43 Bible Verses about Polygamy

“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.

Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you unmarried? Do not seek a wife.

Therefore let us now make a covenant with our God to send away all the [foreign] wives and their children, in accordance with the advice of my lord and of those who tremble [in reverent obedience] at the commandment of our God; and let it be done in accordance with the Law.

“It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife is to give her a certificate of divorce’;

“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she loses his favor because he has found something indecent or unacceptable about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house,

Now an overseer must be blameless and beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

namely, a man of unquestionable integrity, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of being immoral or rebellious.

He shall not acquire multiple wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away [from God]; nor [for the same reason] shall he acquire great amounts of silver and gold.

But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while seeking a godly offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth.

He replied, “Have you never read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female,

“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.

Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you unmarried? Do not seek a wife.

Therefore let us now make a covenant with our God to send away all the [foreign] wives and their children, in accordance with the advice of my lord and of those who tremble [in reverent obedience] at the commandment of our God; and let it be done in accordance with the Law.

“It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife is to give her a certificate of divorce’;

“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she loses his favor because he has found something indecent or unacceptable about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house,

Now an overseer must be blameless and beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

namely, a man of unquestionable integrity, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of being immoral or rebellious.

He shall not acquire multiple wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away [from God]; nor [for the same reason] shall he acquire great amounts of silver and gold.

But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while seeking a godly offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth.

He replied, “Have you never read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female,

You shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.

Now an overseer must be blameless and beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

Deacons must be husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households.

namely, a man of unquestionable integrity, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of being immoral or rebellious.

He shall not acquire multiple wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away [from God]; nor [for the same reason] shall he acquire great amounts of silver and gold.

David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were born to him.

Sons were born to David in Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; His second, Chileab, by Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; The fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; read more.
And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah, David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the Lord, Who has pleaded the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and kept His servant from evil. For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him as his wife. And when the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, David sent us to you to take you to him to be his wife. And she arose and bowed herself to the earth and said, Behold, let your handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. read more.
And Abigail hastened and arose and rode on a donkey, with five of her maids who followed her, and she went after the messengers of David and became his wife. David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both became his wives. Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

Then David took more wives at Jerusalem, and he became the father of more sons and daughters.

He had two wives, one named Hannah and the other named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

If her master marries another wife, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her privilege as a wife.

Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he fathered sons and daughters.

And Jacob lived with Rachel also as his wife, and he loved Rachel more than Leah and served [Laban] another seven years [for her]. And when the Lord saw that Leah was despised, He made her able to bear children, but Rachel was barren. And Leah became pregnant and bore a son and named him Reuben [See, a son!]; for she said, Because the Lord has seen my humiliation and affliction; now my husband will love me. read more.
[Leah] became pregnant again and bore a son and said, Because the Lord heard that I am despised, He has given me this son also; and she named him Simeon [God hears]. And she became pregnant again and bore a son and said, Now this time will my husband be a companion to me, for I have borne him three sons. Therefore he was named Levi [companion].

When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister, and said to Jacob, Give me children, or else I will die! And Jacob became very angry with Rachel and he said, Am I in God's stead, Who has denied you children? And she said, See here, take my maid Bilhah and have intercourse with her; and [when the baby comes] she shall deliver it upon my knees, that I by her may also have children. read more.
And she gave him Bilhah her maid as a [secondary] wife, and Jacob had intercourse with her. And Bilhah became pregnant and bore Jacob a son. And Rachel said, God has judged and vindicated me, and has heard my plea and has given me a son; so she named him Dan [judged]. And Bilhah, Rachel's maid, conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, With mighty wrestlings [in prayer to God] I have struggled with my sister and have prevailed; so she named him [this second son Bilhah bore] Naphtali [struggled]. When Leah saw that she had ceased to bear, she gave Zilpah her maid to Jacob as a [secondary] wife. And Zilpah, Leah's maid, bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, Victory and good fortune have come; and she named him Gad [fortune]. Zilpah, Leah's maid, bore Jacob [her] second son. And Leah said, I am happy, for women will call me blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied); and she named him Asher [happy]. Now Reuben went at the time of wheat harvest and found some mandrakes (love apples) in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray you, some of your son's mandrakes. But [Leah] answered, Is it not enough that you have taken my husband without your taking away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Jacob shall sleep with you tonight [in exchange] for your son's mandrakes. And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him and said, You must sleep with me [tonight], for I have certainly paid your hire with my son's mandrakes. So he slept with her that night. And God heeded Leah's [prayer], and she conceived and bore Jacob [her] fifth son. Leah said, God has given me my hire, because I have given my maid to my husband; and she called his name Issachar [hired]. And Leah became pregnant again and bore Jacob [her] sixth son. Then Leah said, God has endowed me with a good marriage gift [for my husband]; now will he dwell with me [and regard me as his wife in reality], because I have borne him six sons; and she named him Zebulun [dwelling]. Afterwards she bore a daughter and called her Dinah. Then God remembered Rachel and answered her pleading and made it possible for her to have children. And [now for the first time] she became pregnant and bore a son; and she said, God has taken away my reproach, disgrace, and humiliation.

But Leah answered, “Is it a small thing that you have taken my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Jacob shall sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

So Jacob consummated his marriage and lived with Rachel [as his wife], and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with Laban for another seven years.

Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking [Isaac]. Therefore she said to Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman shall not be an heir with my son Isaac. And the thing was very grievous (serious, evil) in Abraham's sight on account of his son [Ishmael]. read more.
God said to Abraham, Do not let it seem grievous and evil to you because of the youth and your bondwoman; in all that Sarah has said to you, do what she asks, for in Isaac shall your posterity be called. And I will make a nation of the son of the bondwoman also, because he is your offspring. So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a bottle of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulders, and he sent her and the youth away. And she wandered on [aimlessly] and lost her way in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water in the bottle was all gone, Hagar caused the youth to lie down under one of the shrubs. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about a bowshot, for she said, Let me not see the death of the lad. And as she sat down opposite him, he lifted up his voice and wept and she raised her voice and wept.

When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite as his wives;

and [to appease his parents] Esau went to [the family of] Ishmael and took as his wife, in addition to the wives he [already] had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth [Ishmael’s firstborn son].

Rehoboam took as wife Mahalath, whose father was Jerimoth son of David; her mother was Abihail daughter of Eliab son of Jesse. She bore him sons: Jeush, Shamariah, and Zaham. And after her he took Maacah daughter [granddaughter] of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. read more.
And Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter [granddaughter] of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines -- "for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he had twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. And Rehoboam made Abijah son of Maacah the chief prince among his brethren, for he intended to make him king. And he dealt understandingly and dispersed his children throughout all Judah and Benjamin to every fortified city. He gave them abundant supplies, and he sought many wives for them.

If a man has two wives, one loved and the other disliked, and they both have borne him children, and if the firstborn son is the son of the one who is disliked, Then on the day when he wills his possessions to his sons, he shall not put the firstborn of his loved wife in place of the [actual] firstborn of the disliked wife -- "her firstborn being older. But he shall acknowledge the son of the disliked as the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he was the first issue of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

If a man has two wives, one loved and the other disliked, and they both have borne him children, and if the firstborn son is the son of the one who is disliked, Then on the day when he wills his possessions to his sons, he shall not put the firstborn of his loved wife in place of the [actual] firstborn of the disliked wife -- "her firstborn being older. But he shall acknowledge the son of the disliked as the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he was the first issue of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect (complete and whole) with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abominable idol of the Ammonites! Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as David his father did. read more.
Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abominable idol of Moab, on the hill opposite Jerusalem, and for Molech the abominable idol of the Ammonites. And he did so for all of his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

But King Solomon [defiantly] loved many foreign women -- "the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. They were of the very nations of whom the Lord said to the Israelites, You shall not mingle with them, neither shall they mingle with you, for surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods. Yet Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines, and his wives turned away his heart from God. read more.
For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect (complete and whole) with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abominable idol of the Ammonites! Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as David his father did. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abominable idol of Moab, on the hill opposite Jerusalem, and for Molech the abominable idol of the Ammonites. And he did so for all of his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give to Peninnah his wife and all her sons and daughters portions [of the sacrificial meat]. But to Hannah he gave a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had given her no children. [This embarrassed and grieved Hannah] and her rival provoked her greatly to vex her, because the Lord had left her childless. read more.
So it was year after year; whenever Hannah went up to the Lord's house, Peninnah provoked her, so she wept and did not eat.

Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter (granddaughter) of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines—for he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

“Those who survive him will be buried because of the plague,
And [their] widows will not be able to weep.

Nebuchadnezzar led Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also he took the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officials and the leading men of the land [including Ezekiel] as exiles from Jerusalem to Babylon.

behold, the Lord is going to strike your people, your sons, your wives, and all your possessions with a great disaster;

But Abijah became powerful. He took fourteen wives for himself and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

I also gave you your master’s house, and put your master’s wives into your care and under your protection, and I gave you the house (royal dynasty) of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have given you much more!

Then said the Lord to me, Go again, love [the same] woman [Gomer] who is beloved of a paramour and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins [used in the sacrificial feasts in idol worship]. So I bought her for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a half of barley [the price of a slave].

So Jacob consummated his marriage and lived with Rachel [as his wife], and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with Laban for another seven years.

Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he fathered sons and daughters.

But to Hannah he would give a double portion, because he loved Hannah, but the Lord had given her no children.

And in that day seven women will take hold of one man, saying, “We will eat our own food and wear [and provide] our own clothes; only let us be called by your name; take away our shame [of being unmarried].”

He had two wives, one named Hannah and the other named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

Now Gideon had seventy sons born to him, because he had many wives.

And Lamech took for himself two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah.

Ashhur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives, Helah and Naarah.

The son of Ethan: Azariah.

Belshazzar, as he tasted the wine, gave a command to bring in the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them.