Men in the Old Testament with Multiple Wives Quiz

Answer: 3

Abraham fathered children with three different women -- Sarah, Hagar and Keturah.

Genesis 21:3 states that Sarah gave birth to Isaac. She had been barren for the longest time, and had previously given permission to Abraham to sleep with her handmaiden Hagar to produce children. Abraham's tryst with Hagar resulted in the birth of Ishmael, as per Genesis 16:15.

Meanwhile, Genesis 25:1 tells of Abraham taking Keturah as his wife, presumably after the death of Sarah. Scripture states Keturah gave birth to six sons -- Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

Answer: Lamech

Lamech is the first man in the Bible to be described as having more than one wife. According to Genesis 4:19, he was married to Adah and Zillah. Scripture states Adah was the mother of two boys, Jabal and Jubah, while Zillah was the mother of a boy and a girl -- Tubal Cain and Namaah.

In addition to being the first polygamist in the Bible, Lamech has the distinction of being the second murderer, after Cain. See Genesis 4:23-24 for details.

Answer: Ibzan

Ibzan, according to Scripture, was the father of thirty sons and thirty daughters, but there is no mention of how many wives he had. According to Judges 12:8-10, Ibzan was from Bethlehem and ruled as judge over Israel for seven years.

Scripture states he gave his thirty daughters away and brought in thirty daughters from elsewhere for his sons.

Answer: Gideon

According to Judges 8:30, Gideon, a judge of Israel, was the father of seventy sons with his "many" wives. Details, however, are not given as to how many daughters Gideon fathered, or the exact number of wives. As if all this isn't enough, Verse 31 states he had a concubine who gave birth to a son, Ambimelech. No name is given for the concubine.

Answer: Esau

Esau, the twin brother of Jacob, had three different wives. They were Bashemath, Judith and Mahalath, as per Genesis 26:24 and 28:9. According to Genesis 26:24-25, Esau's parents, Isaac and Rebekah, were not impressed with Bashemath and Judith, as the verses state they were "a grief of mind" to them.

According to Scripture, Bashemath and Judith were Hittites, the daughters of Elon and Beeri respectively. Meanwhile, Mahalath was the daughter of Ishmael.

Genesis 25:25 states Esau was "like a hairy garment all over" when he was born.

Answer: David

David is the correct answer. It is not known for certain how many wives David had, although eight of them are named in Scripture. The wives named in Scripture are Michal, Abigail, Ahinoam, Eglah, Maacah, Abital, Haggith, and Bathsheba. He also had at least ten concubines, as per 2 Samuel 15:16.

The most notable wives were Bathsheba and Abigail, followed by Michal and Haggith. The others are mentioned in only passing reference.

Answer: Rehoboam

Rehoboam, according to Scripture, had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. Out of his many wives and concubines, 2 Chronicles 11:21 states Rehoboam loved Macaah the most. Interestingly, Macaah was the granddaughter of Absalom, who had led an unsuccessful rebellion against his father David when he was king.

Answer: Ahab

Ahab is the correct answer. He was known for being a vehement opponent of Elijah, partly because of the immense hatred his wife Jezebel had for all prophets of God. While Jezebel's name often leaps to mind when Ahab's name is mentioned, the king did have other wives, as per 1 Kings 20:7. 2 Kings 10:1 states Ahab had seventy sons, however, there is no indication in Scripture as to how many wives he had apart from Jezebel, regarded by many as the most wicked woman in the Bible.

Answer: Abijah

Abijah had fourteen wives and was the father of thirty-eight children -- twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 2 Chronicles states he reigned for three years over Judah and was the son of Rehoboam and Michaiah. In other words, he was the grandson of Solomon and the great grandson of David. His name also appears as Abijam in Scripture.

Answer: Solomon

Solomon, of course, is the correct answer. According to 1 Kings 11:3, the king of Israel had seven hundred wives and princesses as well as three hundred concubines. No details are given as to the number of children he fathered.

It's mindboggling to realize it's possible kings of other countries in the Bible had more wives than Solomon. For example, Ahasuerus (known as Xerxes in the NIV) ruled over the Persian empire that stretched from India in the east to Ethiopia in the west, making Israel tiny in size. However, no details are given as to the number of women in his harem, apart from the fact Vahsti was initially queen and was replaced by Esther.

So going strictly by Scripture, with the question emphasizing who 'probably' left more widows than anyone else when he died, the answer to the question has to be Solomon.