Where in the Bible is it clearly stated "one man and one woman" or "monogamy"?

Question

References to abstinence and polygamy are plentiful on the other hand.
What is the one man one woman notion based on? it is not the Bible it would seem.

There is no passage in scripture that says "marriage is the God-ordained covenantal union of one man and one woman," in fact what would technically be more correct would be to say, "the Bible teaches that marriage is a covenantal union of one man to as many women as he might want and be able to afford." The Bible lists numerous polygamists – and historically we know from the records that Herod had 9 wives – and does not imply that there’s anything improper about that!

Answer 1

so?who needs a bible to tell him what to do? only fundamentalists find everything in the bible..

Answer 2

Polygamy in the Bible. It is all over the place..

In Old testament and New testament

Old Testament:

In Exodus 21:10, a man can marry an infinite amount of women without any limits to how many he can marry.

In 2 Samuel 5:13; 1 King David had six wives and numerous concubines.

In 1 Kings 11:3, King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.

In 2 Chronicles 11:21, King Solomon's son Rehoboam had 18 wives and 60 concubines.

In Deuteronomy 21:15 "If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons...."

There are a lot more verses from the Old Testament that allow polygamy, but I think that the above are sufficient enough to prove my point.

New Testament:

Jesus said: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law (the Old Testament) or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke or a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law (the Old Testament) until everything is accomplished. (Matthew 5:17-18)"

Answer 3

First of all, I would say that the Bible is inconsistent on this, and secondly, I would say that the Bible is not a good guide to all behavior. If people really wanted to live strictly by the Bible, then women should not speak in church, and no Christian could work for a bank or credit card company (“usury” is a major sin in the Bible, and it simply means charging interest on a loan). Also notice that kcchaplain quotes this passage: “…whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.'" Thus any Christian man who has ever married a divorced woman is an adulterer. So I guess if you are a Christian banker married to a divorced woman who thinks she has a right to speak in church, you are in triple deep doo-doo. I’m willing to bet, however, that there are some of these folks casting stones at those “nasty sinners” who would want polyamory or polygamy. Bottom line: The Bible is not an absolute guide to good behavior, but if it were, those who cast stones at the poly people better take a look at their own lives.

And one final thought: If a woman is being abused by her husband, can she ask for a divorce? And if she succeeds in getting the divorce, does it really makes sense that men should avoid marrying her because they would be committing adultery? Is this really the sort of legal system Christians would like to see enforced? Should an abused woman stay with her husband just because the Bible says she should? These are the sorts of beliefs than can cause some women to tolerate sever abuse and even risk death.

Answer 4

Good point. It does not point to monogamy in the sense of one man and one woman. It says marriage is sacred, it doesn't tell you how many people are allowed in a marriage. There is a verse in the bible where it states a woman will leave her house and cleave to the man... becoming One flesh. And that's about as close as you are going to get to it.

Answer 5

Matthew 19:1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.
3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 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’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
10 His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Eve and Cindy and Barbara! It has been clear from the beginning that God intended one man to be married to one woman; Jesus upholds this most basic of concepts with the above discourse involving "serial divorce." Even the hypocritical Pharasees understood it is God's will that marriage work this way; so they would marry one woman, then divorce her after a short time so they could move on to someone else. Jesus easily proves this is no different than polygamy.

I hope this helps. Peace and love in Jesus.

Answer 6

In the old testament there is no reference to monogamy -that is why Muslims can have up to 4 wives.

In the jewish religion - it was later made a ruling by rabbi's that you should have only one spouse. There are some jews from yemin that still do allow more than one wife.

Answer 7

To hold the office of elder or deacon in the local church a man must be the husband of One wife. From this passage the Apostle Paul is teaching that one man one wife is the preferred form of marriage before God,

Answer 8

Titus 1:6 1Timothy 3:2,12
They talk about being "a husband of one wife". Close enough for ya?
Titus 1:6An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.

Answer 9

Eph.5:21-33; It tells us how to live a Spirit guided marriage. In these scriptures it does say husbands and wives, but it means different couples, then it says it as to talking directly to one couple; husband and wife. It also says only to separate in prayer and then come together (be loving with one another) so Satan won't tempt you. Meaning don't being one of those who say, "sex is only to procreate/it's dirty/it's unholy/etc" type of fanatic. Because we were made to have One husband for One wife, and Satan will use our unstable minds to get to us and tempt us. Gen 2:24 It says they shall become one.

Answer 10

Genesis 2: 22-25
Matthew 19:4-6
1Corin. 7:1:16
Hebrews 13:4
Lev. 18:18
Ex. 34:16

Here are some verses to help you out. It does say that you are to be the husband of one wife.

Answer 11

In the epistles (1st or 2nd Timothy) it talks about the qualifications of a pastor. It says he must be "above reproach" and then it goes on to list what constitutes "above reproach." One of the items in the list is "the husband of one wife." This clearly indicates that God's ideal is monogamy and therefore the concept is in the Bible, contrary to your statement and the statement of others here.