Deuteronomy 17:17

17 The king shall not have many wives, that draw his mind to lusts, neither he shall have great weights of silver and of gold. (The king shall not have many wives, who would draw away his mind to lust, or too much fleshliness, nor shall he have great quantities of silver and gold.)

Deuteronomy 17:17 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 17:17

Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart
turn not away
From attending to the duty of his office, the care and government of his people, and from serious religion; and particularly from the worship of the true God, as the heart of Solomon was turned away from it by his numerous idolatrous wives, ( 1 Kings 11:3 1 Kings 11:4 ) , it is a common notion of the Jews that a king might have eighteen wives, and no more ^F11: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold; he might increase his wealth, but not greatly, lest his heart should be lifted up with pride by it, and lest his subjects should be oppressed and burdened with taxes for that purpose; or he, being possessed of so much, should make use of it to enslave them, and especially should be so elated with it as to deny God, and despise his providence, and disobey his laws; see ( Proverbs 30:9 ) . The Jews generally say {l}, that he ought not to multiply more than what will pay the stipends or wages of his servants, and only for the treasury of the house of the Lord, and for the necessity of the congregation (or commonwealth), and for their wars; but not for himself, and his own treasury.

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 Maimon. Issure Biah, c. 1. sect. 2. Misn. ut supra. (Sanhedrin, c. 10. sect. 4.). T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 21. 1. Targum Jon. & Jarchi in loc.
F12 Maimon. ib. sect. 4. Misn. ut supra. (^F11)

Deuteronomy 17:17 In-Context

15 thou shalt ordain him, whom thy Lord God chooseth, (out) of the number of thy brethren. Thou shalt not be able to make king a man of another folk, which man is not thy brother (Thou shalt not ordain a man from another nation to be your king, yea, a man who is not thy brother, that is, thy kinsman).

16 And when the king is ordained, he shall not multiply horses to him(self), neither he shall lead again the people into Egypt, neither he shall be raised into pride, or tyranny, by the number of knights, mostly since the Lord commanded to you, that ye turn no more again by the same way. (And when the king is ordained, he shall not multiply horses unto himself, nor shall he lead the people back to Egypt, in order to add to his horses, for the Lord hath commanded that ye never go back there.)

17 The king shall not have many wives, that draw his mind to lusts, neither he shall have great weights of silver and of gold. (The king shall not have many wives, who would draw away his mind to lust, or too much fleshliness, nor shall he have great quantities of silver and gold.)

18 Forsooth after that he hath set in the throne of his realm, he shall write to himself, that is, shall make to be written, the deuteronomy, that is, declaration, of this law in a book, and he shall take (the) exemplar of (the) priests of the kin of Levi; (And after that he hath sat on the throne of his kingdom, he shall have written for himself the deuteronomy, or the declaration, of this law in a book, and his copy shall be made from the original held by the levitical priests;)

19 and he shall have it with him, and he shall read it in all the days of his life, that he learn to dread his Lord God, and to keep his words and his ceremonies, that be commanded in the law; (and he shall have it with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, so that he can learn to fear the Lord his God/so that he can learn to revere the Lord his God, and obey all his words and his statutes, that be commanded in the law;)