A “Wretched” Argument Against Biblical Polygyny
Wretched tells a young man polygamy is always a disaster and clearly forbidden. This response tests each claim — Deuteronomy 17, Genesis 2:24, Ephesians 5, the Judges 19 “unmentioned sin” argument — and shows enforced monogamy rests on tradition, not the text.
A young man in a church asks whether polygyny is righteous, and the Wretched broadcast answers that Scripture “clearly” forbids it and that plural marriage always ends in disaster. This response takes each argument in turn and tests it against the text. The recurring problem is that every passage offered describes marriage or condemns a real sin elsewhere — none of them actually forbids a man taking more than one wife.
The argument answered
- Deuteronomy 17:17 uses the same Hebrew word (rabah) as “multiply horses” — it limits excess for a king, it does not command monogamy, and it never applied to the ordinary man.
- Genesis 2:24 describes what a marriage is; it no more forbids a second wife than it forbids celibacy or commands every man to be married.
- Matthew 19 answers a divorce question and affirms permanence — it is not a ruling on plural marriage.
- The Ephesians 5 “muddied picture” argument fails because ekklesia is an assembly of many subject to one head — itself closer to a picture of polygyny than against it.
- The double standard in the law is decisive: a woman with two husbands is put to death (Leviticus 20:10), while a man who takes another woman is simply told to keep providing (Exodus 21:10).
- The Judges 19 “the Bible mentions sin without condemning it” argument refutes itself — the rest of Scripture clearly condemns those acts, yet nowhere forbids taking a second wife.
- If Yeshua had abolished plural marriage, there would be instructions for converted polygynous households; there are none.
Scriptures examined
- Deuteronomy 17:16–17 — the king and multiplying horses, wives, gold
- Genesis 2:18, 2:24 — not good to be alone; the two become one flesh
- Matthew 19 — the divorce question
- Ephesians 5:21–22 — assembly, headship, subjection
- Leviticus 20:10 — adultery and the death penalty
- Exodus 21:10 — provision when a man takes another woman
- Deuteronomy 21:15–17 — inheritance rights with two wives
- Ruth 4:11 — Rachel and Leah, who built the house of Israel
- 2 Chronicles 24:2–3 — Joash did right while given two wives
- Judges 19 — the concubine, used as a flawed “unmentioned sin” argument
Why it matters
When teachers call a man’s second marriage sin while admitting no verse forbids it, they bind consciences and break up families over tradition. Holding fast to what is good means testing the claim against Scripture, not the reverse. The “plural marriage always ends in disaster” claim gets a fuller answer in our article on whether polygamy always ended in disaster in the Bible.
