A hot topic in Christianity is the monogamy vs polygyny debate. It is not a debate that appears often since all mainstream Christian traditions support monogamous marriages, but when the theme arises, proponents of each view defend it with vigor. Most Christians, however, have not been exposed to the arguments behind each view. They tend to assume that the issue is settled rather than considering the merits of each. This article explores the reasoning of both sides and provides a bit more detail about polygamy in the Bible, for the sake of informing readers of the lesser-known view.
Defining Terms and Parameters
Polygamy is a broad term that refers to having multiple spouses, but it does not specify gender. Polygyny refers to a man having multiple wives. Polyandry refers to a woman having multiple husbands. So, polyandry and polygyny are forms of polygamy that specify the gender of the spouses.
The debate is not between monogamy and polygamy as much as it is between monogamy and polygyny. The Bible never refers to polyandry. In the case of Tamar, she married her next husband after the first husband passed away. The narrative of the woman at the well mentions her having had five husbands but does not say it was all at once (John 4:16-18). The reference to the one she was with when she met Jesus suggests she had them one after the other.
What the Bible depicts is polygyny: one husband with multiple wives. Note that the Bible does not endorse everything it records. The fact that it mentions polygyny does not in and of itself prove that God condoned it.
Arguments for Monogamy
Almost without exception, the argument for monogamy as the biblical view on marriage hinges on Genesis 1:27, 2:24, and Matthew 19:4-6, with a few other verses used to bolster it.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)
“He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.’” (Matthew 19:4-6)
Proponents of monogamy reference the example of marriage between a husband and wife as representative of the relationship between Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:22–33). They also point out that Exodus 20:17 and 1 Corinthians 7:2 speak of a wife in singular terms: “…you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife” and “… each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.” In addition, 1 Timothy 3:2 mandates that an elder must have only one wife.
Proponents can point to the monogamous marriages of those on the ark during the flood and between Isaac and Rebekah, Joseph and Asenath, and Moses and Zipporah as the ideal model. In contrast, polygynous marriages tend to depict strife, jealousy, and suffering as the wives bicker, as with Sarah and Hagar (Genesis 16 and 21), Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29-30), and Hannah and Peninnah (1 Samuel 1).
Apologists for monogamy argue that the origins of polygyny in the Bible indicate that it was not the original design. Lamech, in the line of Cain, took two wives, Adah and Zillah, and he was a vengeful person (Genesis 4:23–24). He was from the line of the unfaithful. In addition, many of the polygynous relationships in the Bible had detrimental consequences. Consider Abraham and the strife that continues between the descendants of his wives to this day. Jacob’s sister-wives had much strife and animosity between them and the slave-girl wives. Solomon’s many wives resulted in his apostasy and idol worship.
This view posits that God allowed polygyny for a time, but it was never the original intention. God made allowances because of the hardness of the hearts of men. In this context, Matthew 19:7-9 is often quoted to prove the point:
“They said to him, ‘Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?’ 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. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.’”
According to this view, the additional obligations the man had when taking another wife, according to the Mosaic law, aimed to discourage polygyny.
Arguments for Polygyny
Proponents of polygyny point out that neither Genesis 2:24 nor Matthew 19:4-6 constitute a command that forbids polygyny. Rather than viewing these verses on their own, they interpret them in the light of the greater witness of the Torah.
They point out that in some cases, God commanded polygyny, as in Deuteronomy 25:5-6: “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go into her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.”
Levirate law mandated this kind of marriage. The obligation to take the deceased brother’s wife was connected to inheritance and makes no exception for a brother who is already married.
Exodus 21:10 says: “If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.” The text does not prohibit polygyny but regulates it. Nowhere in scripture does God regulate that which is inherently sinful. According to this view, the regulation of polygyny proves that it is not a sin.
Similarly, in Deuteronomy 21:15-17 God protects the inheritance rights of the firstborn in a polygynous marriage where he is the son of the unloved wife. There is no condemnation of such a marriage as sinful. Instead, the text regulates the distribution of inheritance.
In contradiction to the arguments for monogamy, those holding to a polygynous view show that Jeremiah 3:6-14 presents God as the husband of two wives. The one, the Kingdom of Israel, is unfaithful, and the other, the Kingdom of Judah, remains true (though she does act treacherously). From this perspective, the text provides an example of divine polygyny. It is supported by Jeremiah 2:2, where the plural form betrothal or espousal appears in the text. Some translations render it in the singular (a bride – ESV, ISV), but the plural remains in literal translations like the King James Version and Revised Version.
Texts like Deuteronomy 17:17 and 1 Timothy 3:2 address kings and elders, respectively, and do not constitute a ban on polygyny. The negative results from polygyny do not mean the institution is inherently sinful. Furthermore, the Greek mias gunaikos aner in 1 Timothy, rendered “husband of one wife” literally translates to “a one-woman man,” meaning “a faithful husband.” Some argue that Paul would have used the Greek word monos if he intended to mean “only” one wife.
Proponents of polygyny further point out that Josephus, in Antiquities 17.1.2, recorded that polygyny was lawful and widely practiced in 1st-century Judaism. If the practice was unacceptable in Christianity, one would expect a clear command prohibiting it and some evidence of disputes in this regard. Josephus was a Pharisee, and some condemnation of their practice would be expected. Furthermore, early Church Fathers like Tertullian and Augustine claim that monogamy was a Roman custom, and did not defend it from the Bible.
Reflections
The arguments made by those supporting monogamy do not address most of the evidence their opponents present. Instead, they rely on their interpretation of texts that do not explicitly state or support their case. Conversely, polygynists tend to go into much more detail by considering the principles of Tota Scriptura (all of Scripture) and Analogia Scriptura (the analogy of Scripture).
When considering all the contributions the Bible makes on this subject and attempting to find harmony in the relevant texts, the prevailing consensus in mainstream Christianity is wedded to tradition rather than biblical evidence. Unless and until they have a satisfactory explanation for why God regulated sin in this one instance while never doing so otherwise, and justify the command that Israel sin in Levirate law, their case will not be thoroughly grounded.
