Polygamy in Ancient Israel: Toleration or Prohibition?
Matthew S. Long
History of Ancient Israel
Dr. B.A. Foreman
November 14, 2013
The
practice of polygamy is one of intrigue throughout history involving sex,
power, and the struggle for peace and prestige in the halls of kings, emperors
and common men. The morality of such practices was opaque in ancient Israel,
but also common throughout most nations. While a monogamous marriage
(reflecting Christ’s marriage to the church) is ideal, holy men such as Abraham
and David participated in the practice of polygamy. In this paper I will show
how holy men in ancient Israel did not knowingly sin in taking multiple wives
because of the lack of Biblical prohibition and the existence of progressive revelation
of sin and scripture, which is ultimately shown through Jesus expounding upon
internal sin in Matthew 5.
Polygamy
can be defined as a marriage
to more than one spouse at a time. Polygyny (where a man
has more than one wife)
is the most common form of polygamy. In
the ancient world, having multiple wives happened usually for two reasons: to
showcase your household wealth (as a status symbol) and to develop
international relationships where the intermarriage serves as the contract.
This is most blatantly seen in the life of Solomon, with his many wives and
extensive trade alliances. Often the central propagator of economic success and
abundant wealth, international relationships were extremely important, and
polygamous relationships played no small role in the development of that
process.
David and Polygamy
While
attempting to make a point from a textual exclusion can be dangerous, the issue
of polygamy was far too vast and attached to Israel to not have an express
prohibition commanded if it were a forbidden and revealed sin (by God) in the time of ancient Israel. (Apart from
Deuteronomy 17:17, which is exclusively a kingly law) Far from uncommon, polygamy
was practiced by many important figures in ancient Israel including Abraham,
Jacob, David, Solomon, Gideon, Caleb and Josiah. Their “sins” of polygamy are
either ignored by people today or improperly coupled together with other sins
such as David’s adultery. For example, inferring that David’s multiple wives
turned him away from God lacks a biblical basis, and should not be equated with
Solomon, the man who defined sinful excess. Nevertheless, Israel was set apart
by God and unlike other nations, its kings were “subject to the law along with
the subjects,” (Christensen) and were held to a much higher standard than that
of other nations.
Looking
at the context of 2 Samuel 12:7-8 shows that God is not condemning polygamy; in
fact, it may, even be argued, that God would have blessed David with more wives,
if he was not content with the number he currently had. “Thus says the LORD,
the God of Israel ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of
the hand of Saul. 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.’”(emphasis mine) (2 Samuel 12:7-8) This verse clearly states that God has blessed David (The King)
with wives. The plurality of the word wives is not exaggerated. Therefore, God
blessed David with the House of Saul, which also includes his wives. Much
debate has surrounded the full definition of the “House of Saul,” and whether
that also includes the harem. Many commentators state, reluctantly, that the House
of Saul does indeed include Saul’s harem. “The reference is evidently to the
wives, first from the form of the pronoun, secondly because of the abundance in
wives which formed the contrast between David’s wealth and Uriah’s poverty.”
(Smith, 221) “The giving of the
house of Saul in context means the possession of the female members of the
house.” (Hertzberg, 313) “To take
possession of the preceding monarch’s harem was one of the normal signs of
succession to the throne, and to take a woman from a reigning king’s harem was
equivalent to making a claim to the throne.” (Mauchline 254)
Furthermore,
it is interesting to note that David feels free to take more wives from “Israel’s
leading families” (to consolidate his power) after he knew that God had
established him on the throne. (Bergen, 323) “And David knew the Lord had
established him king over Israel. And David took more concubines and wives from
Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to
David.” (2 Samuel 5:12-13) This consolidation of power, by David, is also a politically
defensive move, after the chaos of waiting for the throne and running from Saul
for many years.
Interestingly,
God punishes David for his sin of adultery, but not for his sin of polygamy, by
promising to “give them (his wives) to your neighbor, and he shall lie with
your wives in the sight of the sun.” (2 Samuel 12:11) But in concession, two
verses do not ultimately prove God’s views on a particular subject. The context
of the entire Bible must be taken into account to understand the character of
God as it relates to particular subjects such as polygamy and divorce.
Understanding the peculiar situations in ancient Israel requires much Biblical
analysis, along with an understanding of the culture in, and around Israel at
the time.
In
the Old Testament, only one command sets forth a directive against polygamy. Deuteronomy
17:17 makes a command against polygamy for Israel’s kings, “and he shall not
acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire
for himself excessive silver and gold.” The primary purpose of the command
against taking “many wives” was to prevent foreign women from turning the
king’s heart away from God—which is exactly happened to Solomon in I Kings
11:1-4. “A practice calculated to impact a sensual and worldly tone to the
character of the king. The influence of the harem was likely in other ways also
to be pernicious to the state.” (International Critical Commentary- Driver)
“Specifically the king is constrained in three ways: he must not engage in
trade with Egypt in order to build up large royal stable, he must not have a vast harem, and he must not become wealthy.
Wealth and wives played an integral role in developing a king’s power base.
Marriages could consolidate foreign alliances, as they did for Solomon and
Ahab, with implications for increased wealth and national security.” (McConville,
Apollos Old Testament Commentary) “A good example of the political power
inherent in the harem as an institution in the Middle East is the Mamelukes
(slaves) who emerged from the children of the harem to become a military class
within the Ottoman Turkish Empire. They seized control of the Egyptian sultanate
in 1250 and ruled there until 1517.” (Smith)
The
Plan and Purpose of God
More
than any other topic, divorce has the most parallels to polygamy in the Bible.
Jesus illuminates the purpose of divorce in Matthew 19:7-8 “Because of the
hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the
beginning it was not so.” Divorce, along with polygamy, was governed through
laws regulating the practices because of the “hardness” of the people’s hearts.
Divorce and polygamy did not exist from the beginning, but came about with the
prevalence and power of sin that developed in ancient Israel. “It is important
to note that the presence of laws regarding kingship, slavery, polygamy, or
divorce acknowledge their existence in society and establish regulations
concerning them; they do not imply their lawfulness as such. All such questions
must be determined by the plain precepts and general teaching of the Bible as a
whole, and not by these particular judicial regulations.” (Christensen)
Christians
today quickly fault the Israelites and the kings for their sin, but usually
fail to consider they did not have the completed Word of God including Jesus’
exegesis of the internal aspects of the law and explanations of distinct gender
roles and the character that mature believers should be projecting. The primary
issue of concern here is progressive revelation, which refers to the idea and teaching that
God revealed various aspects of His will and overall plan for humanity over
different periods of time, otherwise known as dispensations. The Bible is clear
in showing that God chose to reveal only certain aspects of Himself and His
overall plan of Salvation in each dispensation.
In
the Old Testament, Moses instituted a series of laws in order to show God’s
holiness. In the New Testament, Jesus shows how each of the laws dealing with
external sin, (murder, adultery) also had levels of internal sin (anger, lust)
Thus, as God gradually revealed the sin of polygamy, Jesus also gradually revealed
internal layers of sin in the New Testament. The sin had always existed, but
the revelation of it did not come until the New Testament. Did David sin by
taking multiple wives? According to the revelation of the law in the New
Testament as well as Deuteronomy 17:17, he did. But did he know of his sin?
Because of the lack of express prohibition and lack of revelation by God, he neither
knew, nor fully understood, his sin of polygamy.
In
fact, God still does this. Personal sanctification is God revealing deeper and deeper
layers of sin in order to purify. If He did it all at once, it would be
unbearable. However, the sin is always just as wrong and abhorrent to God—whether
we see it in our lives or not. The lack of revelation does not mean
the lack of sin. The
sin is there, but He chooses to progressively reveal it to believers as they
mature in faith. Imagine a sword being carefully molded
in the furnace, as it takes blow after blow to be shaped into the perfect
figure. As the sword is slowly created and refined, so to God refines believers
in steps, moments, trials and tribulation. Sanctification is a process of the
revelation of sin, depravity and the full realization of the ultimate
satisfaction found in Christ alone.
The end goal of sanctification is holiness, as stated in 2 Corinthians 7:1:
“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all
defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Revelations
given through the New Testament reveal the purpose behind abstaining from
immorality: holiness, which allows for communion which God. God’s standard of truth
has always been consistent, but his revelation of the plan of salvation and
Christian standards has been gradual throughout history. Those in ancient
Israel did not have the specific set of characteristics of what a holy man
should look like, as the New Testament provided, “An overseer,
then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent,
respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to
wine.” (I Timothy 3:1-2) The world of ancient Israel was a far cry from today’s
American society; polygamy was the expected for those in power in the ancient
world.
Because
Jesus has revealed new levels to the depth of sin, Christians today can fully
understand (with the aid of the Holy Spirit) what it means to pursue holiness, to
confront the heart of sin, and to know God. In acknowledgement of Christ’s work
on the cross and out of gratitude, Christians are to present themselves as
slaves to righteousness. “I
am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as
you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting
in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness,
resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in
regard to righteousness. (Romans 6:19-21) Christians know the truths presented
in the Bible; they have the knowledge, but that knowledge must then be imparted
to physical submission to the commands of Christ, for the purpose of
sanctification. The final, eternal hope is promised in I John 3:2. “Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet
appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him,
because we shall see him as he is.” That is the beautiful hope of Christianity,
that lives of struggle, failure and obedient submission may have a final
purpose: eternal, sinless bodies which seek only to glorify the One who gave us
abundant life, unconditional love and eternal joy.
Moreover, to understand the original intention of God regarding marriage, one must go back to the beginning. In addition to the birthplace of the universe, creation brought forth the first marriage: Adam and Eve. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24 sets forth the dawn of God’s intended structure for marriage—one man and one woman. Any other romantic relationship other than that can never satisfy physically or emotionally because it was never designed to do so— God designated one man for one woman and vice versa. Furthermore, Marriage was created by God to be a reflection of Christ’s covenantal relationship with the church. “As the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up so for…so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor.” (Ephesians 5:24-25, 27) “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself (The church) ready.” (Revelation 19:7) Another image of a godly, monogamous marriage is in Proverbs 31, which carries images of hard work and absolute trust in each other. “She works with willing hands…the heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.” (11,13) The institution of marriage was created for the woman to help the man, designed to reflect Christ’s marriage to the church, and fulfilled in personal, joyful sanctification.
Practical
Problems of Polygamy:
The
practice of Polygamy is not only sinful and immoral, but also carries many
practical problems such as jealously and drama. In the Bible, stories featuring
polygamous relationships are almost always marked by evil or sadness. For
example, in Genesis 16, Sarah gives Hagar to Abraham as a wife, who is then
later “looked with contempt” because she conceives. Jealousy is a central
characteristic of polygamous relationships, and interpersonal relationships are
usually strained. Later in Genesis 29:30 is Jacob’s unfortunate situation:
“Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah.” (Though it is debatable whether his
marriage to Leah was his fault or not) Over and over, the result of polygamous
marriages result in unloved spouses and considerable drama. The problem was so
bad in Israel that laws had to be made regulating the unloved wife’s children. “If
the firstborn sons belongs to the unloved, 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.” (Deuteronomy
21:15-18) Another sad case is found in I Sam 1 with Elkanah, Penniah and
Hannah. “Penniah had children, but Hannah had no children… Elkanah gave a
double portion sacrifice to Hannah because he loved her. Penniah provoked
Hannah grievously to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb. So it
went on year by year.” Year by year.
The agony of enduring constant irritations and arrogance from Penniah everyday
would have been unendingly painful for Hannah. Only the Hannah’s strong faith
in God sustained her in the midst of such trauma. Never, in recorded
relationships, is polygamy recorded to be worthy of praise and maturity. From
jealousy to drama, the practical problems of polygamy are endless, resulting
only in bitter pain, and (in some cases) idolatrous corruption.
Finally, the existence
of polygamy in ancient Israel cannot be ignored. It must be addressed in order
to understand the plan of God in revealing sin and His role in the
sanctification of His chosen people. Many question the lack of condemnation of
polygamy in the Bible, and reasons for this require careful investigation in
light of passages such as 2 Samuel 12. Laws regarding polygamy do not imply God’s
acceptance of it, only regulation for the people’s sake, as it is with divorce,
“because of the hardness of your hearts.” Practically unwise, but sometimes
inevitable, polygamy is most mentioned in reference to the king. Politics
surrounded the practice, and wives were exchange in order to grow the wealth of
the kingdom and strengthen treaties. Most revealing to somewhat confusing
stance of God towards polygamy is His unique practice of progressive
revelation. God gradually revealed the plan of salvation to the world, from the
giving of the law in the Old Testament and the sacrificial system to sending Jesus
(the perfect sacrifice) in the New Testament to fulfill the law and to explain the
purpose and heart of sin and salvation. Similarly, God does the same with
believes today, by gradually revealing different sins and heart attitudes in
order to carefully fashion his chosen people—the pliable clay of the Creator. God’s
stance toward polygamy is clear from His commands, especially in the New
Testament. But in ancient Israel, people such as Abraham and David did not
knowingly sin in practicing polygamy, (even though their ignorance of sin does
not excuse it) because God allowed it for the sake of His plan: a gradual
revelation of sin, salvation and sanctification. The timing of the God’s
revelation is always perfect. “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a
time for every matter and for every work.” Ecclesiastes 3:17
Works Cited
1.
Smith,
Henry Preserved. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Books of
Samuel. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1904. Print.
2.
McConville,
J. G. Deuteronomy. Leicester, England: Apollos, 2002. Print.
3.
Driver,
S. R. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Deuteronomy. Edinburgh: T
& T Clark, 1965. Print.
4.
Bergen,
Robert D. 1, 2 Samuel. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1996. Print.
5.
Hertzberg,
Hans Wilhelm, and J. S. Bowden. I and II Samuel: A Commentary.
Philadelphia: Westminster, 1964. Print.
6.
God. Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2001. Print.
