W. Hunter Roberts (via brombie) Marriage has taken various forms
in different eras and cultures. According to biblical accounts,
Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines and slaves. Sexual
fidelity was not expected of men; the Israeli prohibition
against adultery applied only to married or betrothed women.
David’s sin with Bathsheba was because she was married, not
because he was. He was encroaching on another man’s property,
which was a violation of Biblical law — even for a king.
According to Jay Michealson of Religious Dispatches, “In
biblical society, when you conquered another city, tribe, or
nation, the victorious men would ‘win’ their defeated foes’
wives as part of the spoils. … if a man died, his younger
brother would have to marry his widow and produce heirs with her
who would be considered the older brother’s descendants.” Those
were the “traditional family values” of that day. There were
even laws governing the proper treatment of the first wife,
should a man decide to take a second one — customs