BigJim

From another board...

This was not directed at me, but at someone who made the claim that monogamy is not supported by the bible.

The last sentence (which I have in bold) sounds like a BS claim. He makes no specific refrences which makes it hard to refute. Does the bible make such claims? And/or does it endorse polygamy?

Thanks

funinspace

Generally, I would say the Hebrew canon is vague on the issue. It certainly doesn't call it a sin. I think there is a verse that says to take in the wife of your brother if he dies, and marry her. Which implicitely endorses polygamy. I can't find it right now. If it's a sin, I think it could have been squeezed into the xian canon. You know some where between the geneology's and maybe the parts about not allowing priests with physical handicaps.

In the NT there's:
1 Timothy 3:12 "A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children...". That sounds an awful lot like it's still ok for the lay people, but hey I must be reading it too literally. That last part, in bold, may have some merit in a few verses. But in general the NT also certainly doesn't call it a sin.

Bright Life

The bible goes both ways Seriously, though, as is so often the case, contradictions abound. See The Skeptic's Annotated Bible for a list of pro and anti-polygamy verses.

BL

Valdemar

Whew! That was a tough assignment. It seems the Bible is rife with polygamy without condemning it when it concerns a man having several women or wives, but the woman seems to get the short end of the stick (so to speak) when it comes to being able to marry. The only thing I can find that even gets close is from the new testament:

1Cr 7:2 Nevertheless, [to avoid] fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

BigJim

thanks guys for the quick response.

After reading Bright Life's link, I'd have to generally agree with the claim that the bible records polygamy without specifically endorsing it.

Valdemar

Polygamy:

Gen 4:19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one [was] Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

David was a real lady's man:

1Ch 14:3 And David took more wives at Jerusalem: and David begat more sons and daughters.

Of course there's TONS more where that came from. And I just can't seem to find more than one verse (sort-of) against it.

Vorkosigan

It implicitly endorsed it in David's case, for it says somewhere in Sam, as I recall, that David did right in everything except that little eff-up with Uriah.