It’s understandable, as David himself came from a somewhat dysfunctional family. He was the youngest of eight brothers and was sent to work as a shepherd at a young age. His brothers despised him, and his father had no time for him.
David’s first wife was Michal, the daughter of his enemy, King Saul. Saul took her back from David, though eventually she returned. When she made fun of David for some of his actions, she was punished by remaining childless for her entire life.
While an outlaw in exile, David married again to Ahinoam, and sometime later, he married Abigail, the widow of Nabal. He eventually married a total of at least eight wives and had numerous concubines. From these wives and concubines, he had numerous children. This set the stage for following kings of Israel to have numerous wives.
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