Polygyny: The Anchor Bible Dictionary

Submitted by joshuah on Wed, 12/29/2010 - 00:29

Indeed, the OT is replete with illustrations of polygamous marriages. To be more precise, it tells of instances of polygyny (one husband, more than one wife), but no instance of polyandry (one wife, more than one husband). Apart from the two wives of Lamech already noted, we recall (1) Abraham with Sarah and his concubines Hagar and Keturah (Genesis 16; 25:1–2); (2) Jacob with Leah and Rachel (Gen 29:15–30); (3) Esau with three wives (Gen 26:34; 36:2; 28:9); (4) Gideon with his “many wives” (Judg 8:30); (5) Elkanah with Hannah and Peninnah (1 Sam 1:2); (6) David with seven named wives (1 Sam 18:17–30; 25:38–43; 2 Sam 3:2–5) and additional unnamed ones (2 Sam 5:13); (7) Solomon and his royal harem (1 Kgs 3:1; 11:3; Cant 6:8); and (8) Rehoboam with his eighteen wives (2 Chr 11:21). There is one law in the Deuteronomic code (Deut 21:15–17) which does allow for one man to be married simultaneously to two wives. And the only individual who is admonished in the same code not to multiply wives is the king (Deut 17:17). No such prohibition is directed to the king’s subjects.

Looking at these lists of polygamists, one is led to the conclusion that polygyny may have been limited to men who occupied leadership positions, who were well off, or who had some other claim to distinction. Indeed, de Vaux comments (AncIsr, 25): “it is noteworthy that the books of Samuel and Kings, which cover the entire period of the monarchy, do not record a single case of bigamy among commoners (except that of Samuel’s father, 1 Sam 1:2, at the very beginning of the period).” However, the books of Samuel and Kings record little about any commoner, or the marriage of any commoner.

OT Old Testament

AncIsr R. de Vaux, 1961. Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions. Trans. J. McHugh. London. Repr. New York, 1965

Freedman, David Noel: The Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York : Doubleday, 1996, c1992, S. 4:565