Polygamy(bigamy)
Summary
Polygamy, the practice of having multiple wives simultaneously, was tolerated in the Old Testament but progressively revealed as contrary to God's original design for marriage.
☩Divine Design for Marriage
From the beginning, God established marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Jesus pointed back to creation, declaring that God 'made them male and female' and that 'the two shall become one flesh.' This foundational principle implicitly excludes polygamy. The Mosaic law included provisions that limited or discouraged the practice, such as forbidding kings to 'multiply wives' and prohibiting marriage to a wife's sister during her lifetime.
☩Old Testament Tolerance
Despite God's design, polygamy was practiced by many Old Testament figures. Lamech was the first recorded polygamist. Abraham took Hagar as a secondary wife. Jacob married both Leah and Rachel. David had multiple wives, as did Solomon to an extreme degree—his many foreign wives turned his heart away from God. These examples consistently reveal negative consequences: jealousy between wives, family strife, and spiritual compromise. The Mosaic law regulated rather than endorsed polygamy, protecting the rights of wives and children in polygamous households.
☩New Testament Standard
The New Testament returns explicitly to monogamy as the standard. Church leaders—overseers and deacons—must be 'the husband of one wife.' While some interpret this as prohibiting remarriage after divorce or widowhood, most understand it as excluding polygamy from church leadership. The marriage relationship between one husband and one wife serves as the image of Christ's relationship with His church, further confirming monogamy as God's design.
Related Verses40 mentions
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Marriage," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. V (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Marriage," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).