Polygamy in the Torah

    The Scriptures are clear that polygamy was and still is, today a valid form of marriage.  God, nowhere condemns such godly men as Abraham (Gen. 16:3), Jacob (Gen. 29-30), Moses (Ex. 2:16-21, Num. 12:1), Caleb (1 Chron. 2:46, 48), Gideon (Judges 8:30), or David (1 Sam. 18:27, 2 Sam. 3:2-3) for having more than one wife.  In fact, in the case of David, God would have given him more wives had he asked for them, "And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would        moreover have given unto thee such and such things" (2 Sam. 12:7-8).  God gave David these wives as a BLESSING, just as anointing him as king over Israel, protecting him from Saul, and giving him the house of Israel and Judah were also blessings from Him.

    When we study the O.T. law concerning polygamy, we find that when the singular "wife" is used, those laws could apply to monogamy or polygamy (Deut. 22:13, 22), and when the plural "wives" is used, those laws only apply to polygamy. (Deut. 21:15-17).

    The Law stated that a man could take another wife as long as he still provided for his first wife:  "If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish" (Ex. 21:10).  John Gill explains the phrase "her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish" as meaning more than just an habitation when he writes, "...but the generality of interpreters, Jewish and Christian, understand it as we do, of the conjugal duty, the use of the marriage bed, or what the apostle calls due benevolence, 1 Cor. 7:3. The word is thought to have the signification of a fixed time for it; and the Misnic doctors are very particular in assigning the set times of it for different persons; and in those countries where there were, and where there still are, plurality of wives, each had, and have their turns, see Gen. 30:15,16." 

    The law protected the rights of the first born son concerning his inheritance in the case where the father preferred another wife over his mother (Deut. 21:15-17). 

    The law commanded that any man who had sex with a virgin was to marry her (Deut. 22:28-29).  There is nothing in this text that supports the idea that only single men are to marry in this instance.  This law protected and ensured the woman that her food, clothing, and marital rights and duties would not be diminished.  This, as well protected the woman from the reproach of not being able to find another man to be her husband because she was no longer a virgin and, furthermore the reproach of possibly never being able to have children.  The man, single or married, needed to be responsible for his fornication and the woman needed to be protected.

    The law commanded a man to marry the widow of his deceased brother's wife if he had no children with her (Deut. 25:7-10).  Again, there is nothing in this text that supports that this law was limited to only single brothers.   

    The law did have some restrictions on polygamy, such as a man not marrying the sister or mother of his wife (Lev. 18:17, Lev. 20:14).  Another restriction admonished the king against the acquisition of too many wives (Deut. 17:17), and, in particular, foreign wives, because they would tend to tempt him towards their gods (1 Kings 11:1-8).  It would appear that Solomon broke this law in that he multiplied three hundred wives and seven hundred concubines to himself (1 Kings 11:3).  Solomon   abused the right to take more than one wife and no doubt had difficulty in meeting the sexual needs of so many women.  David, on the other hand, did not break this law, as was discussed earlier (2 Sam. 12:7-8).