Dr Paul Allen

Let’s talk about polygamy. I’ve heard it said, and maybe you’ve heard it said, “The Bible approves of polygamy.” But does it? In this article, I will demonstrate why this claim is simplistic and misguided. A Man Named Lamech The first polygamist in Scripture is Lamech, in Genesis 4. There’s a positive character named Lamech in Genesis 5, and he’s the father of Noah. I’m not talking about him. The Lamech in Genesis 4 is from the line of Cain. We’re told in Genesis 4:19, “And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.” The surprise here is the number two. Lamech took two wives. The first time we hear of marriage is Genesis 2, when Adam and Eve were in covenant before the Lord. The biblical author draws a conclusion from their relationship: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). One man, one woman, in the covenant of marriage—that’s what Genesis 2:24 is talk...

When an African tribal chief converts to Christianity, what happens to all his wives? Should he divorce them and send them back to their parents’ home in shame and penury, or should he live away from them in a separate house, but continue to provide for them financially? This is a classic problem for missionaries in countries that practice polygamy, and one to which there is no easy answer—just the fervent hope that the next generation will marry only one wife! It must seem very strange for those polygamous families when their normal, socially acceptable lifestyle is suddenly regarded as immoral. The Jews whom Jesus lived among had the same problem. Polygamy had been considered perfectly normal and proper until the Romans took over and said it was disgusting and immoral. The Romans allowed Jews to continue practicing polygamy in Palestine, but elsewhere in the empire monogamy was strictly enforced. Many Jews living outside Palestine, therefore, got used to the principle of ...

Image via Wikipedia For one thing, the Old Testament makes clear from the outset what God ’s ideal is—an ideal built into creation. In Genesis 2:24 , a “wife” is to cleave to her husband, who is to leave his “father and mother.”  What’s more, God himself models this covenant-love for his people; this ideal union of marital faithfulness between husband and wife is one without competition. Furthermore, a closer look at  Leviticus 18:18  reveals a prohibition against polygamy. It is a transitional verse introducing another set of sexual prohibitions, right on the heels of incest prohibitions.  So that has led to confusion, but looking at the Hebrew text makes the prohibition quite clear. It forbids a man from marrying (literally) “a woman to her sister”—a phrase always referring to a female Israelite rather than biological sister.  This is reinforced by the term “taking a rival wife”—the same terminology used of Elkanah ( 1 Samuel 1 ) who married Ha...

Image via Wikipedia Yes there is a moral law against them because the Bible actually does condemn them. Jesus Himself said, “From the beginning it was not so…” He commands that marriage be between one man and one woman.  He notes also that the relative lax standards for divorce in the old covenant were the result of our “hardness of hearts.” (See Mark 10 for this discussion.) There is irony here. Most of the time we squirm over the harshness of the Old Testament and find the New kinder and gentler.  Here Jesus narrows radically those circumstances where divorce might be permitted, and in the process rules out polygamy and concubinage.  Which raises this question- what does Jesus mean by “because of the hardness of your hearts?” Why were these things seemingly permitted in the Old Covenant ? For all its radical calls toward complete holiness in our lives, the Bible also shows remarkable wisdom and grace in how it deals with our corporate sins. God , in t...

Image via Wikipedia King David seems like a mystery at times. At least to me he does. On the one hand, he is a man after God ’s own heart. He was the “Lord is my shepherd” guy. God was so pleased with David that he made an everlasting covenant with him, promising him that one of his descendants would be on the throne forever. Spiritually speaking, David had everything going for him. On the other hand, David had some pretty nasty flaws. He seduced Bathsheba and murdered Uriah. He would have killed Nabal if Nabal’s wife, Abigail hadn’t stepped in. Then, after Nabal died David decided to marry Abigail. Which seems like a happy ending until you remember that David already had a wife. By the end of his life David actually had several wives. So what’s the deal? Why did God allow David to have multiple wives? Why didn’t God punish David for his polygamy? Did God approve of David’s polygamy? These kind of questions can make the Old Testament seem really confusing. In his book, ...