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RE: Why did God allow Solomon to have 1,000 wives?

The Bible does not specifically say why God allowed polygamy. As we speculate about God’s silence, there is at least one key factor to consider. Due to patriarchal societies, it was nearly impossible for an unmarried woman to provide for herself. Women were often uneducated and untrained. Women relied on their fathers, brothers, and husbands for provision and protection. Unmarried women were often subjected to prostitution and slavery.

So, it seems that God may have allowed polygamy to protect and provide for the women who could not find a husband otherwise. A man would take multiple wives and serve as the provider and protector of all of them. While definitely not ideal, living in a polygamist household was far better than the alternatives: prostitution, slavery, or starvation. In addition to the protection/provision factor, polygamy enabled a much faster expansion of humanity, fulfilling God’s command to “be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth” (Genesis 9:7). Men are capable of impregnating multiple women in the same time period, causing humanity to grow much faster than if each man was only producing one child each year.

BTW, what does the question have to do with Open Borders?

Why did God allow Solomon to have 1,000 wives?

Are you looking for a real answer?

Because he was David's son.

He even told Solomon that to his face.

There were three "King Laws" that God laid down long before Israel had a king. Laws that violation would bring the kingdom down. They were quite simple and every one of them had a reason attached.

One was that he should not accumulate a great deal of personal wealth. This was to prevent abuse of the people. Yes, God does have an opinion of high taxes that impoverish the people. He is not in favor.

Second, the king was not to accumulate horses. A rather odd sort of rule until you realize the horse and chariot was the mobile weapons platform of the day. The only reason a settled people accumulated horses was that they were planing a war of aggression. Wars of defense are fine. Wars to expands your territory out side of what God had given to you, not allowed.

The last was the king was not to accumulate wives especially foreign wives. The reason was that in his desire to please his wives he would abandon the way of the Law.

Solomon smashed all three of the laws with impunity and the consequences were just as predicted. He was spared the loss in his lifetime, For David's Sake, but his son lost about 80% of his kingdom.

So there you have your answer on Solomon.

Now if you are asking why God allowed polygamy in general it is "for the hardness of their hearts" the same reason He allowed divorces.

There were rules to keep it under control, you had to be able to provide for all of them and to marry a young woman to an old man was considered a shame so they had to be about your age.

The exception was the rule for marriage of a widow who had no child. He brother in law (or closest male kin) was to marry her and provide her not only with all the comforts a wife was due but he must also give her a child. This child would be considered legally the child of the dead man and would, when they were adults, inherent the estate of the dead husband.

If you think about it a bit you see why this actually made sense.

Now days it is not often practiced even in the Judaic community because widows have options to support themselves, laws against polygamy make it impractical and the inheritance of the land of Israel is no longer an issue.

For it's time though it was considered quite enlightened. Certainly better then the other customs of the day which included such delightful practices as burying the wife with the husband, selling her into slavery, keeping her as an unpaid drudge or sending her back to her family. Since she was no longer a virgin, not a proven breeder and her dowry was not returned with her she was something of a burden to her family rather then an asset she often faced the same thing, death or enslavement.

So, now you have your answer. Hope I did not put you to sleep.