Though the Bible does not specifically forbid having multiple wives or husbands, it is not God's original plan. The Lord's expectation for marriage is that it be held as a sacred covenant between one man and one woman.
John Gill comments on 1 Corinthians 7 and states that polygamy is unlawful; and that one man is to have but one wife, and to keep to her; and that one woman is to have but one husband, and to keep to him and the wife only has a power over the husband's body, a right to it, and may claim the use of it: this power over ...
According to the aggadic tradition, Lamech took two wives, one for sexual pleasure and the other for procreation. One wife would be in his company adorned like a harlot, and he plied her with a drug that induced barrenness, so that she would not give birth; the other sat alone, like a widow.
Biblically speaking, a second marriage can be blessed by God if certain conditions are met. In the Bible, polygamy was common in ancient times but was not endorsed or encouraged by God. When Christ came into the world, He set aside old teachings and brought with Him new laws that were centered around love and equality.
Bible Gateway 1 Corinthians 7 :: NIV. But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband.
“A man may be able to emotionally commit and attach himself to two women at the same time. However, in most cases, a woman will not be able to do the same. Women are emotionally inclined to attach and commit differently than men. Unlike men, women practice and pursue exclusivity in romance,” he says.
God had a wife, Asherah, whom the Book of Kings suggests was worshipped alongside Yahweh in his temple in Israel, according to an Oxford scholar. In 1967, Raphael Patai was the first historian to mention that the ancient Israelites worshipped both Yahweh and Asherah.
“And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”9 Here, the phrase “and marries another” raises the issue of remarriage. Jesus states that divorcing a mate on the grounds of immorality frees the offended mate to remarry without committing adultery.
While a second marriage can be successful, it's still a relationship composed of two imperfect people. It is still bound to have some of the same relationship issues that we all face from time to time. It can be a challenge if wounds from old relationships aren't quite healed.
One important factor is how the man feels about divorce. If he is still bitter and angry about his past marriage, then it is probably not a good idea to marry him. Another important factor is whether or not the man has learned from his mistakes and is willing to change.
Abijah married fourteen wives, and had 22 sons and 16 daughters. No attempted harmonization has found acceptance with scholars.
Beginning of polygamy
Founded by Joseph Smith in 1830, the Mormon movement from its beginnings offered a unique perspective on the religious role of men. One of the most influential events in the life of Joseph Smith was the death of his 25-year-old brother Alvin in 1823.
The hundreds of women said to have married King Solomon or reside in his harem described in the Book of Kings included the daughter of Pharaoh and women of Moabite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite origins.
Though the Bible does not explicitly prohibit polygamy, several factors lead one to conclude that polygamy is not God's plan for marriage.
"Christian tradition has long held that Jesus was not married, even though no reliable historical evidence exists to support that claim," King said in a press release.
Miriam and Aaron were jealous because Moses had two wives and because more of his attention would have been taken by the newly married woman. It is not unusual in an African setting for relatives and friends to be jealous when husbands are too occupied with two or three wives.
However, he could not legally marry another woman under civil law if he was already married under customary law and had not divorced his first wife. That means that legally, his marriage to the second wife is invalid – it does not exist legally.
Polygamy usually takes the form of polygyny – when a man marries multiple women. Polyandry, which refers to wives having more than one husband, is even rarer than polygamy and mostly documented among small and relatively isolated communities around the world.
It is a very common experience that discriminative behaviour of the husbands and unequal treatment with their wives causes several mental health issues in polygamous families. These are jealousy, poor marital satisfaction, unhealthy competition, lack of trust, and many other mental health problems [12].
Keturah (Hebrew: קְטוּרָה, Qəṭūrā, possibly meaning "incense"; Arabic: قطورة) was a wife and a concubine of the Biblical patriarch Abraham. According to the Book of Genesis, Abraham married Keturah after the death of his first wife, Sarah.
Background of the Concubine
It is usually translated into English as “concubine” and understood to refer to a wife or sexual partner of secondary status. Although certain men in the Hebrew Bible have both wives and concubines, no wives or additional concubines are referred to in Judges 19.
The Four Daughters of God are a personification of the virtues of Truth, Righteousness/Justice, Mercy, and Peace in medieval Catholic religious writing.
Yahweh, name for the God of the Israelites, representing the biblical pronunciation of “YHWH,” the Hebrew name revealed to Moses in the book of Exodus. The name YHWH, consisting of the sequence of consonants Yod, Heh, Waw, and Heh, is known as the tetragrammaton.
According to the biblical account, Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. The wives were described as foreign princesses, including Pharaoh's daughter and women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon and of the Hittites.