Ahinoam: Saul’s Wife and First Queen of Israel

The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. (I Samuel 14:50)

Ahinoam, the first queen in Israel was married to a less than faithful king – King Saul. (There was a second woman also named Ahinoam. She was one of the wives of King David. See below.)

As far as we know Ahinoam was Saul’s only wife. Saul was faithful to his wife if you don’t count concubines. (Recall that Rizpah was Saul’s concubine. See post on December 15, 2014).

Ahinoam bore Saul’s five sons and daughters including the noble Jonathan, David’s friend. There were two other sons, Ishui and Melchishua. Her daughters were Merab, who was promised to David as a reward for killing Goliath, and Michal.

Saul originally promised Merab to David but went back on his promise (I Samuel 17:25) and gave Merab to be the wife of someone else. He would later give Michal to David instead.

The story could have been really romantic, for Michal loved David. David tried to please Saul by accomplishing a hard task in order to win Michal’s hand, because she was after all a princess and he was only a shepherd.

Saul really hoped that the Philistines would kill David when he set out to get a dowry for his daughter. Saul asked for one hundred foreskins of the Philistines. David was happy to go and accomplish this task, and he outdid the bidding by bringing back two hundred foreskins. Now he felt like he was good enough to marry the king’s daughter.

David married Michal and became Ahinoam’s son-in-law.

As time went on Saul became jealous of David and tried to kill David and Michal. Saul eventually took Michal away from David and gave her to another man. (You can read more about Michal in the post on 9/12/2012.)

What were Ahinoam’s feelings while all of these things were happening? How sad for her to see her daughter leaving just because of her husband’s sins. Why did she just stand by as her husband treated women like bargaining chips to be used for his own political ends? Perhaps like so many women she did not defy her husband but helplessly watched from the sidelines.

She must have been a quiet woman going about her tasks humbly and faithfully. In those days queens and other noble women worked hard to take care of the poor in their neighborhoods. Ahinoam also had to see to the needs of the royal household. Truly she must have been a kind and gracious queen.

Unfortunately, like Jeroboam who came later in history, Saul also turned from God. God would cut off Saul’s house. Jonathan would die and eventually all of Saul’s offspring. How much sorrow came to this godly wife, mother, and queen as her menfolk perished?

Ahinoam is an example to us as a faithful wife and mother.

Ahinoam #2 – David’s Wife

David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both became his wives. (I Samuel 25:43)

As mentioned above, Saul tried to kill David when he realized that God was going to take the kingdom away from him and give it to David. While David was on the run from Saul he rescued two women from a wicked man named Nabal. God had killed Nabal and left his virtuous wife Abigail as a widow. (For more on Abigail see post 9/9/2010.) Abigail had been kind to David and so he rescued her and a woman named Ahinoam.

This Ahinoam is mentioned six times in the Old Testament as one of David’s wives. She and Abigail traveled with David the whole time he was on the run from Saul. When David eventually became king he would have eight wives altogether. Ahinoam would be the mother of David’s son Amnon. Later in life Amnon sinned grievously against his stepsister Tamar (See post 9/15/2014). Tamar’s brother Absalom had Amnon killed.

The wife of Jeroboam: First Queen of the Northern Kingdom

At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise now, and disguise yourself so that they will not know that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh; behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who spoke concerning me that I would be king over this people. (I Kings 14:1,2)

Jeroboam was hoping that a prophet of God would assure him that his son would recover from a serious illness. He was too cowardly, or perhaps had an extremely guilty conscience, to go see the prophet himself, so he sent his wife. Jeroboam had set up new places for the people to worship false gods. God had already sent a “man of God” earlier to warn Jeroboam, but Jeroboam continued in his evil ways. Jeroboam made priests to worship the idols and “this event became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to blot it out and destroy it from off the face of the earth.” (I Kings 13:34) Jeroboam’s wife did all that her husband asked of her. She disguised herself and went to see Ahijah. The prophet Ahijah gave her a message to take back to Jeroboam. It was not good news. All males in Jeroboam’s house, including her son, would die.

Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah. As she was entering the threshold of the house, the child died. All Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through His servant Ahijah the prophet.”   (I Kings 14:17,18)

This was sad news for the wife of Jeroboam, yet I believe that God blessed this faithful wife and mother by letting her child die a natural death and receive a proper burial. The prophet Ahijah said “All Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he alone of Jeroboam’s family will come to the grave, because in him something good was found toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.” (I Kings 14:13) The other males in Jeroboam’s house would die violent deaths and they would not be buried. “Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs will eat. And he who dies in the field the birds of he heavens will eat; for the Lord has spoken it.” (I Kings 14:11)

It was considered a curse in Israel to remain unburied. We will see this kind of curse again on an Israelite who was guilty of killing God’s prophets and doing as much evil as she could – Jezebel. Jezebel’s name became a byword for evil in Israel (Rev. 2:20). Jezebel was thrown off of a high wall. The king wanted to bury her, but when his men went to get her body all they found was her skull, hands, and feet. The dogs had eaten her up! This kind of death was a curse that God sent on evil people.

This horrible death was spared to Jeroboam and his wife’s son. It is very likely that the mother of Abijah had the comfort that her son was saved and would go to be with the Lord since God granted him a peaceful, honorable death. She herself would see her son in Heaven. She could do nothing with her wicked husband; it was too late. God would bless her for her own faithfulness.

And so all of these queens were faithful, obedient women. They all had tragedy in their lives. All would see their sons die. Queen Ahinoam, Saul’s wife, lost her son Jonathan. Queen Ahinoam, David’s wife, lost her son Amnon. Jeroboam’s queen lost her son Abijah. They remained faithful to the Lord in spite of so much sorrow and sacrifice.