was Jacob married to Rachel?

[lmnop9876]

given the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman, was Jacob married to Rachel?

was Abraham married to Hagar?

was David married to Abigail & Bathsheba & all his other wives?

&c. &c.

 

[lmnop9876]

this may seem like an odd topic for a thread in a Debates on Homosexuality forum, but it goes right to the heart of our definition of marriage. Jacob married Rachel (and Rachel & Leah's maids) when he was already married to Leah, but I have never heard anyone say that he was not married to her in God's sight, despite the fact that this marriage was not according to the definition of "one man, one woman" that is usually used. the same goes for Hagar & Abraham, David & his wives, Solomon & his wives, &c. &c. and many other holy men of the Old Testament. Polygamy & adultery are clearly prohibited in the Old Testament law, yet the reason that is usually provided to justify the behaviour of these holy men is "God didn't approve of it, but He let it go because that was their culture."

well same-sex marriage is generally approved of in Western culture, so why shouldn't the same rationale be used to justify same-sex marriage today?

 

[dayhiker]

gee, I'm not awear of one verse in the Bible the prohibits polygamy ... Now I can agree that adultry is prohibited.

 

[tulc]

Polygamy & adultery are clearly prohibited in the Old Testament law

Scriptures that prohibit polygamy?

yet the reason that is usually provided to justify the behaviour of these holy men is "God didn't approve of it, but He let it go because that was their culture."

...He didn't seem to have a problem with prohibiting other things from their culture.
tulc(feels kind of odd being on this side of the debate)

 

[TheFathersDaughter]

gee, I'm not awear of one verse in the Bible the prohibits polygamy ... Now I can agree that adultry is prohibited.

Isn't polygamy just "sanctified" adultery?

 

[OllieFranz]

Isn't polygamy just "sanctified" adultery?

Not really, at least not in a polygamous society. When women are possessions, the more you have the richer you are, but when someone takes one of your women, he is stealing from you. Sometimes the insult of the theft becomes more important than the actual sin of adultery (as when Absalom pitched a tent on the roof of the Palace in order to have public sex with the concubines that David left behind).

In polygamous, patriarchal societies, adultery is the theft of someone else's wife. But it does not work the other way. If I own a dog, and go out and buy a cat (keeping both as pets) the cat didn't steal me away from the dog. That is how a polygamist sees his multiple wives.

I much prefer our more Godly approach to marriage: a union of equals, where both partners pledge fidelity.