What should we think of polygamy?
How are we to think about the practice of polygamy or a husband having multiple wives at the same time?[1] Below are the differing views on what the Bible teaches concerning this practice:
1.) The whole Bible approves of it.
2.) The Old Testament approved of it, but the New Testament condemns it.
3.) The Old Testament allowed it but did not approve of it, but the New Testament condemns it.
4.) The whole Bible condemns it.
In order to come to the right view on polygamy, let’s think about it from a biblical-theological perspective.
1.) Polygamy at Creation
The creation narrative gives no indication that polygamy was God’s original blueprint for marriage. God made a helper fit for Adam, not many helpers (Genesis 2:18). The two of them (not three or more) were brought together by God and became one flesh (Genesis 2:24). Jesus substantiates this view (Matthew 19:4-6). Therefore, it is clear that monogamy, not polygamy, was God’s original design for marriage.
2.) Polygamy after the Fall
We never read of Adam taking on more wives, even after the Fall. But the first time we read about polygamy is within the wicked line of Cain. Lamech’s arrogant and vengeful sword song makes mention of his two wives (Genesis 4:23). This indicates that polygamy did not come from the preceptive will of God nor from the practice of our first parents but originated from the worldly, faithless, ungodly line of the serpent.
3.) Polygamy in the Lives of the Godly
Admittedly, polygamy was also practiced by OT saints. Abraham, Jacob, David, and Solomon either had multiple wives, many concubines, or several children with their wives’ maidservants. But their practice does not make polygamy right. If their examples teach us anything, they reveal to us that polygamous relationships lead to many worldly troubles and sorrows (think of Jacob and his martial issues with Leah and Rachel)!
4.) Polygamy in the Law
Polygamy seems to be regulated in the law of Moses.
Exodus 21:10: If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights.
Deuteronomy 21:15-17: 15If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, 16then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, 17but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.
The levirate marriage also leaves open the possibility of polygamy if the deceased husband’s brother was currently married when he acted as the kinsman redeemer (Deuteronomy 25:5-10).
Thus, the Old Testament does not outrightly condemn the practice of polygamy. It was not treated as an adulterous relationship to be punished by death. But this does not mean it was approved of. I believe polygamy should be seen in the same light as the laws which regulated divorce. In Matthew 19, Jesus is asked if it was lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause. The Jews point out that in the law of Moses, it was lawful to give a wife a certificate of divorce and send her away. But listen to Jesus’ answer: “He said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so’” (Matthew 19:8).
The same thing could be said about polygamy: “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to have multiple wives, but from the beginning it was not so”! Because of the hardness of heart in the Old Covenant people of God, Moses permitted the practice of polygamy, but from the beginning it was not so, and a time would come when this unnatural practice would be rooted out of the people of God for good. As Murungi Igweta says, “Therefore at best polygamy was allowed or tolerated, as was divorce, although it never was God’s purpose for marriage.”[2] Or as John Murray says, “The position would then be that because of perversity they were permitted to take more wives than one. Polygamy was not penalized by civil or ecclesiastical censures, even though in terms of the creation ordinance it was a violation of the divine institution. Men were permitted to take more wives than one, but from the beginning it was not so. Sufferance there indeed was, but no legitimation or sanction of the practice.”[3]
5.) Polygamy in the New Testament
The New Testament clearly teaches that monogamy is the only acceptable marriage practiced by Christians. To my knowledge, the New Testament does not give even one example of a man having multiple wives at the same time. This “silence” speaks volumes to the issue of polygamy.
But the NT explicitly teaches against polygamy. For instance, in order to be a leader within the church (a pastor or deacon), a Christian man must not be a polygamist. If he is married, he must be “the husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2, 12) or literally “a one-woman man”. In other words, he must be faithfully committed to only one wife.
But monogamy is not just the standard for church leaders. It is the standard for all Christians in general. Throughout 1 Corinthians 7, marriage is spoken of in terms of one man and one woman. Verse 2 makes this clear: “But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.”
The example of Christ is also a compelling argument against polygamy. Since He is the Husband and Head of only one Bride, the church, a husband should follow His example and only have one wife as well. As Ephesians 5:23 says, “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, His body, and is Himself its Savior.”[4]
Conclusion
The right view of polygamy is that it violates God’s original design for marriage. Since it was a widespread cultural reality throughout the Ancient Near East, and since it had even infiltrated the Old Covenant people of God, it was regulated by OT law within the Israelite community but never officially endorsed or approved of. At the coming of Christ, those regulations passed away, and the New Testament bears clear witness to the fact that marriage is between one man and one woman, just as it was before the Fall and just as it is pictured in Christ’s relationship with the church. Lifelong monogamy—one man and one woman becoming one flesh for life—was, is, and will always be God’s design for marriage.
[1] A more precise term is polygyny, meaning the practice of a man having many wives.
[2] Murungi Igweta, “May a Christian be a Polygamist?”, https://www.trinity.or.ke/article/may-a-christian-be-a-polygamist/.
[3] John Murray, Principles of Conduct, 17.
[4] I would add a final heading of “Polygamy in the New Heavens and New Earth” but since human marriage does not exist there (Matthew 22:30; Luke 20:34-36), there is no need to argue against polygamy or for monogamy.
