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Polygamy and the Law
Obviously, when talking religion, it is most important first to see what is said. in the Law, there are few rules touching on polygamy.
- Exodus 21:8-11: (in regards to a sold maidservant) "if she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her...If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage,shall he not diminish. And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free with no money."
- Deuteronomy 21:15-17: "If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated: Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn; But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his."
- Deuteronomy 25:5-10: "If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her. And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders and say, 'My husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother.' Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, "I like not to take her;' then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, 'So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house.' And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him whose shoe is loosed.'"
Verse Break-Down
These are the verses found in the "Law" section of the Bible that deal with polygamy. If you've looked into the topic before, you may be familiar some of these verses. For context, I included all of the verses that relate to the core "polygamy promoting" verse. As these are the laws that deal with polygamy, they are often used to support polygamy, but looking deeper provides a different picture.
To begin, note that all three verse-sections begin with the word "if". They rely on an already-standing situation; in no way is the situation lauded or supported; it simply is. Secondly, when you look at each individual verse, it becomes clear the sections are not really about polygamy. They're about something else. The Exodus section takes place among other laws about servants; it is about the treatment of servants. Deuteronomy 21, though taking place in a hypothetical polygamist situation, is about the law of inheritance. Deuteronomy 25 is about lineage and family requirements.
Looking more closely at the language of each section also provides more information. The man dealt with in Exodus 21:8-11 is a bad man. He has taken a maidservant and betrothed her to himself. There is no mention of the girl's father allowing the situation. Also, the man has "dealt deceitfully", indicating he would wish to marry the girl when he really has no desire. From the post on seduction, we know betrothals can be broken off, but the verse talks about the "duty of marriage" (being sex), which shows that the man betrothed a girl he knew he didn't want, had sex with her while not wanting her, thus making her his wife, and then decided to bring another woman into his house (though the KJV says "another wife", the word "wife" does not exist in that part of the verse. Instead, it seems this man is running a racket--pretending he wants to marry women when all he wants is sex). As punishment for his deceit, the man must upkeep husbandly duties, and if he fails, the woman gets to leave. This verse does not support polygamy. Instead, it acts to prevent the sleazy and dishonest conduct by a man who takes advantage of his maids. [There is also a view that the word used as "duty of marriage" was mistaken and really means "housing", in which case the man is still in the wrong, and the verses still do not support polygamy]
The verses from Deuteronomy 21 show a similar situation. The man has a wife he hates and a wife he loves. The questions arises, "Why did he marry the hated wife??". And, he wishes to cheat the hated wife's son out of his inheritance. Inheritance in the Bible was a big deal. This man is also not a good man; he must be prevented from cheating his eldest son. Additionally, there is no indication if the wives are alive at the same time. It could be that one had died, but, in any case, these verses do not support polygamy.
The Deuteronomy 25 verses are the most used (that I've seen) to support polygamy, as, seemingly, they are the only part of the Bible that could demand polygamy. So let's break it down:
- If brothers live together,
- And if one is married (we'll call him "Jeb"),
- And if Jeb and his wife have no children,
- And if Jeb then dies,
- And if Jeb's brother is willing to (we'll call him "Jerry")
- Jerry should marry Jeb's widow
Examples in the Bible
Well, as there are no "marry multiple women" laws in the Bible, we must turn, instead, to the examples provided and look at how they turned out. I will do my best to provide a comprehensive list, but there is no way I'd be able to list all of the examples.
- Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar
- Production: Ishmael (Hagar), Isaac (Sarah)
- Outcome: Attempted murder, creation of Islam through Ishmael
- Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah
- Production: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dinah (Leah), Dan, Napthtali (Bilhah), Gad, Asher (Zilpah), Joseph, Benjamin (Rachel)
- Outcome: Tribe of Israel
- Huge amounts of jealousy and competition (Genesis 29-30)
- Barrenness (Genesis 29:31)
- Suicidal tendencies (Genesis 30:1)
- Marital strife (Genesis 30:2)
- Following of other religion's laws (Genesis 30:4, 9) (Code of Khammurabi, sex slavery)
- Witchcraft/superstition (Genesis 30:14-16)
- Sex trading (Genesis 30:15)
- Theft and idolatry (Gen 31:34-36)
- Evil done by the sons (Gen 37:2)
- Brotherly hatred and child favoring (Gen 37:4)
- Conspiracy to commit fratricide (Gen 37:18-20)
- Lying about brother's "death" (Gen 37:31-32)
- Reuben: Cursed/disinherited-Slept with one of his stepmothers (Gen 49:4)
- Simeon: Cursed-Murdered his sister's husband, family, and people (Gen 49:6)
- Levi: Cursed-Murdered his sister's husband, family, and people (Gen 49:6)
- Judah: Blessed with inheritance of firstborn (Gen 49:10)
- Evil children (Gen 28:7, 10)
- Incest with daughter-in-law by way of prostitution (Gen 28:18)
- Zebulun: Blessed with seafaring (Gen 49:13)
- Issachar: Cursed-Became a "servant to tribute" (Gen 49:15)
- Dan: Cursed-seen as a serpent (Gen 49:16-18)
- Gad: Blessed with stick-to-it-ness (Gen 49:19)
- Asher: Blessed with fatness and food (Gen 49:20)
- Nathtali: Blessed with eloquence (Gen 49:21)
- Joseph: Sold into slavery by his brothers (Gen 37)
- Blessed with fruitfulness (Gen 49:22-26)
- Benjamin: Compared to a rabid wolf (Gen 49:27)
- Tribe all but destroyed when they gang-raped a woman to death (Judges 19-21)
- Gideon and his "many wives" (Judges 8:30)
- Production: 70 sons (Judges 8:30)
- Outcome: 1 Son--Jothan
- Familial jealousy and ambition (Judges 9:2)
- 68 counts of fratricide by Abimilech (Judges 9:5)
- Fratricidal curse (Judges 9:7-20)
- Abimilech becomes King and is accursed (Judges 9:22-24)
- War (Judges 9:25-55)
- Abimilech killed by his own armor-bearer (Judges 9:54)
- Elkanah, Hannah, and Peninnah
- Production: "sons and daughters" (Peninnah), Samuel (Hannah) (1 Samuel 1)
- Outcome
- Torment of Hannah by Peninnah (1 Sam 1:6)
- Depression and anorexia (1 Sam 1:7, 10, 15)
- Implied curse of feebleness upon Peninnah (1 Sam 2:5)
- Samuel the prophet
- David, Michal, Ahinoam, Abigail, Maachah, Haggith, Eglah, Bathsheba, assorted concubines
- Production: Many sons and daughters, namely Solomon (Bathsheba)
- Outcome
- Michal married off to Phalti while David cavorting with new wives (1 Sam 25:43-44)
- Michal, returned to David, dies childless due to marital dispute (2 Sam 6:23)
- Adultery and murder for the hand of Bathsheba (2 Sam 11)
- Death of the resulting child (2 Sam 12:14, 18)
- Incestuous rape of David's daughter, Tamar, by his son, Amnon (2 Sam 13:1-14)
- Vengeful murder of Amnon by Tamar's full brother, Absalom (2 Sam 13:29)
- Rebellion by Absalom (2 Sam 15:10)
- Absalom's incestuous rape of his father's concubines "in the sight of all Israel" (2 Sam 21-22)
- Death of Absalom against his father's wishes (2 Sam 12-15)
- Rebellion by Adonijah (1 Kings 1-2) including:
- Usurpation of rightful line of succession (1 Kings 1:1-33)
- Attempted quasi-incest by Adonijah (1 Kings 1:1-4, 2:17)
- Fratricidal execution of Adonijah by Solomon (1 Kings 2:24)
- Solomon and his 700 wives, 300 concubines
- Wives induced Solomon into idolatry (1 Kings 11:1-8)
- Including child sacrifice (1 Kings 11:7)
- Curse of God to take the kingdom away from Solomon's son (1 Kings 11:11-13)
- War (1 Kings 11:14-26)
- Kingdom split in two (1 Kings 11;34-37)
- Rehoboam, son of Solomon, King
- Unwise and cruel (1 Kings 12:7-14)
- Rebellion (1 Kings 12:16)
- New kingdom also turns to idolatry (1 Kings 12:28-33)
And so on, and so on. There is a popular saying in Biblical-based religion, "Well, look at their fruit," referring to Matthew 7:16. The fruits of polygamy are atrocious: Familiar strife, incest, rape, rebellion, murder, idolatry. Rather than building polygamy up, every instance of polygamy in the Bible tears it down. It is easy to see, nothing good comes from polygamy. Even the argument of, "More wives equals more children!" does not bear any weight. Five of Israel's sons are cursed. Sixty nine of Gideon's 70 sons are murdered. Samuel is given away to the church, negating his presence to his family, and David's children seem more concerned with dealing damage to each other than anything else. Even today, this negative side holds sway. Communities known for heavy polygamy (such as the FLDS and certain Islamic sects) suffer from institutionalized pedophilia, rape, incest, familial abuse, neglect, and many other nasty things. There is simply nothing to recommend it; it is vile, and the only reasoning behind it is lust.
The Bible Against Polygamy
Though the Old Testament depicts instances of polygamy, there are verses in both the New and Old Testaments that speak out directly and indirectly against polygamy.
- Deuteronomy 17:17 [in regards to kings]: "Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold."
- Proverbs 5:3-5: "For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell."
- Proverbs 5:18-20: "Let thy fountain be blessed: And rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; And be thou ravished always with her love. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?"
- Song of Solomon [The whole book contrasts the pure love of the woman and her shepherd with the beguiling and fleeting love of Solomon and his concubines]
- Matthew 5:28-29: "But I say to you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
- Matthew 19:8-9: "...But from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whoseover shall put away his wife...and shall marry another, comitteth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery."
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| "Rejoice in the wife of your youth" |
Whereas the previously-mentioned verses serve only to show that polygamy existed, these verses celebrate monogamy. The Law of kings declares a king must not take more wives; a king serves as a role model to an entire nation and is supposed to be "better" than common men, showing that monogamy is better than polygamy. Proverbs was written by Solomon when he was still living up to his "wisest man in the world" title. I only provided a few examples, but the book is rife with warnings against lust and strange women. Instead, the wisest man says that one should always love the wife of their youth. Again, polygamy is shown as negative. The Song of Solomon presents a clear view; monogamy emphasizes faithfulness and strength, whereas polygamy is dishonest, shallow, lacking in affection, and encourages evil (namely kidnapping and seduction). Yeshua himself makes it even more clear in Matthew. Lusting after a woman is equated with adultery, a deadly crime. By that ruling, how could a man consummate his marriage with his second wife? Until they have sex, no marriage exists, and if he looks at her with lust, he has committed adultery. Obviously, Yeshua disapproves of polygamy. In the divorce section, the same point is hit. A man who wants to marry another woman commits adultery against his original wife. Why? Because a "divorce" is not real; the couple remains married, and the man has cheated on his wife. How would he marry a second woman when to marry a second woman is adultery? Answer: he can't. Polygamy is adultery. It seems odd that Yeshua would add something to the Law--in these sections in Matthew, he expands on already-existing laws and makes them stricter, but the polygamy law seems to come out of left field. However, it actually doesn't.
Leviticus 18:18
To explore Yeshua's view of adultery, we must revisit the Law. At the beginning of the article, I said there weren't many laws even relating to the issue. Here, in Leviticus 18:18, we run into our old friend, mistranslation. In the KJV, it reads thusly, "Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time." The problem is the word, "sister". The phrase, "a woman to her sister" is the English version of a Hebrew idiom which more closely would be translated, "one in addition to another". In usage, always means "one in addition to another" rather than anything about blood relations (source). Additionally, the word "vex" more means "to harass" or "to rival", and is closely related to both the word for "rival wife" and "trouble" (source source source). Therefore, the verse reads more like this, "You will not marry a woman and then another woman--causing rivalry--as long as your wife lives." This properly translated verse supports what Yeshua says in the New Testament 100%.
Indeed, if the intent of 18:18 were to talk about blood sisters, there need only be one word changed, "to" to the word "and", as it is used in the preceding verse which does prohibit sexual relations of relatives. Additionally, the preceding verses all prohibit the activity entirely, where verse 18 only prohibits during the span of a life, meaning it is a Law of a different type. Having sex with a woman and then her daughter or granddaughter is always wrong (Lev 18:17), but having sex with a woman and then another woman (rather than the improperly translated "sister") is only wrong if the first woman lives. Therefore; polygamy is wrong.
Leviticus 18:24-25 add to this prohibition, "Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants." Indeed, we saw in the examples section Israelites practicing polygamy in the tradition of other traditions and other religions, and, yes, the land vomited them out.
The Theory
It's rather clear now that polygamy is not supported in the Bible. Naturally, the follow up question is, then why was it allowed to occur? For the answer, revisit Leviticus 18:24-30. Though there was not a clear cut "Law" with consequences for polygamy, there are natural consequences, and we see those throughout the lives of the polygamist Israelites. Their children die. Their wives die. Their children kill each other. Their children rape each other. Their children rise up against their parents. There is no need for a de jure punishment when a de facto punishment already exists. Polygamists will "get theirs" without any help from outside forces.
That's not all, though. It all ties back to the idea of what makes a marriage. Polygamy is not right, but then again, neither is having sex and then backing out of the relationship. Part of the reason, I believe, polygamy was allowed to occur was because A) It punished the participants B) It made them take responsibility for their actions. Like the seducer, a cheating man is not allowed to seduce a woman and dance on his merry way; instead, he marries and takes responsibility for the woman he has humbled and the children they may produce. The punishments of God are not light, simple, or merciful; they fit the crime and are often harsh. How can one avoid that fate? Simple. Follow the true translation of Leviticus 18:18, and the teachings of Yeshua in Matthew. Don't look at other women with lust. Do not marry another woman. Don't invite that negativity and evil into your life, for, as the wise Solomon said and experienced, it is bitter and leads to the grave.
Conclusion
Here we draw full circle. Marriage is very simple, and the pattern was put forth in the very beginnings of Genesis. Two people. One female, one male. In a relationship of a close and sexual nature for, "as long as they both may live." No extra people. No paperwork. No fanfare. Pure and simple.
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| Awww yiss. Marriage. |
"My beloved is mine, and I am his"
(Song of Solomon 2:16)
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