Pilegesh
Encyclopedia
Pilegesh is a Hebrew
term for a concubine
with similar social
and legal
standing to a recognized wife, often for the purpose of producing offspring
.
deriving from the Greek
word pallakis, Greek παλλακίς, meaning a mistress
staying in house, or from the Aramaic
phrase palga isha, meaning half-wife.
and Hagar
; Leah
and Zilpah
; and Rachel
and Bilhah
. The concubine commanded the same respect and inviolability as the wife, and it was regarded as the deepest dishonor for the man to whom she belonged if hands were laid upon her.
According to the Babylonian Talmud (Sanh. 21a), the difference between a pilegesh and a full wife was that the latter received a ketubah
and her marriage was preceded by a formal betrothal ("kiddushin"), which was not the case with the former. According to R. Judah, however, the concubine also received a ketubah, but without the aliment pertaining to it.
Any offspring created as a result of a union between a pilegesh and a man were on equal legal footing with children of the man and his wife.
figures had concubines when they were not able to create natural children with their wives. The most famous example of this was with Abraham
and Sarah. Sarah, feeling guilty about her inability to give Abraham children, gave her maidservant Hagar to Abraham. Their union produced Ishmael
.
Other biblical figures such as Gideon
, David
, and Solomon
had concubines in addition to many childbearing wives.
The Book of Kings
mentions that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines; the wives were royal princesses with dowries
, while concubines had no dowries.
) held that concubines were prohibited under Jewish law. He wrote that concubines were reserved for kings and sexual
relations outside of marriage was not permitted. Ramban (Nahmanides
), Shmuel ben Uri
, and Yaakov Emden disagreed.
It has been suggested that Rambam's published view was meant to shape a public policy in response to the prohibition of mut'ah relationships by Sunni Muslims, which are in many ways similar to pilegesh relationships, just as the ban on polygamy by Rabbeinu Gershom
was made only subsequently to the Christian prohibition of it that effectively changed the law of the land.
In contemporary Israeli Hebrew
, the word "pilegesh" is often used as the equivalent of English "mistress
"—i.e. the female partner in extramarital relations even when these relations have no legal recognition.
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
term for a concubine
Concubinage
Concubinage is the state of a woman or man in an ongoing, usually matrimonially oriented, relationship with somebody to whom they cannot be married, often because of a difference in social status or economic condition.-Concubinage:...
with similar social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
and legal
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
standing to a recognized wife, often for the purpose of producing offspring
Offspring
In biology, offspring is the product of reproduction, of a new organism produced by one or more parents.Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny in a more general way...
.
Etymology
The term Pilegesh comes from a non-Hebrew, non-Semitic loanwordLoanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
deriving from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word pallakis, Greek παλλακίς, meaning a mistress
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
staying in house, or from the Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
phrase palga isha, meaning half-wife.
Legal characteristics
A pilegesh was recognized among the ancient Hebrews and enjoyed the same rights in the house as the legitimate wife. Since having children in Judaism was considered a great blessing, legitimate wives often gave their maids to their husbands so they could have children with them when those women themselves where childless, normally because of infertility issues as in the cases of SarahSarah
Sarah or Sara was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Her name was originally Sarai...
and Hagar
Hagar
-People:* Hagar , handmaid of Sarah and mother of Abraham's son Ishmael* Hagar Finer, Israeli WIBF bantamweight champion* Albert Hagar, Canadian politician* Mandy Hagar, New Zealand children's author...
; Leah
Leah
Leah , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is the first of the two concurrent wives of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob and mother of six of sons whose descendants became the Twelve Tribes of Israel, along with at least one daughter, Dinah. She is the daughter of Laban and the older sister of Rachel, whom...
and Zilpah
Zilpah
In the Book of Genesis, Zilpah is Leah's handmaid who becomes a wife of Jacob and bears him two sons Gad and Asher....
; and Rachel
Rachel
Rachel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is a prophet and the favorite wife of Jacob, one of the three Biblical Patriarchs, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She was the daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah, Jacob's first wife...
and Bilhah
Bilhah
In the Book of Genesis, Bilhah is Rachel's handmaid who becomes a wife of Jacob and bears him two sons, Dan and Naphtali....
. The concubine commanded the same respect and inviolability as the wife, and it was regarded as the deepest dishonor for the man to whom she belonged if hands were laid upon her.
According to the Babylonian Talmud (Sanh. 21a), the difference between a pilegesh and a full wife was that the latter received a ketubah
Ketubah
A ketubah is a special type of Jewish prenuptial agreement. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride.-History:...
and her marriage was preceded by a formal betrothal ("kiddushin"), which was not the case with the former. According to R. Judah, however, the concubine also received a ketubah, but without the aliment pertaining to it.
Any offspring created as a result of a union between a pilegesh and a man were on equal legal footing with children of the man and his wife.
Biblical references
Several biblicalBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
figures had concubines when they were not able to create natural children with their wives. The most famous example of this was with Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
and Sarah. Sarah, feeling guilty about her inability to give Abraham children, gave her maidservant Hagar to Abraham. Their union produced Ishmael
Ishmael
Ishmael is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, and was Abraham's first born child according to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ishmael was born of Abraham's marriage to Sarah's handmaiden Hagar...
.
Other biblical figures such as Gideon
Gideon
Gideon was an Israelite judge who appears in the Book of JudgesGideon may also refer to:- Religion :* Gideon , a figure in the Book of Mormon* Gideons International, distributor of copies of the Bible- Media :...
, David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
, and Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
had concubines in addition to many childbearing wives.
The Book of Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
mentions that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines; the wives were royal princesses with dowries
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
, while concubines had no dowries.
Jewish views
Rambam (MaimonidesMaimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
) held that concubines were prohibited under Jewish law. He wrote that concubines were reserved for kings and sexual
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
relations outside of marriage was not permitted. Ramban (Nahmanides
Nahmanides
Nahmanides, also known as Rabbi Moses ben Naḥman Girondi, Bonastruc ça Porta and by his acronym Ramban, , was a leading medieval Jewish scholar, Catalan rabbi, philosopher, physician, kabbalist, and biblical commentator.-Name:"Nahmanides" is a Greek-influenced formation meaning "son of Naḥman"...
), Shmuel ben Uri
Samuel ben Uri Shraga Phoebus
Samuel ben Uri Shraga Phoebus was a Polish rabbi and Talmudist of Woydyslaw in the second half of the 17th century. In his early youth he was a pupil of Rabbi Heshel in Cracow, and on the latter's death he continued his studies under R...
, and Yaakov Emden disagreed.
It has been suggested that Rambam's published view was meant to shape a public policy in response to the prohibition of mut'ah relationships by Sunni Muslims, which are in many ways similar to pilegesh relationships, just as the ban on polygamy by Rabbeinu Gershom
Gershom ben Judah
Gershom ben Judah, best known as Rabbeinu Gershom and also commonly known to scholars of Judaism by the title Rabbeinu Gershom Me'Or Hagolah , was a famous Talmudist and Halakhist.Rashi of Troyes Gershom ben Judah, (c. 960 -1040? -1028?) best known as Rabbeinu Gershom (Hebrew: רבנו גרשום, "Our...
was made only subsequently to the Christian prohibition of it that effectively changed the law of the land.
In contemporary Israeli Hebrew
Modern Hebrew
Modern Hebrew , also known as Israeli Hebrew or Modern Israeli Hebrew, is the language spoken in Israel and in some Jewish communities worldwide, from the early 20th century to the present....
, the word "pilegesh" is often used as the equivalent of English "mistress
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
"—i.e. the female partner in extramarital relations even when these relations have no legal recognition.