According to a Gallup poll titled, Trends in U.S. Adults’ Acceptance of Moral and Values Behaviors, the approval rating for polygamy in the United States was at 7% in 2003 and has risen to a level around 21% as of 2025 (Newport 2025).[1] It is clear that polygamy is slowly becoming an accepted practice. Polygamy is defined as a man having multiple wives or a woman having multiple husbands. Now, a 21% approval rating does not seem like a significant figure. After all, that would mean 79% of people in the United States disapprove of polygamy. So why give it any attention at all? We give these matters attention because people are constantly led astray by false teachings.
The apostle Paul says that there will be a time where, “people will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth (emphasis added) and will turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Likewise, Peter echoes the same concern, stating, “false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality (emphasis added), and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep” (2 Peter 2:1-3). The Scriptures are clear. False teachers will rise up and lead people astray. We are seeing these very things in today’s world.
There are people who have been advocating for a type of polygamy called “biblical polygyny”. Polygyny is a subset of polygamy where a man can marry multiple wives. But a woman cannot have multiple husbands. Proponents of “biblical polygyny” include a former professor of Bible and Theology at Moody Bible Institute, William F. Luck; pastor of Ormond Church, Rich Tidwell; and author and social media influencer, Rob Kowalski. Social media has allowed many of these voices to be amplified and reach the vulnerable: those who may not have a strong scriptural foundation or men who have been disenfranchised by a culture that deems biblical masculinity as “toxic”. While polygamy and its subsets are not the majority, it is clear that there is a push for it in Christian circles. Therefore, we must give this urgent matter attention.
The call of every Christian is to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3). This is even more pertinent for pastors who are called, “[to hold] fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict (emphasis added)” (Titus 1:9). Given this responsibility, three points will be examined to demonstrate why polygamy and its various subsets are unbiblical.
First, the bible defines marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman. The definition of marriage is found in Genesis 2:24-25, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” The book of Genesis is the first book of the bible, and rightly so, “the book is about beginnings: the beginning of the universe; the beginning of time, matter, and space; the beginning of humanity.”[2] Inseparable with the beginning of humanity is the beginning of marriage. As the creator of marriage, God gets to define what marriage is and what it is not. Marriage is strictly between a single man and a single woman. Notice the use of the singular throughout these verses, “For this reason a man (emphasis added) shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife (emphasis added); and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). The essence of marriage lies in the fact that it is two people, and only two people, coming together in this union of marriage. This creational pattern for marriage is reinforced by Jesus in Matthew 19. In the beginning of this chapter, Jesus was asked by the Pharisees whether it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason. Jesus responds by quoting the definition of marriage, “‘Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? ‘So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate” (Matt. 19:4-6). In answering the question on divorce, Jesus quotes Genesis 2:24. He goes back to the essence of marriage that was defined at the beginning of creation: a one man and one woman relationship. Furthermore, notice how it is the “two” that become “one” flesh. If a man could have multiple wives, it would no longer be the “two” becoming one flesh, but three, four, five, six, etc. Furthermore, if a man were to have multiple wives, he would not be clinging to “his wife”, but to “his wives,” which would completely redefine God’s definition of marriage. It is obvious from the plain reading of the text that the creational and biblical definition of marriage is between one man and one woman.
Second, the Bible records God punishing someone as a result of their polygamy, but never once records Him punishing someone for their monogamy. In 1 Kings 11:1-13, we get an explanation from God on why Solomon turned away from Him. The answer is found in verses 3-4, “He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God” (1 Kg. 11:3-4). There is a direct connection between Solomon having multiple wives (polygamy) and Solomon going after other gods (idolatry). As a result, God punishes Solomon in 1 Kg. 11:11 by stripping away the kingdom from Solomon after his death. Now, some may be tempted to read this and say the only sin that Solomon committed was idolatry. However, this is not the case. In Hebrews 13:4 we read, “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge”. With the definition of marriage already established in Genesis 2, it is clear that any “marriage” that deviates from the one man and one woman pattern will be judged by God as sexual immorality. This is exactly what happened to Solomon in 1 Kings. Yes, God judged Solomon for his idolatry. But as Hebrews 13 has shown, God also judged Solomon for his polygamy. If polygamy were truly a biblical position, God would not have punished Solomon for it. Additionally, there is not a single recorded instance in the entirety of Scripture that shows God punishing someone for their monogamy. Lastly, the only marriage relationship ever prescribed in the entirety of Scripture is monogamy. When you survey the passages that talk prescriptively about the essence of marriage, it is always between one man and one woman. The reason is that monogamy is God’s design for marriage.
Third, the Bible describes instances of polygamy but never prescribes it. Taking the previous example of 1 Kings 11, the Bible records Solomon’s polygamy. However, it does not prescribe it as a norm for people to follow. One of the most common hermeneutical errors is failing to distinguish when the bible describes something and when the bible prescribes something. 1 Kings 11 describes Solomon’s polygamy. There is no positive command for someone to take multiple wives. Now, some polygamists like to point to 2 Samuel 12:8 as an example of God ordaining and prescribing polygamy, “‘I also gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these!”. Polygamists argue that God gave David multiple wives and will conclude that polygamy is biblical. However, this is a complete misunderstanding of the phraseology. The phraseology means nothing more than that God in His providence had given David, as king of Israel, everything that was Saul’s. The history furnishes conclusive evidence that he [David], never actually married any of the wives of Saul. But the harem of the preceding king belongs, according to Oriental notions, as a part of the regalia to his successor.”[3] When we take the time to understand the text as the authors intended, we can see that the biblical pattern for marriage is upheld.
After surveying the biblical data, it is clear that polygamy is unbiblical and should resoundingly be rejected. We cannot remain silent or indifferent to the issue of polygamy. We live in a society that actively seeks to undermine the biblical definition of marriage. Therefore, having an apologetic for biblical marriage is more important now than ever.
About the Author: Spencer Choate
Spencer Choate is an MDiv student at Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary. He holds a Masters in Communication Studies and teaches Public Speaking at Jessup University. He has been married to his wife, Brenna, for almost three years.
Bibliography
Newport, Frank. “Trends in U.S. Adults’ Acceptance of Moral and Values Behaviors.” Gallup. 2025. https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/694550/trends-adults-acceptance-moral-values-behaviors.aspx.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown. A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1882.
Van Pelt, Miles V. Editor. A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016.
[1] Frank Newport, “Trends in U.S. Adults’ Acceptance of Moral and Values Behaviors,” Gallup, 2025, https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/694550/trends-adults-acceptance-moral-values-behaviors.aspx.
[2] Van Pelt, Miles V. Editor, A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised, Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016, 43.
[3] Robert Jamieson et. al., A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1882).
This blog post is authored by a student of Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary.
