GENESIS 38:6-10 LEVIRATE LAW AND POLYGAMY

Q: Levirate Law. This says the brother is expected to marry his brother’s widow in order to continue the inheritance. Is this only the duty of a brother who is “single”? What if there is no unmarried brother? Would a brother that already has a wife be expected to fill this duty? Verse 38:10 insinuates the Lord’s approval in this custom. If married brothers are expected to fulfill this duty, then could this not be used to support polygamy?

We are dealing here with the hypothetical intersection of two difficult subjects: levirate marriage and polygamy. Let's consider the levirate laws first. They are spelled out in Deuteronomy 25:5-10 and are intended to provide for a widow and give her deceased husband an heir. If her brother-in-law does not want to marry her for any reason (such as the fact that he is already married), he can refuse but will suffer some amount of disgrace in the community and the responsibility will presumably fall upon another relative. A good example of this situation is seen in the Book of Ruth where the nearest relative refuses, but a more distant relative, Boaz, takes on the responsibility. God dealt harshly with Onan only because he pretended to take on the responsibility but had no intention of providing his deceased brother an heir.

Then there is the subject of polygamy itself. The New Testament ideal for marriage is certainly monogamy, and it is assumed in the teachings of Christ regarding divorce, Paul's analogy of marriage to Christ and the church, and in the qualifications for deacons and elders found in the Pastoral Epistles.

But surprisingly, there is no blanket prohibition against polygamy in the whole Old Testament. However, a number of examples are found where polygamous marriages led to strife within the family. “It would seem that God left it to man to discover by experience that His original institution of monogamy was the proper relationship.” (New Bible Dictionary, p. 787)

The closest thing to a prohibition of polygamy is found in Deuteromoy 17:17 where Hebrew kings are warned about taking “many” wives. Solomon's ignoring of this warning led to personal disaster for him. However, there is no definition of what “many” means, and in II Samuel 12:8, God (speaking through the prophet Nathan) reminds David that He was the one who actually gave David his multiple wives.

In conclusion, there is no necessary conflict between the institution of levirate marriage (which could be avoided easily if the brother was already married) and any prohibition against polygamy (since none existed).