In Deuteronomy 17 Moses discusses when and how the Jewish people can chose a king. Though the Jewish king has great power and authority, there are 3 things prohibited to him.
Here are those 3 prohibitions:
16. Only he shall not amass horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should amass horses; for as much as the Lord has said to you, “You shall not return again on that way.”
17. Neither shall he amass wives for himself, that his heart turn not away; nor shall he greatly amass for himself silver and gold.
Overview by Rav Hirsch
Rabbi Hirsch writes that the word “only” (Hebrew: rak) imposes “on the king the duty of self-restraint, primarily with regard to those matters that have always been stumbling blocks to the virtue of rulers and to the success of their peoples.”
Rabbi Hirsch spells out that these are lust for:
- military glory
- women
- wealth
The Key Word – Yarbeh
The key Hebrew word in these verses is “yarbeh” from the 3-letter root reish-bet-hey. This root appears 4 times in these two verses.
Many English translations render it as “multiply.” The Hirsch translation renders it as “get many.” I’ve chosen to use the Steinsaltz translation “amass.”
The king is not forbidden to have horses, wives, and wealth. He is, however, forbidden to have too much of any of them.
Deuteronomy 17:16 – Meaning
The Gemara understands this verse in a narrow way:
Our Rabbis taught: “He shall not amass horses for himself.” I might think, not even such as are required for his horsemen and chariots. Scripture therefore states: “for himself.” “For himself” [that is, for his own private use] he may not multiply, but he may multiply as many as are required for his chariots and horsemen.
As Rabbi Hirsch points out, the horse was the animal of war. A ruler preparing for war would ensure he had many horses and riders.
For example, in 2 Kings 18, Assyria was threatening to attack Jerusalem. The spokesman for the king of Assyria mocked the weakness of King Hezekiah:
23. And therefore, I beg you, make a wager with my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver to you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders upon them.
he shall not amass horses for himself – Ramban explains the king should not amass horses for himself, no matter where he gets them. The king needs to learn to trust in God, not in military strength.
1. Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help; and depend on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not to the Holy One of Israel, nor do they seek the Lord!
Ramban adds (based on the Jerusalem Talmud) that it is permitted to engage in normal trade and business dealings with Egypt. What is not permitted is settling there. (Note: there are many details to the status of the Jewish people and Egypt that I’m not going to address in this article.)
nor cause the people to return to Egypt – because Egypt was the source for horses at that time [Rashi]. King Solomon established a horse trading business in Egypt (see 1 Kings 10:28-29).
Rabbi Hirsch understands this verse to be a prohibition against becoming dependent on Egypt. Becoming dependent on Egypt is symbolized by constantly traveling there to obtain things that the Land of Israel does not have.
to the end that he should amass horses –
The word horse (Hebrew: sus) appears two times in the verse. The first time it is plural (Hebrew: susim). In the second phrase it’s in the singular, horse. Even so, most translations render it as “horses” since that seems to be the plain sense of the verse.
The Vilna Gaon finds a lesson in the switch between singular and plural. The singular teaches that even one horse too many is a transgression. The plural at the beginning of the verse indicates that each and every horse that is too many is an additional transgression.
Deuteronomy 17:17 Explained
Neither shall he amass wives for himself – Rashi writes he may have up to 18 wives. This is learned from King David. He had six wives when he sinned with Bat Sheva. God indicated to him that if six wives were not enough, he could have had 12 more.
Here are King David’s six wives, based on 2 Samuel 3:2-5 as understood by the Gemara Sanhedrin 21a:
- Ahinoam the Jezreelitess
- Abigail
- Maacah
- Hagith
- Abital
- Eglah (also called Michal)
that his heart turn not away – Daat Mikra suggests two explanations for this phrase. First, that the king’s heart does not turn away from the correct path of being a righteous person.
Their second explanation is that he should not divert his attention from his obligations as king.
nor shall he greatly amass for himself silver and gold – only enough wealth to pay his soldiers [Rashi].
Rabbi Hirsch notes that about horses and wives the verse just says “don’t amass.”
But with silver and gold it says “don’t greatly amass.” A king does need more wealth than an ordinary person. But he needs to guard himself from lusting after wealth.
Daat Mikra points out that reasons were given for not amassing horses or wives. Having too many of these may lead to a different problem.
But no reason is given for this prohibition. That’s because hoarding wealth itself can be detrimental. As the verse says:
12. There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun; riches hoarded by their owner to his hurt.
More than One Wife
As Deuteronomy 17:17 makes clear, a king may have many wives.
Then we read this interpretation of the verse:
Now that you say that “for himself” is for purpose of exegesis, how will you interpret, “Neither shall he amass wives for himself”? — As excluding commoners.
In other words, according to the Gemara, a non-king may have as many wives as he wants.
Rabbi Steinsaltz adds that this only applies if the man can financially support all of his wives.
The Torah Ideal
Though the Torah permits an ordinary man to marry more than one wife, what is the ideal number of wives?
The first mention of marriage is early in Genesis:
24. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall be one flesh.
It seems to me that this verse implies that the ideal marital relationship is one man and one woman.
In fact, throughout the Torah we find very few mentions of men having multiple wives.
Based on my research, here’s the list of men with more than one wife:
- Lamech, 2 wives, Genesis 4:19
- Abraham, 2 wives, Genesis 16
- Esau, 3 wives, Genesis 26:34 and 28:9
- Jacob, 4 wives, Genesis 32:23
- Elkanah (father of Samuel), 2 wives, 1 Samuel 1:2
- David, six wives before Bat Sheva
- Solomon, many wives, 1 Kings 11:3
- Jehoiachin, multiple wives, 2 Kings 24:15
- Abijah, 14 wives, 2 Chronicles 13:21
- Jehoiada the priest, 2 wives, 2 Chronicles 24:3
Note: The simple reading of 2 Chronicles 24:3 is that the priest had two wives. However, there are those who interpret the verse to mean that Jehoiada the priest arranged for King Joash to marry two wives.
That’s all I found. Let me know if I’ve missed anyone.
For all practical purposes, the Jewish world does not permit a man more than one wife. Rabbeinu Gershom (Germany, about 960 – 1040) forbade polygamy. His ban was accepted by the Ashkenazi community, but not the Sephardi community. Most Jews live in countries that do not accept polygamy and (so far as I know) follow local laws and customs in this matter.
A Lesson for All Time
The Gemara derives a practical lesson from these verses and two of the prohibitions.
Rabbi Isaac also said: Why were the reasons of Biblical laws not revealed? Because in two verses reasons were revealed, and they caused the greatest in the world [King Solomon] to stumble.
Thus it is written: “Neither shall he amass wives for himself,” whereon Solomon said, ‘I will multiply wives yet not let my heart be perverted.’ Yet we read, When Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart [1 Kings 11:4].
Again it is written: “he shall not amass horses for himself” concerning which Solomon said, ‘I will multiply them, but will not cause [Israel] to return [to Egypt].’ Yet we read: And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred pieces of silver [1 Kings 10:29].
We don’t know the reason for most commandments. Maybe that’s a good thing that keeps us from thinking we can be clever and avoid falling into sin.
Further Reading
Deuteronomy 17:16-17 are included in Parshat Shoftim.
I’ve written an article about Rambam and Marriage.
In Parshat Ki Teitzei there is further proof that a man may have more than one wife.