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NASB | 1 Kings 11:3 He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Kings 11:3 He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away [from God]. |
Subject: Does God endorse polygamy? |
Bible Note: This is an interesting note. If I may interject here, I would like to point out that Jesus never said anything about the number of wives a man may have, nor did He remotely make any specific statement highlighting the number of wives Adam had been given. You appear to be adding meaning that simply is not there. What HE DID address in the passages you mentioned is the issue of divorce when referring to Genesis. Therefore Jesus confimred not one ounce of what you are laying claim. If you have a legitimate reference, then I would like to see it so that I can study it in more detail. The only consequences we are told about where a plurality of wives is directly mentioned as the problem is Jacob and Solomon. Jacob was in violation of God's Law by having married two sisters. This is expressly forbidden. Solomon on the other hand multiplied wives to himself, which is also forbidden, but his REAL problem was in letting a few of them draw him away into idolatry. This could have happened to him even if he had only one wife, so this air castle is again dispersed into the winds of reality. Jacob's greatest problems were actually rooted in his character. He was a deceiver. That is the meaning of his name, after all. So, the overly general declaration that having a plurality of wives was to problem of the men you mentioned is really quite baseless from what I see in your message. It is much too easy to speak in general terms without any real substance to back it. David's sins were the sins of adultery and murder. His motivation had nothing to do with the wives he already had. If you have evidence to the contrary, then I would welcome it for further study. As for Abraham, well, this one completely escapes me. It is so general that there is nothing whatsoever to go by in your statement. It was Sarah who gave Hagar to Abraham to wife, and she did so because of a lack of faith in God's promise. It was Sarah who had a problem with Hagar, not Abraham. Also, Abraham took two more wives after Sarah died, and there is no mention of his having further problems because of his plural wives, so again I ask for further clarification without speaking in such general terms. You also spoke of "principal". Well, what you see as being a "principal" is actually nothing but historical fact. As I had said before, if you can show me any express declaration from the Lord with His pointing to Adma's having been given only one wife to be a "principal" for all mankind, then I would like to see it. Pointing to Jesus' words concerning divorce is not a case at all, and would not stand a chance in ANY unbiased court. Thanks for your input. Don Dean |