Polygamy in the Old Testament

[New Jack Swinger]

Why did God allow polygamy in the Old Testament and what purpose did it serve?

[MaronKnight]

I would say he allowed it to populate the earth. Far more woman then men on this earth, and with the amount of men dying in battle, the only way the world could be populated was through a few wives and a few concubines per man ( or 700 wives and 300 concubines in the case of solomon).

Another possiblity may be that it was Gods plan to protect women from slavery as married women seemed to be protected from slavery. Remember the story of Abrahams wife Sarah who was taken as a slave by the Pharoah. (he didnt know she was his wife because Sarah told him Abraham was her Brother)

[DavidObeid]

It was tolerated, but not necessarily lauded.

Marriage was not always understood as the sacred thing we recognise it for today, and so it is reasonable to see that there would have been even long periods of confusion about it.