Chapter Parallel Compare. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. Exodus Genesis Jacob slept with her,.
Isaiah Take away our disgrace! Judges Numbers Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. Deuteronomy The right of the firstborn belongs to him. Ezekiel In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed. They were mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.
Moses had two wives as well. The Mosaic Law likewise accommodated the practice of marrying more than one wife, including captured prisoners from foreign conquests Deut. In sum, during the Old Testament times, polygamy was not only permitted, it was sanctioned. Queen Esther was undoubtedly part of a harem. And what of Ruth?
The picture gets even dicier when one considers the practice of the kings of Israel. For the record, Solomon had wives and concubines.
How does one respond to this situation? The answer begins by seeing that God always points his creation back to the primacy and perfection of the original design. Next, you have to read every book to the end, and especially in its biblical context. He also enacted new provisions to protect women and raise their standing in society.
Hi Greg. Interesting stuff. Good quick survey. So much evil, pain and tragedy in history has come through the family. So the whole concept of family we Evan. Tim Keller pointed out in a sermon that polygamy, when its consequences are presented, is uniformly shown to be detrimental. It was one of the first things the fledgling church did, and right from the start it was problematic—Greek-speaking widows complained that the Aramaic speakers were being given more food, for one thing Acts !
Young Timothy, leading the church in Ephesus, had other problems with his widows, and Paul had to write a whole chapter to help him cope 1 Tim 5.
Nevertheless, this association was a good solution to their needs, and it was far better than expecting these women to each find a new husband. Had God always been in favor of monogamy so that they were now returning to his original wishes? It was the purpose of these commands, rather than the commands themselves, that was important. When there were too few men due to warfare, this purpose was accomplished by allowing polygamy to ensure male heirs.
In more stable times, polygamy resulted in many men remaining single because wealthy men could have many wives. Despite their official condemnation of polygamy, many respectable Romans had multiple marriages because divorce was easily obtained and mistresses were openly accepted. In modern Western societies, various surveys have revealed that 13 percent of women and 20 percent of men commit adultery—and this is likely to be underreported by those who are questioned.
Jesus criticized polygamy as a warped version of the lifelong committed relationship of a one-plus-one marriage. Our society recognizes that this is a very special relationship, and we strive toward it, but in many cases, we fail.
So much time and money are often spent on the wedding and an almost equal amount on a subsequent divorce, but often we spend little time, care, and attention on the marriage itself. You can discuss this post and others in the Faithlife Today group. Create an account or log in to get started. Lexham Press is an innovative Christian publishing house creating thoughtful Bible study materials, scholarly works, and pastoral resources.
Biblical Studies. Lexham Press 9 min read 6 months ago. Leave a comment.
0コメント