Wives of King David: Ahinoam of Jezreel
Ahinoam was the first wife David married after he left Michal to flee for his life. She is always listed as Ahinoam of Jezreel.
She is often confused with “Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz” {1 Samuel 14} who was King Saul’s wife. There is no proof these two women are the same.
Jezreel
We know Ahinoam was from the area of Jezreel, because she is always listed as Ahinoam of Jezreel. According to Wikipedia, “Jezreel was an ancient Israelite city and fortress originally within the boundaries of the Tribe of Issachar, and later within the northern Kingdom of Israel. According to the Book of Kings, the royal palace of King Ahab in Jezreel was adjacent to the vineyard of Naboth. Prior to the division of the United Kingdom of Israel, the city was also the hometown of Ahinoam, first wife of King David.”
The name Jezreel means God soweth.
Ahinoam is often listed with Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Camel. Considering her name always precedes Abigail’s name, this strongly suggest David married Ahinoam before he married Abigail.
According to Wikipedia the name Ahinoam means pleasant.
She is listed six times by name in scripture.
She would have been with David through a number of good and bad times while he was on the run, living in Hebron and later when he became King. She was also taken captive when the Amalekites raided Ziklag, which was David’s Philistine base.
2 Samuel 3 tells us that Ahinoam is the mother of David’s first born, Amnon. Sadly, Amnon is best remembered for raping his half-sister, Tamar.
Who exactly is Ahinoam, how they’ve met, I want to find our the details, that’s what I’m trying to find out. Tnx.
Ahinoam was the first wife of David {after he fled Michal and King Saul}. They would have married when he was on the run from King Saul. We don’t know how they met.
Thanks for your writings. Very interesting. BTW, there was another Jezreel in southern Judah which is a more likely location where David met Ahinoam. Speaking of Judah locations, don’t fret – there were also double locations for Carmel and Bethlehem, and three or four Beth-Shemeshes scattered in Israel.
Thank you for sharing!