Adam the Polygamist?

One of the most often used attacks on Polygamy is the "original intent" argument. Proponents state that "in the beginning YHWH created Ahdahm and Chavah (a.k.a. "Eve") so his original intent was for mankind to be monogamous." However, we shall see how utterly absurd this position is in reality.

1) First of all, anyone claiming the "original intent" argument would have to agree that YHWH's original intent was for mankind to live naked in Gan Eden. If you think that we must follow some contrived "original intent" doctrine - preach it to me from the nudist colony! (one located in the garden of paradise, please) So, immediately, from a logical standpoint, this argument is completely illogical.

2) Secondly, the very statement of the argument is incorrect! YHWH did NOT create Ahdahm and Chavah as two separate beings. He created Ahdahm (male and female)* from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life. Chavah was taken from man's side. (i.e. she was already a part of him) So, in essence, Ahdahm's first wife was himself. Think of how cells reproduce. One cell doubles and splits giving us two cells. This process continues repeating millions of times until we have an organ, a system, and finally a full human being. Ahdahm was created alone but containing male and female within him. To this day, a man contains x (female) and y (male) chromosomes. A woman contains only x chromosomes and does not contain the genetic information to produce a male offspring. The sex of children comes from the genetic information of the father. A man HAD to be created first because only a man could bring both sexes into existence.

*B'reisheet 1:27 - And Elohim created the man in His image, in the image of Elohim He created him – male and female He created them.

B'reisheet 5:2 - Male and female He created them, and He blessed them, and called their name ‘Ahḏahm’ in the day they were created.

3) The creation order itself implies a patriarchal structure. This is confirmed in I Corinthians 11:3 - "And I wish you to know that the head of every man is the Mashiach, and the head of woman is the man, and the head of Mashiach is Elohim." Most believers would agree that we are saved through Messiah's imputed righteousness. Let's take a look at Romans 5:12-21:

For this reason, even as through one man sin did enter into the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned – for until the Torah, sin was in the world, but sin is not reckoned when there is no Torah. But death reigned from Ahḏahm until Mosheh, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Ahḏahm, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the favorable gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass many died, much more the favor of Elohim, and the gift in favor of the one Man, יהושע Mashiach, overflowed to many. And the favorable gift is not as by one having sinned. For indeed the judgment was of one to condemnation, but the favorable gift is of many trespasses unto righteousness. For if by the trespass of the one, death did reign through the one, much more those who receive the overflowing favor and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life through the One, יהושע Mashiach. So then, as through one trespass there resulted condemnation to all men, so also through one righteous act there resulted righteous-declaring of life to all men. For as through the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the One many shall be made righteous. And the Torah came in beside, so that the trespass would increase. But where sin increased, favor increased still more, so that as sin did reign in death, even so favor might reign through righteousness to everlasting life through יהושע Mashiach our Master.

After reading the above passage, let me ask a question: Who first ate the forbidden fruit?

I Timothy 2:14 "And Ahḏahm was not deceived, but the woman, having been deceived, fell into transgression."

B'reisheet 3:6 "And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, and she took of its fruit and ate. And she also gave to her husband with her, and he ate."

Clearly it was Chavah that sinned first. Yet, it is Ahdahm alone that is condemned for the sin and held responsible. How can this be?

"If Ahdahm was not the lawful authority over Chavah before the fall, then Ahdahm’s sin could not logically be imputed to Eve or his other descendants. If Ahdahm’s authority over Chavah is denied, then the imputation of Ahdahm’s sin to his other descendants is denied as well. And if the imputation of Ahdahm’s sin to his other descendants is denied then what was the point of Yahushua’s death on the cross?!!! It would have been to no avail! There would have been no imputed sin to atone for! If the doctrine of Ahdahm’s headship over Chavah is denied, then we are left logically without a Besorah (Gospel)!
Thus, the doctrine of patriarchy, of the man’s headship over the woman, cannot be repudiated without repudiating the doctrine of redemption, as well. This reveals the fundamental foundation of heresy this argument implies. Tamper with the doctrine of patriarchy, and you tamper with the Besorah. There is no rational way around this fact. Patriarchy and the Besorah are bound together like the twin strands of the double helix." - Adapted from "Man and Woman in Biblical Law" by Tom Shipley.

Shipley goes on to identify six aspects of creation which teach Patriarchy:

1. B'reisheet 2:18, which tells us that the woman was made “for (the man)” creating a hierarchy. 1 Cor. 11:9 "For man also was not created for the woman, but woman for the man."
2. B'reisheet 2:21-23, which tells us that the woman was made from the man. 1 Cor. 11:8 "For man is not from woman, but woman from man."
3. The temporal sequence of the creation of the man and woman. 1 Tim. 2:13 "Because Ahḏahm was formed first, then Chavah"
4. Ahdahm’s naming authority and his naming of woman, both in her generic and personal aspect. B'reisheet 2:19 "And from the ground יהוה Elohim formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name." B'reisheet 2:23 "And the man said, “This one is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one is called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of man.”" B'reisheet 3:20 "And the man called his wife’s name Chavah, because she became the mother of all living."
5. YHWH’s act of bringing the woman unto the man. B'reisheet 2:22 "And the rib which יהוה Elohim had taken from the man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man."
6. The name of “Ahdahm” itself.

If there is an "original intent" that we may gleam from the creation account, it is Patriarchy.

Eph 5:22-24 "Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Master. Because the husband is head of the wife, as also the Mashiach is head of the assembly, and He is Saviour of the body. But as the assembly is subject to Mashiach, so also let the wives be to their own husbands in every respect."

YHWH has legitimate authority over us because He is our creator.
Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, O יהוה, to receive esteem and respect and power, for You have created all, and because of Your desire they are, and were created.” He breathed the breath of life into man and took woman from man. He brought the woman to the man (in the manner a father transfers authority over his daughter to the husband by "giving her away" at a wedding). He allows Ahdahm to name her. And He commands wives to obey their husbands to this day as the Yisra'elite assembly is to obey Yahushua, her husband. Scripture clearly teaches Patriarchy (the headship of the man over the woman). The laws of the Torah allow, regulate, and in at least one instance, command polygamy. Every Israeli male is a potential polygamist because of the patriarchal structure of society in Torah. Yet, any woman taking more than one husband is ALWAYS condemned as an adulteress - and punished with death. A Master may have many slaves, but not a slave many Masters.* A King may have many subjects, but a subject may not have many kings.**

*Mattithyahu 6:24 “No one is able to serve two masters, for either he shall hate the one and love the other, or else he shall cleave to the one and despise the other."
**Mattithyahu 18:23 "Because of this the reign of the heavens is like a certain man, a sovereign (singular)who wished to settle accounts with his servants.(plural)"

Patriarchy is headship. A leader may have many followers, a general may have many soldiers, the one in charge may have many subordinates. An employer may have many employees, etc. While you may think "I could work several jobs and therefore have more than one employer" let's see what happens there:

Let's say I work for Bill. Bill has fifty employees. Bill is the one in authority in that relationship. To each of his fifty employees, he is the boss. (headship) If while working for Bill, I get a second job working for Jack, I am creating a NEW union of which Bill is not a part. (adultery). If I work for Bill as a driver for his delivery company and I work for Jack as a vendor for his storefront. That is two separate jobs, two separate unions. Bill may even fire (divorce) me because of my unfaithful moonlighting. Bill may hire another ten employees without it affecting the employer/employee dynamic of our relationship. But I could never take ten more jobs from ten more employers without it having a negative effect on my employment with Bill, my service to Bill, my time and mental energy and labor that I trade with Bill for the paycheck he gives me in exchange.

The creation account clearly teaches the "original intent" of Patriarchal male headship and that headship may have many subordinate helpers!


4) My next question to someone claiming "original intent monogamy" is: "If Ahdahm is our role model, can you please prove to me in scripture that Ahdahm remained monogamous?"

While it may be true that no other wife is mentioned by name (in translations), let's look at some facts:

A - Ahdahm was commanded to "Be fruitful and multiply"*
* B'reisheet 1:28 "And Elohim blessed them, and Elohim said to them, “Bear fruit and increase, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over all creatures moving on the earth.”" (increase "rabah" means to gather into heaps, multiply greatly, it is an exaggerated multiplier. "Fill the earth" means literally that; FILL the earth. This was to be accomplished by "bearing fruit" literally to bring forth from his zera.)

B - Sarah is often credited for being the oldest mother in scripture at age 90. Sarah showed surprise, and even disbelieving laughter when told that she would give birth to a son in her post-menopausal years. However, what about Chavah who supposedly gave birth at age 130? Where does the number 130 come from? Adam was 130 when Sheth was born. Chavah was a few hours to a few weeks younger, depending on how long it took for Adam to name the animals. Therefore she also would have been approximately 130 when Sheth was born IF she was the mother of Sheth.

B'reisheet 2: 18-22 "And יהוה Elohim said, “It is not good for the man to be alone, I am going to make a helper for him, as his counterpart.” And from the ground יהוה Elohim formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the heavens, and to every beast of the field. But for the man there was not found a helper for him, as his counterpart. So יהוה Elohim caused a deep sleep to fall on the man, and he slept. And He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. And the rib which יהוה Elohim had taken from the man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man."

YHWH would have been cruel to allow Ahdahm to suffer in loneliness for very long. His paradise would have seemed like a prison. (Let alone the 40+ years he would have waited if Chavah was younger than Sarah at the time of Sheth's birth) Are we to believe that Ahdahm happily spent 40+ years naming animals and searching for a helper among them? She must have been made immediately after the naming of the animals which would put her at the same age as Ahdahm. That would make her 130 years old at the time of Sheth's birth, if she was still living. What do I mean IF she was still alive? Scripture rarely mentions the times of women's deaths. (Rachel being a notable exception and it probably due to the fact that she died during childbirth) However, with Chavah, she isn't mentioned again by name after the births of Kayin and Hevel.
Look at the account of Sheth's birth:

B'reisheet 4:25 "And Ahḏahm knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Shĕth, “For Elohim has appointed me another seed instead of Hevel, because Kayin had slain him.”"

See the word "again" implying that this is Chavah who bore him Kayin and Hevel? The Hebrew word is "OD" which means "repeatedly" or "for a long time." The Hebrew word "yada" is translated "knew" but it means "to know intimately or sexually" Let's read that verse again using the literal translation: "And Ahḏahm made love to his wife for a long time and she bore a son and called his name Shĕth, “For Elohim has appointed me another seed instead of Hevel, because Kayin had slain him" Now the sentence carries some ambiguity. The "me" in the sentence is referring to Ahdahm according to Hebrew grammar. It doesn't say "To Chavah." This, accompanied with the lack of a name for "his wife" leaves open the interpretation that it could be someone other than Chavah. While I cannot make the claim that Ahdahm was with certainty a polygamist, no one can say with certainty that he wasn't. Let's also remember that people of this time had very long lifespans, so while it is possible that Chavah had died, it is unlikely.
*For more info on Ahdahm's wives see "The Rebirth of Yisra'elite Marriage."

Let's look at B'reisheet 46:29: "And Yosĕph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Yisra’ĕl. And he appeared to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time."

You guessed it! There is the word "OD" again. Now let's read it the way it is translated in B'reisheet 4:25 - "And Yosĕph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Yisra’ĕl. And he appeared to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck again"

Reading the word "OD" translated "again" doesn't make any sense in this verse, because Yoseph hadn't wept on his father's neck before. See how the translation of one tiny word implies a completely different meaning? Now look at B'reisheet 4:2 "And again she gave birth to his brother Hevel. And Hevel became a keeper of sheep, but Kayin became a tiller of the ground."
How many times did she give birth to Hevel? She hadn't given birth to him before! This is a different Hebrew word from the previous verses we have explored. The word here is "yasaph" which means "to add or increase." A good translation never forces a conclusion that isn't there in the original manuscript. Translating "OD" as "again" in B'reisheet 4:25 forces us to conclude that it is Chavah, but that isn't conclusive in the Hebrew. It is even worse in the KJV which adds the words "she said" into the verse. That addition also changes the meaning of the verse and implies that it is Chavah speaking. Those words are NOT found in the Hebrew!

To recap, we know that Ahdahm was 130 years old when Sheth was born. If Chavah was still alive, she was also 130 at the time of Sheth's birth. "X-ian" pastors and "bible scholars" claim that Sarah was the oldest mother in scripture. They must either stop calling Sarah the oldest mother or admit that Ahdahm had more than one wife - they are mutually exclusive!

The next question then is "Whom did Ahdahm marry?" He could have married his daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, etc. These acts were allowable at the time because the law banning these practices were not given until Shavuot on Har Sinai.*

*Vayikra 18:6 ‘No one is to approach anyone of his own flesh to uncover his nakedness. I am יהוה
Vayikra 18:17 ‘The nakedness of a woman and her daughter you do not uncover, nor do you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are her relatives – it is wickedness.", etc.

Uriah is the only man in all of Scripture that it tells us had one and ONLY one wife. The Torah never claims this about Ahdahm. To claim that a man can only have one wife because Ahdahm only had one wife is ridiculous because it wouldn't apply to Ahdahm who had no such role model to set precedent.

Ahdahm was kicked out of Gan Eden after the fall. (clearly NOT YHWH's original intent) So, who's to say that YHWH wouldn't have taken other wives from Ahdahm's side from his other ribs had the fall never occurred? Didn't he have 24 of them? To say that monogamy was the "Original intent" is presumptive at best and blasphemous at worse!

Next, how do we know that Chavah didn't give birth to daughters before the fall? Ahdahm could have potentially taken dozens of his daughters as wives before leaving the garden. The only commandment at the time was to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. There was no command against marrying daughters then. Romans 5:13 says "for until the Torah, sin was in the world, but sin is not reckoned when there is no Torah."

Well, what about B'reisheet 2:24? I hear you asking about that. Let's look at that as well:
"For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

Ah-ha! See! It says "wife" - singular! It says "one flesh" - singular. What about that, you perv?
I have been asked this on a number of occasions. Let's examine it further, shall we?

This is a statement of generic fact. There is male and female and they are heterosexual. Man is to cleave to his wife - not another man. Marriage is designed to be permanent. Does it mean that a man is allowed only one wife because the word here is singular? Turn with me to Mattithyahu 22:39:

“And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’

Clearly the word neighbor is singular. Does this mean that I can only love the neighbor to my right and must hate the neighbor to my left? In the words of Balki from "Perfect Strangers": "Don't be ridiculous!!!" Neighbor is the TYPE of person I must love. In the same way, wife is the TYPE of person I must cleave to and with whom I am to be one flesh! Besides, if a married man has sex with a prostitute, doesn't he become one flesh with her as well as with his wife? 1 Corinthians 6:16 "Or do you not know that he who is joined to a whore is one body? For He says, “The two shall become one flesh.”" It is entirely possible for a married man to have sex with a prostitute. How then is it not possible for him to be joined to another wife? Yahushua himself is joined to each member of Israel. We are each his bride. He is a polygamist! Now, X-ian, I ask you, WWJD?

The next point is that Ahdahm and Chavah had to be the most fertile people ever! They were commanded to "fill the earth." Do we believe that aside from Kayin, Hevel, possibly Sheth and two daughters for wives for her sons that she was barren? Five children born to the most fertile person ever? How is that filling the earth? If she had one child per pregnancy and got pregnant after weaning each child - she would have a baby on average of every three years conservatively. Now, divide 130 by 3 and you get about 43 potential births. Subtract the five that are assumed and you get 38 additional daughters. And that isn't including any daughters born to those women! Why daughters? Because no sons are mentioned other than Kayin and Hevel prior to the birth of Sheth. Sheth himself isn't mentioned having a son until 105 years old. Are we again to believe that in the 105 years before fathering Enosh that he either didn't have relations with his wife or that she was barren? We are told that he had additional sons and daughters after Enosh's birth. Anyone in their right mind wouldn't expect a happy, healthy man to wait until age 104 before marrying and producing children. Why then assume that Chavah didn't have daughters before the birth of Kayin? In fact, take a look at what she says at his birth: “I have gained a man from יהוה
At Kayin's birth, she acquired a male. This only seems like something to say if you have given birth to nothing but daughters previously. Remember that she was promised male seed that would bruise the head of the serpent. This is what she had been waiting for, or so she thought.
So, if she wasn't barren and gave birth to only daughters in those years, did YHWH create women who would never have a husband? Daddy was already married and there were no other males on earth! Without polygamy in mind, YHWH seems very cruel indeed.

A thorough search of Scripture will reveal that other than women of the unbelieving nations, if an Israelite woman had only daughters she is not mentioned! So, just because Ahdahm isn't mentioned having other wives, doesn't mean that he didn't. They would not have been mentioned if they bore him no sons. We are told to accept that the most manly specimen of mankind was not impregnating his wife or wives on a regular basis. We are told that AFTER the birth of Sheth, Ahdahm had sons and daughters. So then Chavah, now over 130 years old gave birth to at least four more children, if she was Ahdahm's ONLY wife!

In addition, Ahdahm's daughters would have begged him to give them children because they were born so many years ahead of their brothers. Look at the example of Lot's daughters who, when they thought that he was the last man on earth, took him for a husband and bore Moab and Ammon. It only took them a few days to take action. Their biological clock was ticking loudly and they thought they would be the end of humanity unless they had children. How much faster would Ahdahm's daughter's chosen him as a husband KNOWING with CERTAINTY that he was the only man on earth? There was no condemnation for the daughters of Lot, because such relations weren't forbidden yet. In fact, YHWH gave an inheritance to Lot's children - the Land of Ar. Look at how Lot's daughter's are quoted:
B'reisheet 19:31-32 "And the first-born said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us, as is the way of all the earth. “Come, let us make our father drink wine and lie with him, so that we preserve the seed of our father.”"
The rationale of Lot's daughter's was to give their father progeny (male offspring). This would have been Ahdahm's daughter's rational also since there was no other man before Kayin. Why would they think this in spite of the knowledge that Ahdahm had their mother, Chavah? It didn't seem to matter to Lot's daughters. It wasn't one of them who laid with their father - it was both of them. Besides, a man is designed to have MANY children. One man can impregnate thousands of women per year. Whereas a woman can only have eight-tenths of a child per year on average. In terms of "filling the earth," polygamy just makes sense!
Also, it would make sense that any daughters born after the exile of Cain would marry their father over a banished murderer. Ahdahm would again be the last man, so to speak, before the birth of Sheth.
Lastly - there is another crazy assumption that if Ahdahm had more than one wife, Scripture certainly would have mentioned it. Why crazy? Because Ibtsan gave birth to thirty sons and thirty daughters, 60 children in all and not even one wife is mentioned! I defy any "monogamy only" person to make the case that he had only one wife! He was a judge of Israel, so I also defy you to make the case that polygamy is sinful! Look also at Abdon who had forty sons! (Shoftim 12: 8-14) Explain to me how it is possible that he had only one wife at a time!


5) Finally, look at the consequences of the claim that you are making. If Ahdahm and Chavah were indeed lifelong monogamists and they are the example of perfection and the will of YHWH, then you must conclude that:
1) It is through this "example of the perfect will of YHWH", through this ideal monogamous marriage that sin entered the world, causing mankind to be lost and creating the need for Him to lower Himself by becoming flesh, and allowing others to mock Him, spit on Him, abuse Him, and put Him to death"
2) Though this role-model of "monogamous perfection" a murderer was born of the union.


Anyone making the claim of "original intent" as an argument against polygamy should hang their heads in shame and REPENT! Scripture teaches no such thing. Ahdahm was made in the image of YHWH the polygamist! (Yeḥezqĕl 23; Yirmeyahu 3; Mattithyahu 25)

1 Paraphrased from "Prince of Sumba" by Don Milton.