Polygamy

Considering whether the Bible supports having multiple wives

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’m going to 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 talking about. Jesus’s words in Matthew 19:5 confirm this when he cites Genesis 2:24. The “two” shall become “one flesh.” Marriage in Eden was a pattern of monogamy, not polygamy.

So what do we know about this first polygamist in Genesis 4? Lamech is wicked. He’s the seed of the serpent. He deviates from the template of monogamy, and he brags to his wives that he killed a man who wounded him (Gen. 4:23). The disproportionate response—killing in response to wounding—signals that Lamech is an unjust man. And he exults in his zeal for vengeance (4:24).

Lamech’s wrong decisions include the taking of two wives. The Bible engages in show and tell throughout its sixty-six books, and here the Bible is showing. While other image-bearers would have taken wives, with Lamech we learn that he took two, and we know from the description of his words and actions that he is a man of untrustworthy and wicked character.

The Bible is not portraying a polygamist in a very positive light.

More Showing as Teaching

Some readers would like to find a verse that says, “Thou shalt not be a polygamist.” But didactic statements are not the only way the Bible teaches us. The Bible engages in show and tell, and it tells by showing. How does the Bible show the folly of polygamy?

Think not just about Lamech. Think about what comes after him.

• In Genesis 12, Pharaoh would take women as wives if he found them desirable (Gen. 12:11–13). And Pharaoh rebuked Abram for not telling him that Sarai was Abram’s wife: “Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife?” (Gen. 12:19). Both Lamech and Pharaoh took more than one wife, deviating from the Edenic template of monogamy. Scripture shows us this.

• In Genesis 16, Abram took Hagar as a wife, though he was already married to Sarai. Because years had unfolded without an heir from Abram and Sarai, she suggested that he take the Egyptian servant Hagar as his wife (Gen. 16:2–4). And we can see the grief this decision causes. Read the rest of Genesis 16 and all of Genesis 21.

• Isaac doesn’t take more than one wife, but his son Jacob does. By the time the events of Genesis 29–30 are complete, Jacob has four wives: Leah, Rachel, and their respective maidservants Bilhah and Zilpah. The polygamous situation adds difficulty to Jacob’s life and to the lives of his wives.

These examples in Genesis are polygamous relationships couched in contexts of distrust, haste, grief, and frustration. Polygamy is never depicted as wise and God-honoring in Genesis. It doesn’t cultivate blessing or shalom.

The King’s Example

With polygamy being first reported with a wicked man named Lamech, and with subsequent narratives associating polygamous unions with distrust and grief, I think we can conclude that Genesis is upholding God’s design by reporting the folly that deviates from God’s design.

Consider Israel’s king. The king was to be an example of righteousness for the nation. The king was to commit to the Torah, writing a copy of the book of the law for himself that the Levitical priests would approve (Deut. 17:18). The king was to read the law, keep the law, and fear the Lord (Deut. 17:19).

What would his example look like in marriage? Moses said, “And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold” (Deut. 17:17). It’s the first part of this verse that applies to our subject. The language about “acquiring many wives” means to “multiply wives” or “increase wives.” A particular number of multiple wives is irrelevant, since taking more than one wife would “increase” or “multiply” wives.

According to the instructions in Deuteronomy 17, the king’s example was not to be polygamous. These instructions set up the travesty of Solomon’s life, for he took to himself many wives (1 Kings 11).

A Parable for Christ and His Church

What is the ultimate purpose for marriage? Thinking about this question can help us evaluate the practice of polygamy. The covenant of marriage is a picture, a parable, for the Christ-Church covenant. Paul teaches this truth in Ephesians 5:31–32 by appealing to Genesis 2:24 and drawing a conclusion from it.

Now what best portrays the Christ-Church covenant? Not polygamy. Christ has one bride. He has given his life for her, and he is returning for her. The practice of polygamy deviates from the Edenic template and therefore doesn’t accurately depict the Christ-Church union. The new Jerusalem is described as “coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. 21:2). One groom, one bride, everlasting union.

True, there are biblical characters who had polygamous relationships. And they shouldn’t have. But the Bible doesn’t endorse everything it reports.

Polygamy strays from the pattern of Eden, it is practiced in biblical stories where it is associated with distrust and grief, it compromises the royal example of Israel’s king, and it distorts the epic purpose of marriage.

The Bible does not support polygamy.

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