Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the man you are now living with is not your husband.
8 Sarah had been married seven times, but the evil demon, Asmodeus, killed each husband before the marriage could be consummated. The servant woman said to Sarah, "You husband killer! Look at you! You've already had seven husbands, but not one of them lived long enough to give you a son.
Despite these nuances to the biblical perspective on polygamy, many important figures had more than one wife, such as Esau (Gen 26:34; 28:6-9), Jacob (Gen 29:15-28), Elkanah (1 Samuel 1:1-8), David (1 Samuel 25:39-44; 2 Samuel 3:2-5; 5:13-16), and Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-3).
The passage you cite is from the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. The point of the story is not that Jesus accuses her and judges her for having had five husbands and now, apparently, living with someone who is not her husband.
Modern understandings of John 4 often depict the Samaritan woman as an adulteress. One commentary refers to her as “this immoral woman of Samaria.”1 The author notes that the woman had been married to and divorced from five husbands.
Wolfe's final marriage was to Linda Taylor, who holds the record for the most-married woman (23 times).
Most married woman in the world: Linda Wolfe holds record for being the most married woman in the world. She was married 23 times. Her first marriage at 16 was for love. Her last, in 1996 was for publicity.
Though the Bible does not specifically forbid having multiple wives or husbands, it is not God's original plan.
Article. Solomon, third king of Israel (reigned c. 968–928 B.C.E.), is said to have had a harem that included 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kgs 11:3). His wives were to have included the daughter of Pharaoh, as well as women of Moabite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite origins (1 Kgs 7:8; 11:1).
Abijah married fourteen wives, and had 22 sons and 16 daughters.
Among the forbidden couples are parent-child, sister-brother, grandparent-grandchild, uncle-niece, aunt-nephew, and between half siblings and certain close in-laws. This "Levitical law" is found in Leviticus 18:6-18, supplemented by Leviticus 20:17-21 and Deuteronomy 27:20-23. Photo illustration, Shutterstock, Inc.
"Christian tradition has long held that Jesus was not married, even though no reliable historical evidence exists to support that claim," King said in a press release.
Miriam and Aaron were jealous because Moses had two wives and because more of his attention would have been taken by the newly married woman. It is not unusual in an African setting for relatives and friends to be jealous when husbands are too occupied with two or three wives.
Lilith and Eve - wives of Adam.
According to the biblical account, Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. The wives were described as foreign princesses, including Pharaoh's daughter and women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon and of the Hittites.
God had a wife, Asherah, whom the Book of Kings suggests was worshipped alongside Yahweh in his temple in Israel, according to an Oxford scholar. In 1967, Raphael Patai was the first historian to mention that the ancient Israelites worshipped both Yahweh and Asherah.
Polygamy usually takes the form of polygyny – when a man marries multiple women. Polyandry, which refers to wives having more than one husband, is even rarer than polygamy and mostly documented among small and relatively isolated communities around the world.
In 1997, Ziona succeeded his father Chana, who in turn had succeeded Khuangtuaha in 1966. He had 39 wives, 94 children, 14 daughters-in-law, 33 grandchildren and one great grandchild; 181 family members in total and counting.
A second marriage may be seen as an act of sin by some, but this perspective is not universally accepted. Even the Bible does not explicitly deny remarriage; many people find happiness in their second marriages. God will bless a second marriage if it is entered into with respect, love, and faithfulness to one another.
Bible Gateway 1 Corinthians 7 :: NIV. But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.
polyandry, marriage of a woman to two or more men at the same time; the term derives from the Greek polys, “many,” and anēr, andros, “man.” When the husbands in a polyandrous marriage are brothers or are said to be brothers, the institution is called adelphic, or fraternal, polyandry.
How being married 11 times has strengthened Monette Dias' belief in true love and finding a relationship that lasts. Monette pictured with her current partner, top left, and two of her ex-husbands.
Polygyny legal for up to four wives. Recognized under customary law. In some tribes, before marrying first wife, husband must get her permission to marry more wives in the future.
Most men marry women younger than they are; with the difference being between two and three years in Spain, the UK reporting the difference to be on average about three years, and the US, two and a half. The pattern was also confirmed for the rest of the world, with the gap being largest in Africa.