Pilegesh

Pilegesh (Hebrew: פִּילֶגֶשׁ) is a Hebrew term for a concubine, a female, unmarried sexual slave^[1] of social and legal status inferior to that of a wife.^[2]^[3] Among the Israelites, some men acknowledged their concubines, and such women enjoyed the same rights in the house as legitimate wives.^[4]

Despite Maimonides' notable dissension, Jewish textual scholars, including Yakov Emden and the head of the Rabbinical Court of Jerusalem, have concluded that taking a woman as a concubine is allowed in contemporary Jewish culture.^[5]^[6]^[7]

^ Rashkow, Ilona (2023). "Jewish Bible Quarterly Vol 51. Issue 1 - Laws Relating to Female Slaves in Ancient Israel". Gale Academic OneFile. Retrieved 2024-11-25. Several biblical texts suggest that a pilegesh grows up to become an enslaved woman with no other function but to sexually please her master and produce his children
^ Concubinage - The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History (1 ed.). Oxford University Press. 2008-01-01. ISBN 978-0-19-514890-9.
^ "Concubine". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
^ Staff (2002–2011). "PILEGESH (Hebrew, ; comp. Greek, παλλακίς).". Jewish Encyclopedia. JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
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[1] Rashkow, Ilona (2023). "Jewish Bible Quarterly Vol 51. Issue 1 - Laws Relating to Female Slaves in Ancient Israel". Gale Academic OneFile. Retrieved 2024-11-25. Several biblical texts suggest that a pilegesh grows up to become an enslaved woman with no other function but to sexually please her master and produce his children

[2] Concubinage - The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History (1 ed.). Oxford University Press. 2008-01-01. ISBN 978-0-19-514890-9.

[Concubine-3] "Concubine". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 14 February 2019.

[JewEncPil-4] Staff (2002–2011). "PILEGESH (Hebrew, ; comp. Greek, παλλακίς).". Jewish Encyclopedia. JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 13 June 2012.

[:0-5] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:1-6] Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:2-7] Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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