Monogamous Marriage

Q. How did the practice of marrying more than one wife come about since Jesus said marriage is between one woman and one man.  We are studying the story of Leah and Rachel and its bugging me that Joseph married more than one woman.  When/why did this practice stop?

A. Although Genesis 2:24 reveals that it was always the Lord’s intention for man to have one wife, and that their’s be a life long commitment,  the Old Testament doesn’t contain any specific restrictions against plural marriage, and a number of venerated Patriarchs had multiple wives.

Jesus quoted Genesis 2:24 in his teaching on divorce (Matt. 19:3-9) confirming that marriage was intended for one man and one woman.  A study of the 370 times the word wife appears in the Bible shows that it overwhelmingly describes a man’s only spouse.

Paul made monogamy a condition for appointment as a bishop or deacon (1 Tim 3:2 & 12) and taught that marriage was a model of the relationship between the Lord and the Church (Ephesians 5:22-33).