What is the total number of Abraham's wives?

Background: Scriptural Mentions of Abraham’s Wives

Genesis offers direct references to three women connected to Abraham in the role of “wife” or “concubine.” The first is Sarah, joined to Abraham in covenant marriage. The second is Hagar, given to Abraham by Sarah. The third is Keturah, whom Abraham took after Sarah’s death. Although 1 Chronicles 1:32 calls Keturah a concubine, Genesis 25:1 speaks of her as a wife. The interplay between these terms has led some to differentiate official marriage from concubinage, yet a straightforward reading of Genesis recognizes three women whom the narrative calls Abraham’s wives.

Below is a step-by-step examination of each relationship, followed by a summary of how these references converge to indicate a total of three wives.

1. Sarah as Abraham’s Covennant Wife

Sarah occupies a foundational position in Abraham’s life:

• In Genesis 12:5, we read this simple acknowledgment of their marital bond: “Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran...”

• Later, God changes her name from Sarai to Sarah, underscoring her role in the covenant promises (Genesis 17:15–16).

Scripture places great emphasis on Sarah as the mother of Isaac, the promised child through whom the covenant line would continue (Genesis 21:1–2). No debate surrounds Sarah’s status; she is universally recognized as Abraham’s first and primary wife.

2. Hagar as Given to Abraham “as a Wife”

Hagar’s story appears in Genesis 16. Initially Sarah’s Egyptian maidservant, Hagar’s status is significant:

• Genesis 16:3 states: “So after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan for ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to Abram to be his wife.”

• This language specifies that Hagar was not merely a servant or concubine; the text places her in a formal marital standing.

• Scripture recounts Hagar’s conception of Ishmael (Genesis 16:11–12), providing Abraham’s firstborn son, though Ishmael was not the child of the covenant promise.

The tension between Sarah and Hagar underscores complex family dynamics, but the passage’s wording clarifies Hagar was made a wife to Abraham, even if she is later viewed or treated as a concubine-like figure in some interpretive traditions.

3. Keturah’s Role and Terminology

After Sarah’s death (Genesis 23:1–2), Abraham took another woman named Keturah:

• Genesis 25:1 records: “Now Abraham had taken another wife, named Keturah.”

• She bore several sons, among them Midian, whose lineage resurfaces elsewhere in the biblical record (Genesis 25:2).

• The apparent difference arises in 1 Chronicles 1:32, which says: “The sons born to Keturah, Abraham’s concubine...” This has generated questions about whether Keturah ranks as a full wife or a concubine in a narrower sense.

In ancient Near Eastern contexts, “concubine” could at times operate much like a wife, though typically with a lesser inheritance status. Genesis 25:1 explicitly uses the word “wife,” so most understand that Keturah, effectively, was his wife, though she is categorized among texts as a concubine in Chronicles.

4. The Total Number of Wives

Drawing together the Scriptural evidence:

• Sarah: Covenant wife and mother of Isaac.

• Hagar: Given to Abraham “as a wife” (Genesis 16:3), though sometimes later referred to with a status akin to a concubine.

• Keturah: Identified as a “wife” (Genesis 25:1), also described as a concubine in 1 Chronicles 1:32.

Taken at face value, each is referred to in Scripture as a wife, culminating in a total of three. While interpretive nuances exist related to concubinage in the culture of the time, the simplest reading of the biblical text points to Abraham having three wives when each relationship is viewed distinctly.

5. Significance in the Broader Biblical Narrative

Abraham’s family structure is pivotal:

• It illustrates the expansion of descendants who form various nations around the Ancient Near East. The lineage of Isaac leads to Israel (Genesis 21:12–13), while Ishmael’s descendants become a separate but related group (Genesis 17:20).

• Keturah’s sons also factor into numerous people groups, reflecting the fulfillment of God’s promise that Abraham would be “a father of many nations” (Genesis 17:4).

Throughout biblical manuscripts (including key historical codices and consistent textual streams), these passages stand harmoniously as part of the broader narrative of God’s redemptive plan through Abraham’s lineage.

Conclusion

The plain testimony of Genesis, confirmed in cross-references, presents Abraham with three women designated as wives across various passages: Sarah, Hagar, and Keturah. Though cultural nuances regarding concubines sometimes blur modern categorization, each is scripturally identified in some way as a wife to Abraham. The total number, therefore, is three.