Polygamy In The Old Testament

According to the New World Encyclopedia, polygamy is the practice of marriage to multiple spouses at the same time. There are three form of polygamy: polygyny, polyandry and group marriages. Polygyny is described as when a man has multiple wives. Polyandry, on the other hand, is when a woman has multiple husbands. Whereas, group marriage is more than one man and more than one woman form a family unit. Out of these three forms of polygamy, polygyny and polyandry are more prevalent.
Polygamy can be traced as far back as the bible days. In the Old Testament there are many cases of the practice of polygamy. There are many evidences in the Old Testament of the acceptance of polygamy. Examples of bible verses to display polygamy are: Exodus
Polygamy has been practiced for centuries by cultures all around the world. Throughout the world polygamy was widely accepted before the Roman Empire and Roman Catholic Church shine light against it and imposed the monogamous marriage. There are encounters of polygamy in classical China, Native Americans, West African continent, Polynesia, India and the ancient Greece. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint in United States allowed the practiced of polygamy which ended in 1890 during time Wilford Woodruff was president. China had a unique way of practicing polygamy. The first wife was called the “queen wife”, which means that she had a higher status and authority then all the others wives. All the children in the family considered the first wife as their official mother (big mother) and the rest of the mothers were the unofficial mothers (little mother or aunt). Throughout the continent of Africa polygamy existed and played an integral part in African culture and religion. In the African culture children were seen as a form of wealth therefore families with more children were deemed powerful. This was one of most effective ways of building an empire. Due to the Islam being incorporated in the western Africa, polygamy declined because of the restrictions of the number of wives. Kenya is popular for the practice of polygamy and an example of
One of the few disadvantages of a polygamous marriage is the abuse of power. Generally, the man is head of the household and can make decisions that are bias. Secondly, it brings about jealousy. Jealousy causes conflict in the household between both wives and children when the husband favours a wife and children more. Spending quality time with each child is another disadvantage. Children require a lot of time for bonding and the lack of this can lead to poor emotional development. A woman feeling powerless in the union can lead to abuse too is a disadvantage. A wife’s fear of being replaced causes her to become submissive. Another disadvantage is neglect; a wife can feel neglected if the husband does not carry out his responsibilities to each wife. When a new wife is brought into the household the wives can feel hurt. Lastly, the difference of family structure may cause children from the polygamous family to be teased. On the other hand, there are some advantages of being in a polygamous marriage. Firstly, it gives a person freedom of choice in marrying who they want. Some people in life falls in love with more than one person, polygamy give them the ability to marry the persons they have this deep feeling for. It allows a better support system in a family. Due to the large number of family members one will