why is polygamy allowed in the Old Testament?

[givennewname]

I will start off by saying that i am not advocating that polygamy be allowed. What i am asking is why is God so tolerant of ploygamy in the Old testament and most of the patriachs had many wivies and yet God was strangely silent on the matter. Even Moses, the law giver had more than one wife.

[O'Dannyboy]

According to the Bible this is the beginning/early times for man. In order for them to be "fruitful and multiply" they had to use every available means.

[Guest LadyC]

another reason is for the support and protection of widows. it's not like they could run out and get a job at the nearest burger joint... widows were left with few options other than prostitution or scavenging for food. and if she had no sons, she had nobody to care for her in her old age, or for that matter to carry on her husband's name and inheritance. very few never-married men would have willingly taken a first wife who had been married before. so i believe that polygamy was allowed, and even necessary, to provide for women in these circumstances.

[Press Forward]

Why is polygamy allowed in the Old Testament?

Punishment. God allowed man to punish himself. God knew it was hard enough to keep one woman happy and so you multiple PMS, spending habits, jealousness, etc by a handfull...surely no man would be stupid enough to try in this day and age...rofl....sorry I couldn't resist...

[BlindSeeker]

Please forgive the length, but I believe the nature of the question warrants it.

My understanding of why it was alright for the men in the OT to have more than one wife is because of what the relationship of a man and women prophetically represents.

It is my conviction that God created humanity both male and female so they could

[traveller]

Beautiful post, BlindSeeker.

[Mudcat]

According to the Bible this is the beginning/early times for man. In order for them to be "fruitful and multiply" they had to use every available means.

Why didn't he make Eve 1 through Eve 50?

Seems that would have been helpful to the command.

In Creation it was one man and one woman.

When God wiped out the Earth by flood, he started out with 4 men (Noah and his sons) and 4 women (their wives).

That is still a one man and one woman union.

I think this is one of those slippery slope threads in general.

At best we could say God allowed polygamy.

I certainly don't think he gives it a free pass.

War still rages in the middle east because of Abraham's choice to take a second woman.

Edited October 10, 2008 by Mudcat

[Floatingaxe]

In Creation it was one man and one woman.

When God wiped out the Earth by flood, he started out with 4 men (Noah and his sons) and 4 women (their wives).

That is still a one man and one woman union.

I think this is one of those slippery slope threads in general.

At best we could say God allowed polygamy.

I certainly don't think he gives it a free pass.

War still rages in the middle east because of Abraham's choice to take a second woman.

I agree! God has always been against polygamy, but He allows man's will...look at how far we have strayed in this generation, men marrying men and women marrying women, and bearing children out of wedlock willy nilly, using petri dishes and surrogates. God stands by. His Day will come.

[BlindSeeker]

In Creation it was one man and one woman.

This was the ultimate plan of God, one church one body

[Xan]

In Creation it was one man and one woman.

This was the ultimate plan of God, one church one body

And this brings up a conversation I recently had with my fiance'. When Christians act like the world with regards to premarital sex and several divorces (not condemning divorce for the right reasons, but those of us who chose unwisely still bear some culpability), we blaspheme the very picture of God's marraige with the church.