৯.৪. বহু বিবাহ
পলিগামিওনর্ম যা কমবেশি সব সভ্যতা আর সমাজেই গ্রহনযোগ্য ছিল। তবে খ্রিস্টানেরা একেও অনৈতিক মনে করে এবং ইসলামের বিপক্ষে তর্ক করে। এটার ফর্মেশনও বাল্যবিবাহের মতই এক।অথচ বাইবেলের কোথাও ক্যাটেগরিকালি বহুবিবাহের সমালোচনা করা হয়নি। হারাম ঘোষণা করা হয়নি। না ওল্ড টেস্টামেন্টে, না নিউ টেস্টামেন্টে। বরং ওল্ড টেস্টামেন্টের সময়কালে বহুবিবাহ নর্ম ছিল। সবাই অথবা অধিকাংশ ইহুদি বহুবিবাহের চর্চা করত তা কিন্তু নয়। যাদের ফিনানশিয়াল সামর্থ ছিল শুধু সেসব পুরুষ বহুবিবাহ করতেন।
Polygamy Polygamy is widely condemned as repugnant, if not immoral. The admission of Utah into the Union was held in abeyance until the Mormons officially repudiated the practice. Utah became a state in 1896 only after the policy had been changed by clerical: political leaders. In defense of their position Mormons repeatedly invoked the Bible and, unfortunately for biblicists opposed to polygamy, the Bible not only fails to condemn the practice but lends considerable support to its legitimacy. Many Old Testament patriarchal heroes had multiple wives. Biblical backing for Mormon behavior is easy to fmd, although Mark Twain is reported to have denied its legitimacy to a Mormon. The Mormon claimed polygamy was perfectly moral and he defied Twain to cite any passage of Scripture which forbade it. "Well," said Twain, "how about that passage that tells us no man can serve two masters at the same time?" On a more serious note, key figures and verses in this regard are Judg. 8:30, which says, "Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives"; 1 Kings 11:3, which says of Solomon, "He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines"; Gen. 31:17, which says, "Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels"; Gen. 36:6, which says, "Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters"; and 2 Chron. 11:21, which says, "Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Abraham above all his wives and his concubines." Undoubtedly the most prominent polygamist is the Old Testament patriarch, David. He is crucial to this discussion not only because a number of verses show he had numerous wives, including 2 Sam. 5:13 ("David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalemj and 1 Chron. 14:3 ("David took more wives at Jerusalemj, but also because a wide assortment of verses show he was the essence of moral rectitude. The text of I Sam. 25:28 says, "Because my lord [David] fi&hteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days"; 2 Sam. 19:27 says, "But my lord the king [David] is an angel of God";
1 Kin&s 15:3 says, "His [Abijam's] heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, 282 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL ERRANCY as was the heart of David his father"; and Acts 13:22 says, "I [God] have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart which shall fulfil all my will." One could also relate I Kings 9:4, 11:4, 11:6 and 15:11 and Neb. 12:36.
If David was an angel of God in whom eVil had not been found all the days of his life, if his heart was perfect with the Lord and he was a man after God's own heart, it is virtually impossible to make a serious biblically based argument for the condemnation of polygamy.
David lived after the Old Law in general and the Ten Commandments in particular were enacted, so there is little reason to believe his marital behavior violated God's laws. After all, Scripture clearly states in 1 Kings 15:5 that David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from anything that God commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. Deut. 21:15-16 not only fails to condemn polygamy but actually provides rules by which the sons of one's wives are to be treated.
Even if New Testament maxims in opposition to polygamy could be produced, they would be all but worthless, since they would only prove God had changed his mind in regard to what was moral. While moral in the Old Testament, polygamy would have become immoral in the New. In effect, morals would be changing over time and biblicists would be obligated to reconcile this with Mal. 3:6, "I am the Lord, I change notj and "situation ethics," which they deplore. The only verse that seems to forestall polygamy, Deut. 17:17 ("Neither shall he multiply wives to himselfj appears to be applicable only to one individual in a particular situation.
In conclusion, if you are opposed to polygamy, don't expect much support from the Bible.
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Yet, the Bible also includes numerous rules meant to regulate polygamy, which suggests that it was, at a minimum, tolerant of it. Deuteronomy 17:17 states that a king is not to have “many wives, lest his heart go astray.” Exodus 21:10 requires a man who takes a second wife not to deprive the first of food, clothing and sex — and if he does, the first wife is released from the marriage. The Bible also prohibits a man from taking his wife’s sister as a second wife. These laws indicate the Bible’s acceptance of polygamy to an extent while also seeking to circumscribe it.
The mixed approach to polygamy continues to be reflected in the Talmud, which elaborated on the Bible’s regulation (and thus sanctioning) of the practice while also conveying a certain discomfort with it. The Talmud (Yevamot 65a) records a teaching that a man may take several additional wives provided he has the means to support them all, though elsewhere in the same tractate (44a) the Talmud suggests four wives should be the limit. And the Talmud states that a woman could demand a divorce — something she’s normally not allowed to do — if her husband decided to take a second wife. The Talmud’s word for a co-wife, tzarah, is related to the Hebrew root meaning “trouble.”
The rabbis of the Talmud themselves did not take multiple wives. The one partial exception to this is Rabbi Tarfon, who we are told (Tosefta Ketubot 5:1) betrothed (not married) 300 wives during years of famine. Rabbi Tarfon happened to be extremely wealthy, and as a priest was entitled to the gift of tithes, meaning he had plenty of food. So it’s likely his betrothal to so many was more an act of charity than lust.
The Decree of Rabbeinu Gershom
The first explicit statement outlawing polygamy for Jews came from Rabbeinu Gershom, a renowned French talmudist who, around the year 1,000 CE, declared a ban on polygamy. Violators were to be subjected to a punishment of herem, or excommunication. The reasons for this ruling remain in dispute and the edict was apparently intended to expire after several hundred years, but it became the norm in Ashkenazi communities. In some Sephardic communities, however, men continued to take more than one wife. There is evidence that polygamy continued to be practiced by the Jews of Iberia before their expulsion in the late 15th century and even later in Yemen and North Africa, where the practice remained broadly common.
The Shulchan Aruch, the principal medieval code of Jewish law, published more than 550 years after Rabbeinu Gershom’s decree, rules that a man is permitted to marry several women provided he can support them. However it also approvingly cites the Talmud’s “worthy suggestion” that four is an appropriate limit, bans the practice outright in places where monogamy is the norm, and suggests that it would be a good idea to issue a takanah (corrective decree) banning it entirely.
The Rema, a commentator on the Shulchan Aruch whose rulings are considered authoritative by Ashkenazi Jews, notes that despite the fact that Rabbeinu Gershom’s decree had technically expired, the custom in “these lands” — most likely the areas of Europe where Rabbeinu Gershom’s authority was recognized — was to marry only one wife and to punish those who did otherwise.
The only exceptions to Rabbeinu Gershom’s decree are levirate marriage and an obscure provision known as heter me’ah rabbanim — literally “the permission of 100 rabbis.” In certain circumstances, 100 rabbis from three countries may authorize a man to marry a second wife even though he’s already married. The provision is rarely applied, and typically only in cases where a man cannot divorce his wife according to religious law for some particular reason (perhaps the wife has disappeared and cannot be given a get, or religious writ of divorce). There have been reports that this allowance has been subject to abuse, such as a 2014 case featured in The New York Times where a man declined to divorce his wife, effectively preventing her from marrying someone else, while he secured a heter me’ah rabbanim to marry someone else.
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Deuteronomy 21 first permits a man to marry a captive woman (vv. 10–14), then forbids a man from giving preferential treatment to the son of a beloved wife over his firstborn son from a less favored wife (vv. 15–17), and finally describes the wayward son, who disobeys his parents and is executed (vv. 18–21).
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এই অংশে আমরা দেখব যে খ্রিস্টানরা একাধিক প্যাসেজ ব্যবহার করে মনোগামি প্রমানের জন্য
৫। মিরাকেল
৬। এন্টিসেমাইটিজম
In the letters of Paul, which are regarded by historians to be the oldest works of the New Testament (written 10 to 20 years after Jesus’ death), Paul mentions, almost in passing, “the Jews who killed the Lord, Jesus” (I Thessalonians 2:14-15).
All four gospels suggest either implicitly or explicitly that because the Jews were not allowed to punish other Jews who were guilty of blasphemy, they had to prevail on the reluctant Romans to kill Jesus. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, is described as basically sympathetic to Jesus but unable to withstand the pressure from the Jews who demanded Jesus’ execution. This idea is expressed most clearly in the gospel of John: “Pilate said, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him according to your own law.’ The Jews replied, ‘We are not permitted to put anyone to death'” (18:31).
In the most controversial verse in all the passion narratives, the assembled members of the Jewish community tell Pilate, “His blood be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25). This is the source for the Christian belief that later generations of Jews are also guilty of deicide, the crime of killing God.
In the writings of the Church Fathers, the authoritative Christian theologians after the New Testament period, this accusation appears with even more clarity and force. One of the Church Fathers, Justin Martyr (middle of the second century), explains to his Jewish interlocutor why the Jews have suffered exile and the destruction of their Temple: these “tribulations were justly imposed on you since you have murdered the Just One” (Dialogue with Trypho, chapter 16).
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Six clear teachings from Scripture that show the sinfulness of polygamy/polygyny and the goodness of monogamous man-woman marriage:
1) Marriage was instituted by God as a monogamous man-woman relationship for life (Gen 2)
2) God forbade kings from having multiple wives (Deut. 17:17)
3) Solomon's many wives (and concubines) turned his heart away from his God (1 Kings 11:3)
4) Jesus honored God's monogamous man-woman design for marriage (Matthew 19:3-8)
4) Paul taught that a (singular) husband should love his (singular) wife (Eph. 5)
5) Elders are called to be a "one-woman man" if married (1 Tim. 3:2)
6) The bride of Christ is married to her husband in the eschaton (Rev. 21:2)
Finally, some Biblical arguments.
1. Each marriage is its own unique marriage—one man, multiple ribs. “If a man has two wives…” (Deut 21:15) validates the women as being “wives” not “wife and adulteress.”
2. God forbade having too many wives, and too many horses, and too much gold. The problem is greed not polygyny (Deut 17:16-17). God Himself gave David multiple wives (2 Sam 12:7-8).
3. No, polygyny was not his sin, Solomon violated Deuteronomy 7:3-4. Nehemiah 13:26 validates this—“foreign women made even him to sin.”
4. Jesus indicated He can multiply wives just as His Father (Luke 18:29-30, John 5:19), and is Himself illustrated as being plurally married (Matt 25:1, 2 Cor 11:2) like the Father (Jer 31:32, 3:6-10)
5. “The husbands! love your own wives, as also the Christ did love the assembly, and did give himself for it” - Ephesians 5:25 YLT
6. Elder’s are commanded to be the “husband of first wife” and not be divorced (Matt 5:32, 19:9). Mias rendered “first” in Rev 9:12.
7. The Church is the family of Believers made op of many virgin brides known as churches (2 Cor 11:2). Jesus speaks to His seven churches in Revelation 1-3, which coincides with the messianic imagery of Isaiah 4:1-2.
Thank you for being someone who actually presented Biblical arguments!
his is true… if you ignore what the Bible actually says. ———- 1. God directly blessed men who had multiple wives •Abraham, Jacob, David, and Solomon all had multiple wives — and Scripture explicitly calls them blessed or favored by God. •Abraham: God made His covenant with Abraham after he took Hagar as a second wife (Genesis 16–17). God still blessed Abraham abundantly and called him righteous (Genesis 15:6). •Jacob: Had four wives (Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, Zilpah). The twelve tribes of Israel — the very covenant people — came from those wives. His household was literally the seed of the covenant promise. •David: God said of David, “I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms … and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more” (2 Samuel 12:8). This is as direct as it gets: God gave David multiple wives as part of his royal blessing. ⸻ 2. The Law of Moses regulates, but does not condemn, polygamy •Deuteronomy 21:15–17 gives legal instruction for how to deal justly with multiple wives (especially in inheritance). •This shows that polygamy wasn’t considered immoral — it was part of normal Israelite life under the Law. •Exodus 21:10 even says of a man who takes a second wife: “If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights.” Again — regulated, not prohibited. ⸻ 3. Polygamy is associated with divine favor and fruitfulness •In ancient Israel, children were seen as the greatest blessing from God, and having multiple wives increased the possibility of posterity. •Psalm 127:3–5 — “Children are a heritage from the Lord … blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” •Thus, the capacity to have more children through more wives was, in their eyes, an extension of divine blessing. •God’s covenant promises to Abraham, Jacob, and David were all linked to multiplication of offspring — something that, culturally and practically, polygamy enabled. ⸻ 4. God sometimes used polygamy to accomplish covenant purposes •Jacob’s four wives produced the twelve tribes — God’s chosen nation. Without polygamy, Israel as a twelve-tribe nation wouldn’t exist. •Boaz and Ruth’s marriage (monogamous) is contrasted to earlier polygamous patriarchs, but it shows that both types of unions could serve divine purposes in their times. •Levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5–10) could result in a man taking another wife to raise up seed for his brother — again showing God’s law allowed and blessed this under covenantal purposes. ⸻ 5. Nowhere in the Old Testament does God condemn a man for having multiple wives •Every condemnation related to marriage concerns adultery, idolatry, or unfaithfulness, not the mere fact of polygamy. •Even when Solomon is condemned, it is not for having many wives per se, but for letting them turn his heart to idols (1 Kings 11:4).
You keep calling Genesis 2 “God’s blueprint for monogamy,” but nobody in Scripture ever interpreted it that way. Not Adam, not Abraham, not Jacob, not Moses who wrote the Law, not the prophets, not Jesus, not the apostles, not Israel, not the early church. You are the only person in the entire biblical timeline insisting Genesis 2 is a monogamy-only command. If it truly meant “one man one woman for life,” then every patriarch God blessed would be living in open rebellion. Let’s be honest about the text. Genesis 2 describes the nature of the marriage bond, not the number of marriage bonds a man may enter. The Old Covenant didn’t “tolerate” polygyny, it regulated it and even prescribed it. Regulated in Exodus 21:10: if a man takes another wife, he must not diminish the first wife’s food, clothing, or marital rights. Prescribed in Exodus 22:16: a man who sleeps with a virgin must marry her, even if he already has a wife. Commanded in levirate marriage: if a man dies without a child, his brother must marry the widow to continue his line. God never regulates sin. There is no verse saying “when you steal...” or “when you commit adultery...” It says "Do not steal." Regulation means acceptance inside God’s moral system. As for the New Covenant, there is zero prohibition on polygyny. Not one verse that bans it. Paul gives qualifications for elders at most, not marriage law for all men. If “husband of one wife” meant mathematical monogamy, then Moses, Abraham, Jacob, and David would all be disqualified from leadership in God’s own house, which is absurd. Your final line about “modern cult leaders” is just fear-based rhetoric. Biblical truth is not determined by who abuses something. People have abused money, prophecy, communion, and even monogamy. Abuse does not erase God’s design. The real issue isn’t cults, it’s that thousands of Christians today are waking up, reading the Scriptures for themselves, and realizing the church added rules God never wrote. I’m simply aligning with the text, not tradition.