The question of polygamy is interesting in that most people today view polygamy as immoral while the Bible nowhere explicitly condemns it. The first instance of polygamy/bigamy in the Bible is that of Lamech in Genesis 4:19: “Lamech married two women.” Several prominent men in the Old Testament were polygamists. Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon, and others all had multiple wives. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines (essentially wives of a lower status), according to 1 Kings 11:3. What are we to make of these instances of polygamy in the Old Testament? There are three questions that need to be answered: 1) Why did God allow polygamy in the Old Testament? 2) How does God view polygamy today? 3) Why did it change?
1) Why did God allow polygamy in the Old Testament? The Bible does not specifically say why God allowed polygamy, and we must remember that allowance is not the same as approval. As we speculate about God’s permissive silence, there is at least one key factor to consider. In patriarchal societies, it was nearly impossible for an unmarried woman to provide for herself. Women were often uneducated and untrained. Women relied on their fathers, brothers, and husbands for provision and protection. Unmarried women were often subjected to prostitution and slavery.
So, God may have allowed polygamy to protect and provide for the women who otherwise may have been left destitute. A man would take multiple wives and serve as the provider and protector of all of them. While definitely not ideal, living in a polygamist household was far better than the alternative of prostitution, slavery, or starvation. In addition to the protection/provision factor, polygamy enabled a much faster expansion of humanity, fulfilling God’s command to “be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth” (Genesis 9:7).
2) How does God view polygamy today? Even while recording cases of polygamy, the Bible presents monogamy as the plan that conforms most closely to God’s ideal for marriage. The Bible says that God’s original intention was for one man to be married to only one woman: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife [not wives], and they will become one flesh [not fleshes]” (Genesis 2:24). The consistent use of the singular in this verse should be noted. Later, in Deuteronomy 17:14–20, God says that the kings were not to multiply wives (or horses or gold). While this cannot be interpreted as a command that kings must be monogamous, it does indicate that having multiple wives causes problems. Such problems can be clearly seen in the life of Solomon (1 Kings 11:3–4).
In the New Testament, 1 Timothy 3:2, 12 and Titus 1:6 list being “the husband of one wife” as a qualification for spiritual leadership in the church. The phrase could literally be translated “a one-woman man.” However broadly or narrowly that qualification should be applied, in no sense can a polygamist be considered a “one-woman man.” Is the prohibition of polygamy only for elders and deacons, the “example-setters”? No, the standard of monogamy should apply to all Christians.
Ephesians 5:22–33 speaks of the relationship between husbands and wives. When referring to a husband (singular), the passage always also refers to a wife (singular). “For the husband is the head of the wife [singular]. . . . He who loves his wife [singular] loves himself. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife [singular], and the two will become one flesh. . . . Each one of you also must love his wife [singular] as he loves himself, and the wife [singular] must respect her husband [singular].” Further, if polygamy were allowable, the illustration of Christ’s relationship with His Body (the Church) falls apart (Ephesians 5:32). In Colossians 3:18–19, Paul refers to husbands and wives in the plural, but in that passage it is clear that he is addressing all the husbands and wives among the Colossian believers.
3) Why did it change? It is not so much that God disallowed something He had previously allowed as it is that God restored marriage to His original plan. As seen in Genesis 2, polygamy was not God’s original intent. God seems to have allowed polygamy to solve a problem, but that solution was not the ideal. In most modern societies, there is absolutely no need for polygamy. In most cultures today, women are able to provide for and protect themselves—removing the only “positive” aspect of polygamy. Further, most modern nations outlaw polygamy. According to Romans 13:1–7, we are to obey the laws the government establishes, including laws prohibiting polygamy.
Are there some instances in which the allowance for polygamy would still apply today? Perhaps, but it is unfathomable that there would be no other solution. Due to the “one flesh” aspect of marriage, the need for oneness and harmony in marriage, and the lack of any real need for polygamy, it is our firm belief that polygamy does not honor God and is not His design for marriage.
Home Research Topics Immigration & Migration Immigration Issues Unauthorized Immigration Border Security & Enforcement
JANUARY 13, 2023
Monthly encounters with migrants at U.S.-Mexico border remain near record highs
BY JOHN GRAMLICH
Monthly encounters between U.S. Border Patrol agents and migrants attempting to cross into the United States at the U.S.-Mexico border remain at levels not seen in more than two decades, according to the latest available government statistics. The recent influx of migrants at the southwestern border has been a key topic of discussion this week in meetings between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The number of monthly migrant encounters had fallen to 16,182 – the second-lowest total in more than 20 years – in April 2020, shortly after the coronavirus outbreak forced the closure of the southwestern border and slowed migration across much of the world.
But encounters with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border have soared since then, with 206,239 reported in November 2022, according to the latest available monthly data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the federal agency that encompasses the Border Patrol. Recent monthly totals far exceed the peak reached during the last major wave of migration at the U.S.-Mexico border in May 2019 and are roughly on par with the previous peak reached in March 2000.
A line graph showing that monthly migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border are near record highs. 206,239 migrant encounters were reported in November 2022, far exceeding the peak reached during the last major wave of migration at the U.S.-Mexico border in May 2019.
How we did this
Migrant encounters refer to two distinct kinds of events:
Apprehensions. Migrants are taken into custody in the United States – at least temporarily – to await adjudication. Apprehensions are carried out under Title 8 of the U.S. code, which deals with immigration law.
Expulsions. Migrants are immediately expelled to their home country or last country of transit without being held in U.S. custody. Expulsions are carried out under Title 42 of the U.S. code, a previously rarely used section of the law that was invoked by the Trump administration during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. The law empowers federal health authorities to stop migrants from entering the country if it is determined that doing so could prevent the spread of contagious diseases.
A bar chart showing that use of Title 42 has declined as the COVID-19 pandemic has gone on. In the first months of the pandemic, the Border Patrol used Title 42 to expel most of the migrants it encountered at the border. In November 2022, only 32% of migrant encounters resulted in expulsion under Title 42.
In the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., the Border Patrol relied heavily on Title 42 to expel most of the migrants it encountered at the border. But that pattern has shifted more recently under the Biden administration. In November 2022, about two-thirds of all migrant encounters (68%) ended in apprehension under Title 8, while around a third (32%) resulted in expulsion under Title 42.
See also: Key facts about Title 42, the pandemic policy that has reshaped immigration enforcement at U.S.-Mexico border
As the coronavirus pandemic has gone on, there has also been a notable shift in the origin countries of migrants crossing into the U.S. at the southwestern border.
A line graph showing that most border encounters now involve people from countries other than Mexico and the Northern Triangle. In November 2022, other countries accounted for 129,090 migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border, compared with 48,444 from Mexico and 28,705 from Northern Triangle countries.
In April 2020, in the first weeks of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, people from Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras accounted for the vast majority of those encountered at the border. But that is no longer the case: In November 2022, a majority of the migrants encountered at the border (63%) were from countries other than Mexico and the Northern Triangle region.
Some of the biggest increases in encounters have involved people from Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela. For example, there were only four encounters with Colombian nationals at the U.S.-Mexico border in April 2020. By November 2022, that figure had increased to 15,439. There were even steeper increases in encounters with migrants from Cuba (from 161 encounters in April 2020 to 34,639 in November 2022) and Nicaragua (from 86 to 34,162). The number of encounters involving people from Peru rose from 18 in April 2020 to 8,495 in November 2022. And while the number of encounters with Venezuelans has decreased in recent months, it remains far above the levels recorded in the early months of the pandemic.
A line graph showing that single adults have driven an increase in migrant encounters during the COVID-19 pandemic. 143,908 encounters in November 2022 involved single adults, while 49,520 involved families and 12,811 involved unaccompanied minors.
When it comes to the demographic profile of those crossing the border, single adults have accounted for most of the recent increase in encounters. Seven-in-ten encounters in November 2022 involved single adults, while far smaller shares involved families (24%) or unaccompanied minors (6%). Still, the percentage of encounters involving families has risen sharply during the pandemic.
