gave way to a call for unity and partnership, where both husband and wife were valued, protected, and called to serve each other out of love.

And by the time we reach the New Testament, you can feel that shift happening.

What It All Means for Us Today

A culture can deeply shape what people see as “normal”, even when it’s not what God intended. Back then, having concubines made perfect sense to a lot of people. It was practical. It was strategic. But it wasn’t part of the beautiful, equal partnership God had laid out for marriage.

But that also shows us something incredible about God’s patience. He didn’t abandon people because they got it wrong. He stayed in the story, working through broken families and messy decisions.

Thinking about the world we live in today, just because something feels normal doesn’t mean it’s good. Just because it’s culturally accepted doesn’t mean it lines up with God’s values. That’s true in relationships, but also in the way we treat each other, the way we view success, power, and justice.

If you skip over stories like this one, you might miss the deeper thread that runs through all of Scripture: God meets people right where they are, but He never leaves them there.

That same patience, that same grace, is still being offered to us today.

Representation of two women (a wife and concubine) of the same household (image generated with Midjourney)

Bottom Line

The Bible’s stories about concubines aren’t there to shock us or confuse us. They're there to show us what happens when people live by the values of their culture instead of the heart of God. 

If you’ve still got questions or you want to dig a little deeper into stories like this, the Bible Chat App is a really good place to start. 

You can search, ask, and explore, and maybe find some insights you wouldn’t have spotted on your own. It’s always worth taking another step, because the more you explore the Bible, the more you realize it’s telling one big, beautiful story. And every part of it matters.

References

1. John H. Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006).
2. Christopher J. H. Wright, Old Testament Ethics for the People of God (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004).
3. David W. Baker, ed., Marriage and Family in the Biblical World (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2003).

David Noel Freedman, ed., The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 6 vols. (New York: Doubleday, 1992).