We talk a lot about the most famous son of David, but how many sons did he have? What happened to them?
Fortunately, the Bible doesn’t leave us in the dark about this topic.
According to 1 Chronicles, there were at least 19 sons of David from at least seven different women. The entry breaks up the list of sons based on two factors: when they were born and who their mother was.
David had several children born between Saul’s death (while David ruled a section of Israel called Hebron) and winning a war against Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth (which made David Israel’s undisputed king). The sons born during this period were:
- Amnon
- Daniel
- Absalom
- Adonijah
- Shephatiah
- Ithream
After David became Israel’s undisputed king, he had more sons:
- Shammua
- Shobab
- Nathan
- Solomon
- Ibhar
- Elishua
- Eliphelet
- Nogah
- Nepheg
- Japhia
- Elishama
- Eliada
- Eliphelet
As we will get into in later sections, 1 Chronicles doesn’t tell us all we’d like to know. It lists the total legitimate sons David had—19. However, this list ends with “All these were the sons of David, besides his sons by his concubines” (1 Chronicles 3:9). So, David had more sons whose names go unrecorded because they weren’t part of the line of succession.
David had several wives—his first was Michal, daughter of Saul, and she didn’t have any children (2 Samuel 6:23). We will discuss later whether David sinned by having so many wives. For now, let’s look at who these wives were and which sons they bore.
Ahinoam of Jezreel was Amnon’s mother. Easton’s Bible Dictionary explains that Jezreel was an Israelite town within the territory of the tribe of Issachar.
Abigail of Carmel was Daniel’s mother. As detailed in 1 Samuel 25, Abigail was originally married to a foolish man named Nabal, who disrespected David and nearly died for his insolence. Abigail convinced David not to kill her husband, though he died of a stroke or heart attack after learning how close he came to death.
Maakah, daughter of Talmai king of Geshur, was Absalon’s mother. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states Geshur was an Aramean kingdom, which may explain why David didn’t get in trouble for breaking the law forbidding marriage to other nations (Deuteronomy 7:2-5). The Arameans, like the Israelites, were descended from Noah’s son Shem (Genesis 22:21). They were foreigners but fellow Semites, not one of the seven nations the Israelites were supposed to destroy (Deuteronomy 7:1). Maakah also had at least one daughter, David’s only daughter mentioned in the Bible: Tamar (2 Samuel 13:1).
- Haggith was Adonijah’s mother.
- Abital was Shephatiah’s mother.
- Eglah was Ithream’s mother.
- Bathsheba had at least four sons: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon.
Since 1 Chronicles 3 skips over illegitimate sons (“sons of concubines”), this list likely doesn’t include the first son Bathsheba had with David. Second Samuel 11 explains how after David learned she was pregnant, he had her husband killed and married her quickly. The prophet Nathan informed David that God was enraged at his sins, and the son died shortly after birth. The passage doesn’t mention this first son’s name, only that Solomon was born not long afterward. So, Bathsheba may have had five total sons with David.
1 Chronicles doesn’t identify the mothers of Ibhar, Elishua, Eliphelet, Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. Since it organizes these sons under “the sons of David, besides his sons by his concubines” (1 Chronicles 3:9), they were clearly legitimate. So, why aren’t their mothers listed?
Possibly, their mothers first belonged to someone else. When Nathan rebukes David for adultery with Bathsheba, he reminds David that God “gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms” (2 Samuel 12:12). The master was Saul, Israel’s first king. Saul had at least one wife, Ahinoam (1 Samuel 14:50), and at least one concubine, Rizpah (2 Samuel 3:7). The Bible doesn’t mention other wives and concubines, though it lists eight children he had (1 Chronicles 8:33, 1 Samuel 14:49, 2 Samuel 2:28). So, Saul likely had multiple wives and concubines.
David gaining Saul’s wives was not uncommon for his day. Ancient Near Eastern cultures didn’t give women many (if any) rights. Warriors often acquired other men’s women after the men died or were conquered. For example, after Saul died, his general Ahab took Rizpah (2 Samuel 3:7). That practice would harm David later, as we will see in the discussion about Absalom.
Whether or not David had relations with all of Saul’s wives isn’t clear. God’s law forbade marrying a woman and her mother (Leviticus 20:14), and his first wife was Saul’s daughter. So, he presumably didn’t marry Michal’s mother if she was still living. Since David’s culture treated women like property, and no one was obligated to care for widows, he likely sent Michal’s mother back to her family or let her live in his palace to please Michal.
Ancient Near Eastern cultures may have allowed warriors to acquire other men’s wives, but that didn’t necessarily mean the women were valued. Honor (and shame) had high value, and Saul wasn’t an honorable king. He lost his throne for disobeying God (1 Samuel 15:22-23). Perhaps as a result, 1 Chronicles 3 starts its genealogy of Israel’s kings with David, then covers Saul’s genealogy five chapters later.
Therefore, Saul’s wives likely had poor social standing even after Saul died. David may have married them, and their sons may have been legitimate, but their culture probably saw them as “tainted goods.” So, it wouldn’t be surprising if the authors of 1 Chronicles 3 omitted their names while including their sons’ names.
The Bible doesn’t specify what happened to all the sons of David. However, a few appear in later Bible stories.
Amnon developed feelings for his half-sister, Tamar. While God seems to have overlooked (or at least not directly punished) earlier generations where half-siblings married each other (such as Abraham and Sarah), he explicitly forbade sex between siblings or half-siblings in Leviticus 20:17. Not only did Amnon want to violate this law. His feelings seemed to have been pure lust. He felt ill with desire (2 Samuel 13:2), contrived a way to sleep with Tamar, and didn’t care whether she consented (2 Samuel 13:5-14). Afterward, he hated her and threw her out of his room (2 Samuel 13:15).
Absalom, Tamar’s brother, heard about Amnon raping Tamar not long after it happened (2 Samuel 13:20-22). He arranged to kill Amnon (2 Samuel 13:23-29). Years later, he conspired against David (2 Samuel 16). After David fled Jerusalem, Absalom slept with some of David’s concubines (2 Samuel 16:15-22). Like David acquiring Saul’s wives, this was a power move: it proclaimed he was taking his father’s place. Absalom’s coups failed, and David’s commander Joab defied David’s orders and had Absalom killed (2 Samuel 18).
Adonijah didn’t participate in Absalom’s rebellion but performed a sneakier one later. When David was very old, and the Israelites were pondering when he’d die, Joab worked with the priest Abiathar to install Adonijah on the throne (1 Kings 1:5-52). Bathsheba informed David what was happening, and he quickly declared Solomon was his heir. Adonijah pleaded mercy, but Solomon executed him years later. Adonijah asked to marry Abishag the Shunammite, who had nursed David and slept in his bed (because David was so old he couldn’t generate much body heat). Solomon deduced that Adonijah was trying to get one of his father’s “women,” which challenged Solomon’s authority.
Solomon became the most famous son of David. Despite being one of the younger sons, he became king. After becoming a king, he asked God for wisdom and got both wisdom and riches (1 Kings 3:13). Solomon devoted his reign to carrying on his father’s dream of building God a temple (1 Kings 6), and his time is often considered Israel’s golden age. Unfortunately, Solomon also acquired many women—700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3). God punished him for marrying so many foreign women who brought idol worship into Israel (1 Kings 11:9-13). As a result, Israel fell apart a generation later, becoming two kingdoms.
The sons of David, like their faith, lived complicated and often bloody lives filled with mistakes as well as glories. This means there are many things we can learn from their lives. Here are some of the clearest lessons we can learn.
Having more women will not satisfy.
Scholars debate why David had so many wives. He might have married some of them to get help from their clans while fleeing Saul. He seems to have married some of them as power moves (getting Saul’s throne, Saul’s women). At least once, he married because lust got him in trouble—and the fact he wanted Bathsheba, not one of the six wives he already had, shows David wasn’t satisfied with what he had. Ted Roberts goes as far as to suggest these actions mean David might have struggled with sex addiction. He certainly wanted too many women, and acted on his lust. Solomon had that problem to an even larger extent. More sex with more women doesn’t lead to more fulfillment.
Passivity just creates more problems.
David was a man after God’s own heart but struggled to rebuke his sons. He was enraged when Amnon raped Tamar but did nothing about it (2 Samuel 13:21-22). He had some idea that Adonijah was aiming to become king but didn’t say anything about it (1 Kings 1:6). Sometimes, David’s reason for passivity is clear. He struggled to discipline Adonijah because he’d lost Absalom, and Adonijah “was born next after Absalom” (1 Kings 1:17). Other times, it’s unclear. Maybe he didn’t discipline Amnon because Amnon was the old son and heir apparent, or because rebuking Amnon’s sexual sins would mean examining his own sexual choices. Whatever the reason, David was a passive father, which only brought more pain later.
Women should not be treated as trophies.
A recurring theme with David and his sons is they would acquire women not just for sex but as power moves against male rivals. Michal loved David, but it’s not clear that David loved her (1 Samuel 18:20). He decided to marry her when Saul challenged him about how many Philistines he’d kill to become a king’s son-in-law (1 Samuel 18:20-30). David’s choice seems motivated by bloodlust and feeling his masculinity challenged—was he man enough to play Saul’s game? Acquiring Saul’s wives was another power move—replacing Saul on his throne and bed. Absolom and Adonijah played similar power moves—Absalom taking David’s concubine, Adonijah trying to get a woman seen as David’s concubine. While this attitude to women was normal for their time, it didn’t lead anywhere good. David and Michal became estranged. After David returned, the women Absalom slept with were treated like widows, never seen again (2 Samuel 20:3). The Bible may not show God explicitly rebuking David and his sons for how they treat women, but the results (for the women, for the men) are clear to see.
Revenge will not satisfy.
Absalom’s anger Amnon and his father was justified, but his yearning for vengeance only worsened things. As Gene Edwards observed in A Tale of Three Kings, David learned to leave vengeance to God (Deuteronomy 32:35). His father-in-law Saul and his son Absalom tried to get their own vengeance, and they each lost their lives doing so.
Polygamy leads nowhere good.
God rebuked Solomon but not David for his many wives, perhaps because Solomon had violated the most specific part of the law: don’t marry into other nations (Deuteronomy 7:3-4). Israel was supposed to be a different nation than its neighbors and make a clean break from idol worship. Solomon’s actions brought idol worship—including practices like child sacrifice and ritual prostitution—directly into Israel. David may have avoided his son’s sin—he only married Semite women and never played with idols. However, that didn’t make his polygamy right. It created problems—sons lusting after half-sisters and squabbling with their half-brothers for power. Like other biblical figures who had multiple wives (Abraham, Jacob), David learned the hard way that there is only one marriage model.
Photo Credit: Getty Images/kieferpix
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