Polygamy in the Bible

In Genesis 4:19, we see that Lamech had two wives.

Numerous people throughout the Old Testament had more than one wife as well.

About 1500 years after the writing of Genesis, we read in 1 Timothy 3:2 that one of the qualifications for christian leadership is having only one wife.

So why the change?

A quick google search pulled up this website which seeks to provide some answers. The basic gist of it seems okay but I don't buy into everything there 100%.

A look at the history of slavery in the United States may offer some comparative clues.

The original Constitution allowed for slavery. Although many of the framers were against it, slavery was a reality of the day and the thirteen colonies would have never united unless a provision for slavery was included. The choice was between a United States with slavery or no United States at all. A United States without slavery was not an option. So a USA with slavery was the best that could be done at the time.

Since that time, our society has evolved in the way it considers equality to the point that we may have our first black President less than a year from now.

Middle Eastern society 3500 years ago was fundamentally different than the same society at the time of the writing of the last books of the Bible approximately 1500 years later. People, thoughts, ideas and society evolved.

For whatever reason, polygamy was a fundamental part of society throughout much of the Old Testament. The Bible does not condone polygamy but it does acknowledge it as a reality of the times.

Personally, I can barely handle the one wife I have - why anyone would want more than one is beyond me.