BIG & small QUESTIONS OF THE FAITH JASON S. DEROUCHIE, PHD ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF OT AND BIBLICAL THEOLOGY BETHLEHEM COLLEGE & SEMINARY BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, 2016

QUESTION Why in the OT did so many men–– even godly ones––marry multiple wives, and how should we think about polygamy?

 Polygamy: o The practice of having more than one wife or husband at the same time.  Polygyny: o Polygamy in which a man has more than one wife.  Polyandry: o Polygamy in which a woman has more than one husband. Definitions

 Polygamy: o The practice of having more than one wife or husband at the same time.  Polygyny: o Polygamy in which a man has more than one wife.  Polyandry: o Polygamy in which a woman has more than one husband. Definitions

Around 20 Major Examples  Lamech: Adah and Zillah o Gen 4:19. “And Lamech took two wives.”

Around 20 Major Examples  Lamech: Adah and Zillah  Abraham: Sarah and Hagar, then Keturah after Sarah died o Gen. 16:1–3. Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.

Around 20 Major Examples  Lamech: Adah and Zillah  Abraham: Sarah and Hagar, then Keturah after Sarah died o Gen. 16:1–3. o Gen 25:1. And Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.

 Jacob: Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, Zilpah o Gen 29:23. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. o Gen 29:28. Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. o Gen. 30:1, 3–4. When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children … 3 she said [to Jacob], “Here is my servant Bilhah; go into her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her. 4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. o Gen 30:9. When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

 Moses? Zipporah (and the Cush[an]ite?) o Exod 2:16, 21. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. o Num 12:1. Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite [or Cushanite] woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. o Hab 3:7. I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

 David: Many wives o 1 Sam 18:27. And Saul gave [David] his daughter Michal for a wife. o 1 Sam 25:39, 42–43. When David heard that Nabal was dead... David sent and spoke to Abigail to take her as his wife And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife. 43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and both of them became his wives.

o 2 Sam 3:2–5. And sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam of Jezreel; 3 and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; 4 and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; 5 and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron. o 2 Sam 5:13. And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David. o 2 Sam 12:24. And David comforted Bathsheba his wife.

 Solomon: Incomprehensible! o 1 Kgs 11:3. He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.

 Matthew 19:8 o “[Jesus] said to [the Pharisees], ‘Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.” Tolerating & Managing Polygamy

 Exodus 21:7–11 o “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. 9 If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. 10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. 11 And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money. o Being designated both wife and servant was likely due to a man desiring to marry a woman whose status as wife would not also threaten his estate (e.g., endangering previous inheritance rights). o Focus is on protecting the rights of women.

 Exodus 21:7–11 o “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. 9 If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. 10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. 11 And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money. o Sought to ensure that a second wife was not a second-class wife. Even with servant status, the husband must treat her equally as a wife (v. 10). o Failure to do so was grounds for freedom from service (i.e., redemption, v. 8) and marriage (i.e., divorce).

 Leviticus 18:18 o “And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive.” o Stresses that God does not even allow a sister to be a second wife. It does not permit marriage to a second wife so long as she is not a sister.

 Deuteronomy 21:15–17 o “If 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, 16 then 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, 17 but 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.” o Protects the rights of the firstborn, regardless of whether the child is the son of the preferred wife or of the wife who is not loved. o This does not condone polygamy, just as Deut 23:18 does not condone harlotry. It simply manages it.

 2 Samuel 12:7–8 o “Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.’’” o This text stresses that David received uncontested possession of everything that Saul acquired during his kingdom, including his herem. This identifies both God’s absolute bestowal of power to David and God’s curse on Saul. o There is no record of David’s wives including those in Saul’s herem, but they were in his possession to do so. o God would punish David as he did Saul (2 Sam 12:11).

 Overview: o From the beginning to 931 B.C. (division of the kingdom after Solomon), we have 15 examples: Lamech, “sons of God” in Gen 6:1–7, Nahor, Abraham, Esau, Jacob, Ibzan, Abdon, Samson, Elkahah, Saul, David, Solomon. o In the divided monarchy, Rehoboam, Abijah, Ahab, Jehoram (, Joash?). o These total 19 examples, with 13 of the men having absolute power under God alone. Assessing the Data

 Two main reason we have polygamy in the Bible: o Political alliance o Barrenness and necessity for an heir  The Bible never condones polygamy of any sort, though it does tolerate and manage it.

 All prescriptions focus on one man and one woman. o Gen 2:21–24 prescribes the ideal for marriage as one man and one woman.  “So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

 All prescriptions focus on one man and one woman. o Gen 2:21–24 prescribes the ideal for marriage as one man and one woman. o Mal 2:14 assumes a marriage between one man and one woman.  “The LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.”

 All prescriptions focus on one man and one woman. o Gen 2:21–24 prescribes the ideal for marriage as one man and one woman. o Mal 2:14 assumes a marriage between one man and one woman. o Deut 17:17 stresses that the king, the ideal Israelite, was not to multiply wives.  “And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away.”

o In Matt 19:4–6, Jesus affirms God’s ideal of one man and one woman.  “[Jesus] answered, ‘Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 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’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.’” o In Eph 5:33 assumes one man and one woman.  “Let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”

o 1 Tim 3:2 requires that church leaders, representing the ideal be “one woman men” and therefore above reproach.  “An overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife….”

 Similar to homosexuality or even egalitarian marriage, polygamy blurs marriage’s purpose of displaying Christ’s love for his singular bride, the church. o Eph 5:25–28  “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” o Rev 19:7  “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready.”

 Celebrate marriage between one man and one woman as God designed it.  Nurture this view of right order in your own marriage, in the way you parent, and in the way you talk with family, friends, and co-workers. Takeaway