פִּלֶ֫גֶשׁ, H6370
concubine — a secondary wife of lower legal status, present in patriarchal, Levitical, and royal households
Pilegesh is a feminine noun denoting a concubine, a woman cohabiting with a man in a recognized but legally subordinate marital arrangement. The word itself is likely a loanword — possibly from Greek pallake or Hittite origins — reflecting the international character of this institution. Its 37 occurrences span the patriarchal narratives, where concubines bore legitimate heirs (Keturah as Abraham's pilegesh in Gen 25:6; Bilhah as Jacob's in Gen 35:22), the disturbing Judges cycle (the Levite's concubine in Judg 19-20, whose abuse triggers an intertribal war), and the royal harem (David's ten concubines, 2 Sam 5:13; 15:16; 16:21-22; 20:3; Solomon's 300 concubines, 1 Kgs 11:3). In 2 Samuel, Absalom's public appropriation of David's concubines signals a political claim to the throne (16:21-22), while Rizpah the concubine of Saul guards her sons' exposed bodies with fierce maternal devotion (2 Sam 21:11).
Senses
1. concubine, secondary wife — A secondary wife of inferior legal standing, distinguished from a full wife ('ishah) by reduced inheritance and divorce rights for her children. The institution appears without moral commentary in patriarchal narratives (Gen 22:24; 25:6; 35:22; 36:12), where concubines' sons receive gifts but not the primary inheritance. In the monarchic period, pilagshim become a marker of royal power and a political flashpoint: appropriating a king's concubine constitutes a claim to his throne (2 Sam 3:7; 16:21-22). The Levite's concubine narrative (Judg 19-20) uses her vulnerability to expose societal breakdown. Spanish 'concubina,' French 'concubine,' and the German glosses preserve the Latin-derived term, while the Hebrew word's non-Semitic origin (possibly Hittite or Greek pallake) reflects the international antiquity of the institution. 37×
AR["الـ-سَراريّ", "بِ-سُرِّيَّتِهِ", "سَراريَ", "سَرَارِيَّ", "سُرَارِيَ", "سُرِّيَّةً", "سُرِّيَّةٌ", "سُرِّيَّةُ", "سُرِّيَّةِ", "سُرِّيَّتُهُ", "فِيلَجْشِيم", "وَ-سُرِّيَّتُهُ"]·ben["উপপত্নী", "উপপত্নীদের", "এবং-তাঁর-উপপত্নী", "এবং-তার-উপপত্নী", "ও-উপপত্নী-তাঁর", "তাঁর-উপপত্নী", "তাঁর-উপপত্নীকে"]·DE["[פילגש]", "[פילגשים]", "[פלגש]", "concubines", "die-Nebenfrau", "ein-Nebenfrau", "ein-concubine", "sein-Nebenfrau", "und-sein-Nebenfrau", "und-seine-Nebenfrau"]·EN["a-concubine", "and-his-concubine", "concubine", "concubine-of", "concubines", "his-concubine"]·FR["concubine", "concubines", "et-son-concubine", "les-concubines,", "son-concubine", "un-concubine"]·heb["ב-פילגשו", "ו-פילגשהו", "ו-פילגשו", "ו-פילגשו-ו", "פילגש", "פילגשו", "פילגשים"]·HI["अपनी-रखैल", "उसकी-रखैल", "उसकी-रखैल-ने", "और-उसकी-रखैल", "और-उसकी-रखैलने", "रखेल", "रखेलियाँ", "रखेलियों", "रखेलों", "रखैल", "रखैलियाँ", "रखैलें"]·ID["Gundik-", "dan-gundiknya", "gundik", "gundik-", "gundik-gundik", "gundiknya"]·IT["concubina", "concubine", "concubines", "e-suo-concubina", "e-suo-concubine", "suo-concubine", "un-concubina", "un-concubine"]·jav["Lan-selir", "Lan-selir-ipun", "Selir", "dhateng-selir-nipun", "lan-selir-nipun", "para-selir", "selir", "selir-nipun"]·KO["그리고-그의-첩과", "그리고-그의-첩을", "그리고-그의-첩이", "그리고-체-그의", "그의-첩을", "그의-첩이", "첩-의", "첩들", "첩들과", "첩들을", "첩들의", "첩으로", "첩이", "첩이-있었으니"]·PT["Concubina-de", "E-concubina-sua", "E-sua-concubina", "concubina", "concubina-de", "concubinas", "e-sua-concubina", "em-sua-concubina", "sua-concubina"]·RU["И-наложница-его", "Мааха", "и-наложница-его", "наложниц", "наложница", "наложница-его", "наложницей", "наложницу", "наложницу-свою", "наложницы"]·ES["Concubina-de", "Y-su-concubina", "a-su-concubina", "concubina", "concubina-de", "concubinas", "su-concubina", "y-su-concubina"]·SW["Na-suria-wake", "Suria-wa", "alikuwa-na-suria", "masuria", "muumba", "na-suria-wake", "suria", "suria-wa", "suria-wake"]·TR["Ve-cariyesi", "cariye", "cariye-", "cariyeler", "cariyeleri", "cariyelerin", "cariyesi", "cariyesi-", "cariyesini", "ve-cariyesi", "ve-cariyesini"]·urd["اور-اُس-کی-داشتہ", "اور-حرم-اُس-کی", "اور-لونڈی-اُس-کی", "اُس-کی-داشتہ", "اُس-کی-داشتہ-نے", "اپنی-داشتہ-کو", "حرموں", "حرمیں", "حُرم", "حُرموں", "داشتاؤں", "داشتائیں", "داشتہ"]
Gen 22:24, Gen 25:6, Gen 35:22, Gen 36:12, Judg 8:31, Judg 19:1, Judg 19:2, Judg 19:9, Judg 19:10, Judg 19:24, Judg 19:25, Judg 19:27 (+25 more)
Related Senses
H0376 1. man, person, human male (2130×)H0251 1. brother (blood sibling) (573×)H0120 1. man, human being (individual/generic) (527×)H0802 1. woman, female person (519×)H0802 2. wife, spouse (255×)H0517 1. mother, female parent (217×)G0435 1. man, male person (202×)G1135 1. woman, adult female (190×)H2233 1. offspring, descendants (172×)H0001 2. ancestor, forefather (146×)H5288 1. Youth, young man (122×)H0269 1. sister (female sibling) (113×)H1755 1. generation, contemporaries (96×)G5043 1. child, offspring (89×)G0444 2. people, humankind (86×)H3206 1. child, boy, youth (86×)H2145 1. male (human being) (79×)G3384 1. mother (77×)H6485a 1. Qal passive participle: numbered ones, enrollment (76×)H1397 1. man (strong/mighty) (65×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
פִּלֶ֫גֶשׁ, פִּילֶ֫גֶשׁ n.f. concubine (NH id.; 𝔗Jer פִּילַּקְתָּא (פַּלְקְתָא), perhaps influenced by Gk. παλλακή, παλλακίς (proposes young girl), Lat. pellex; orig. Gk. word according to StaG. i.380, cf. also LewyFremdw. 66 f.; on poss. Hittite origin v. JenZMG xlviii (1894), 468 ff.);—פִּ׳ abs. 2 S 3:7, cstr. 21:11, פִּי׳ abs. Gn 36:12; Ju 19:1, cstr. Gn 35:22 + 4 times; sf. פִּילַנְשׁוֹ…