LESSON IX.
As a fifth proposition; Dr. Channing says—“I shall consider the argument which the Scriptures are thought to furnish in favour of slavery.”
In the course of these studies, we have often had occasion to refer to the Scripture in our support. We have shown that even the Decalogue gave rules in regulation of the treatment of slaves; that commands from the mouth of God himself were delivered to Abraham concerning his slaves; that the Almighty from Sinai delivered to Moses laws, directing him whom they might have as slaves,—slaves forever, and to be inherited by their children after them; rules directing the government and treatment of slaves, who had become such under different circumstances. We have adverted to the spirit of prophecy on the subject of the providence of God touching the matter, to the illustrations of our Saviour, and the lessons of the apostles. Others have done the same before us. But Dr. Channing says, page 99—“In this age of the world, and amid the light which has been thrown on the true interpretation of the Scriptures, such reasoning hardly deserves notice.”
Had Tom Paine been an abolitionist, he could scarcely have said more! He continues—“A few words only will be offered in reply. This reasoning proves too much. If usages sanctioned in the Old Testament, and not forbidden in the New, are right, then our moral code will undergo a sad deterioration. Polygamy was allowed to the Israelites, was the practice of the holiest men, and was common and licensed in the age of the apostles. * * * Why may not Scripture be used to stock our houses with wives as well as slaves.”
We know not what new light has come to this age of the world, enabling it to interpret the Scriptures more accurately than is afforded by the language of the Scriptures themselves. Whatever it may be, we shall not deprive Dr. Channing nor his disciples of its entire benefit, by the appropriation of its use to ourselves; and therefore we shall proceed to examine his position, by interpreting the Scriptures in the old-fashioned way—understanding them to mean what they say.
The first instance the idea is brought to view which we express by the term wife, is found in Gen. ii. 20 “There was not found a help meet for him.” The original is לֹֽא־מָצָ֥א עֵ֖זֶר בְּנֶגְדּֽוֹlōʾ-māṣāʾ ʿēzer bĕnegdô not found, discovered, help, aid, or assistance, flowing, proceeding, at, to, or for him. Let it be noticed that the idea is in the singular. The word ishsha, used to mean one woman, or wife, is so distinctly singular, that it sometimes demands to be translated by the word one, as we shall hereafter find.
Same chapter, verse 22: “Made he a woman,” אִשָׁ֑הʾišâ ishsha, woman, wife.
Ver. 23: “Shall be called woman,” אִשָּ֔הʾiššâ ishsha, woman, wife.
Ver. 24: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave unto his wife,” אִשְׁתּ֑וֹʾištô ishto, his wife, his woman, “and they shall be one flesh.”
Ver. 25: “The man and his wife,” אִשְׁתּ֑וֹʾištô ishto, wife, woman.
These terms are all in the singular number. We propose for consideration, how far these passages are to be understood as a law and rule of action among men.
Gen. vii. 7: “And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark.”
Ver. 9: “There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and female, as God had commanded Noah.”
We propose also for consideration, how far these passages are an indication of the law of God, and his providence, as bearing on polygamy.
Exod. xx. 17 (18th ver. of the Hebrew text): “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife,” אֵ֣שֶׁתʾēšet, esheth, in the construct state, showing that she was appropriated to the neighbour in the singular number. If the passage had read, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wives, or any of them, the interpretation must have been quite different.
So also Deut. v. 21: “Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife,” אֵ֣שֶׁתʾēšet, esheth.
The twenty-second chapter of Deuteronomy relates the law concerning a portion of the relations incident to a married state; but we find the idea always advanced in the singular number. There was no direction concerning his wives. Had the decalogue announced, “Thou shalt have but one wife,” the language of these explanations and directions, to be in unison therewith, need not have been changed.
The subject is continued through the first five verses of the twenty-fourth chapter, but we find the idea wife still expressed in the same careful language, conveying the idea, as appropriated to one man, in the person of one female only. The term “new wife,” here used, does not imply that she is an addition to others in like condition, but that her condition of being a wife is new, as is most clearly shown by the word חֲדָשָׁ֔הḥădāšâ hadasha, from which it is translated. The sentiment or condition explained in this passage is illustrated by our Saviour in Luke xiv. 20: “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come,”—that is, until the expiration of the year,—having reference to this very passage in Deuteronomy for authority. But this passage is made very plain by a direct command of God: see Deut. xx. 7: “And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? Let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.”
But the institution of marriage was established, before the fall of man, by the appropriation of one woman to one man. Now, that this fact, this example, stands as a command, is clear from the words of Jesus Christ, in Matt. xix. 4, 5: “And he answered and said, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning, made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore, they are no more twain, but one flesh.”
We trust, “at this age of the world,” there is a sufficiency of light, among even the most unlearned of us, whereby we shall be enabled to interpret these scriptures, not to license polygamy, but to discountenance and forbid it, by showing that they teach a contrary doctrine. But, perhaps, the explanation is more decided in Mark x. 8–11: And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.” “And he saith unto them, whoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.”
Surely, if a man commit adultery by marrying the second when he has turned off the previous, it may be a stronger case of adultery to marry a second wife without turning off the first one!
We think St. Paul interprets the Scriptures in the old-fashioned way, Eph. v. 31: “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.”
See 1 Cor. vi. 16–18: “What! know ye not that he which is joined to a harlot is one body? For two, saith he, shall be one flesh. Flee fornication.” And further, the deductions that St. Paul made from these teachings are plainly drawn out in his lessons to Timothy: “If a man desire the office of bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife.” “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife.” 1 Tim. iii. 1, 2, 12.
“These things command and teach. Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, in purity.” 1 Tim. iv. 11, 12.
And we now beg to inquire whether this lesson to Timothy is not founded upon the law as delivered to Moses? “And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them:” * * * “They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God.” * * * “They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband.” * * * “And he that is the high priest among his brethren * * * shall take a wife in her virginity.” “A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or a harlot, these he shall not take; but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.” “Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the Lord do sanctify him.” Lev. xxi. 1, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 15.
We doubt not it will be conceded that the teachings of the Bible are, that polygamy includes the crime of adultery and fornication, both of which have a tendency towards a general promiscuous intercourse. In addition to the express commands as to the views thus involved, to our mind there are specifications on the subject equally decisive. “If any man take a wife * * * and give occasion of speech against her, * * * then shall the father of the damsel and her mother take and bring forth the tokens; * * * and the damsel’s father shall say, * * * and, lo, he hath given occasion of speech against her. * * * And the elders of the city shall take that man and chastise him; and they shall amerce him in a hundred shekels of silver, * * * and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.” “But if this thing is true, and the tokens of her virginity be not found for the damsel; then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of the city shall stone her with stones that she die.” * * * “If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die.” * * * “If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city and lie with her; then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die.” * * * “But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her and lie with her; then the man only that lay with her shall die.” * * * “If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found, then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife: * * * he may not put her away all his days.” Deut. xxii. 13–25, 28, 29.
“A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even unto his tenth generation.” Idem, xxiii. 2.
“These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father’s house.” Num. xxx. 16.
“When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, * * * and shalt say, I will set a king over me,” &c. * * * “But he shall not,” &c. * * * “Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away.” Deut. xvii. 14–17.
The inferences to be drawn from a review of these statutes, in opposition to polygamy, we deem of easy deduction. We leave them for the consideration of those who shall examine the subject.
We deem it extraordinary that, “at this age of the world,” we should find men who seem to think that because Moses had a statute which, under certain circumstances, authorized husbands to divorce their wives, that thereby he permitted polygamy.
“When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her,” (it is the same word elsewhere translated nakedness,) “then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife. And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; her former husband which sent her away may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for this is abomination before the Lord.” Deut. xxiv. 1–4.
Is there any thing here that favours polygamy? Such was the law. But in the original, there is a term used which became the subject of discussion among the Jews, perhaps shortly after its promulgation. This term, in our translation “uncleanness,” some understand to mean such moral or physical defects as rendered her marriage highly improper or a nullity; others understand it to mean, or rather to extend to and embrace, all dislike on the part of the husband whereby he became desirous to be separated from her.
This interpretation seemed most conducive to the power of the husband, and, therefore, probably had the most advocates; and it is said that the Jewish rulers so suffered it to be understood, and that even Moses, as a man, suffered it; noticing that where the wife became greatly hated by the husband, she was extremely liable to abuse, unless this law was so explained as to permit a divorce. The Jews kept up the dispute about this matter down to the days of our Saviour; when the Pharisees, with the view to place before him a difficult question, and one that might entangle him, if answered adverse to the popular idea, presented it to him, as related in Matt. xix. He promptly decides the question, whereupon they say—
“Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery; and whoever marrieth her that is put away, doth commit adultery.” Matt. xix. 7, 8, 9.
Mark describes this interview thus: “And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, saying, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife, tempting him? And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept: but from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female.” Mark x. 2–6.
But do these answers, either way, favour polygamy? Is it not clear that the law was in opposition to it?
It is true, the Jews, corrupted by the neighbouring nations who fell into it, practised the habit to a great extent; and so they did idolatry and many other sins. But was idolatry allowed to the Israelites?
What truth can there be in the assertion that they were allowed a thing, in the practice of which they had to trample their laws under foot? And, under the statement of the facts, what truth is there in the assertion that “polygamy was licensed in the age of the apostles?”
If such was “the practice of the holiest men,” it proves nothing except that the holiest men were in the practice of breaking the law.
It is true that a looseness of adjudication on the subject of divorce grew up, perhaps even from the time of Moses, among the Jews, on account of the dispute about the interpretation of the law. But upon the supposition that the law was correctly interpreted by those who advocated the greatest laxity, which Jesus Christ sufficiently condemned, yet there is found nothing favouring polygamy in it; for even the loosest interpretation supposed a divorce necessary. The dispute was not about polygamy; but about what predicates rendered a divorce legal.
In the books of the Old Testament we find the accounts of many crimes that were committed in those olden days; but can any one be so stupid as to suppose the law permitted those crimes, because the history of them has reached us through these books?
If the polygamy of Jacob, rehearsed in these books, teaches the doctrine that these books permitted polygamy,—then, because these books relate the history of the murder of Abel, it must be said that these books permit murder? And because, in these books, we have the account of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, that therefore disobedience to the command of God is legalized also!
Before we can say that polygamy is countenanced by the Old Testament as well as slavery, we must find some special law to that effect. And some of the advocates of abolition, striving to make a parallel between slavery and polygamy, pretend they have done so in Lev. xviii. 18: “Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, besides the other in her lifetime.”
These advocates interpret this law to permit a man to marry two wives or more, so that no two of them are sisters; and because few take the trouble to contradict them, they seem to think their interpretation to be true, and urge it as such.
It was clear the law permitted no additional wife, so as to allow two or more wives, unless, by the example of Jacob, the law was ameliorated. His example was the taking of sisters; and if the original be correctly translated, his example is condemned by the law cited. We surely fail to see how forbidding polygamy as to sisters, permits it as to others. Louisiana by law forbids any free white person being joined in marriage to a person of colour. If that State, in addition, forbids free white persons being married to slaves, does it repeal the law as to persons of colour?
But to the Hebrew scholar we propose a small error in the translation of this passage. The preceding twelve verses treat on the subject of whom it is forbidden to marry on the account of consanguinity, the last of which names the grand-daughter of a previous wife, declaring such act to be wicked, and closes the list of objections on account of consanguinity, unless such list be extended by the passage under review; for the succeeding sentence is a prohibition of all females who may be unclean; consanguinity is no more mentioned; yet these prohibitions continue to the 23d verse; and it is to be noticed that each prohibition succeeding the wife’s grand-daughter commences with a וְw (vav with sheva), whereas not one on the ground of consanguinity is thus introduced; illustrating the fact that each prohibition, succeeding the wife’s grand-daughter, is founded upon new and distinct causes.
The widow of a deceased husband who had left no issue was permitted to marry his brother; it was even made a duty. Therefore, by parity of reason, there could be no objection, on the account of consanguinity, for the husband of a deceased wife to marry her sister.
It is clear then that the person whom this clause of the law forbids to marry, is some person other than a deceased wife’s sister.
We propose for consideration, as nearly literal as may be, to express the idea conveyed—Thou shalt not take one wife to another, to be enemies, or to be exiles, the shame of thy bed-chamber through life.
The doctrine it inculcates is, if a man has two wives, he must either live in the midst of their rivalry and enmity, or exile one or both; either of which is disgrace. The reading may be varied; but let the Hebrew scholar compare the first three words of the original with Exod. xxvi. 3, where they twice occur, and also with the 6th and 17th verses of the same chapter, in each of which they are also found. Let him notice that, in the passage before us, in the word translated sister, the vav, under holem, is omitted; whereas such is not the case in the preceding instances, where the word is correctly translated to express a term of consanguinity; and we think he will abandon the idea that אֲחֹתָהּʾăḥōtāh ahotha, in the passage before us, means sister; and if not, the sentence stands a clear, indisputable, and general condemnation of polygamy.
Can Dr. Channing’s disciples point out to us a law allowing polygamy in as direct terms as the following would have done, substituting the word wives for slaves?
“Thy wives which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you: of them shall ye buy wives.” “Moreover, of the children of the strangers that sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy wives”—“and of their families that are with you, which they beget in your land, and they shall be your wives.” “And ye shall take them as wives for your children after you, and they shall have them for wives”—“they shall be your wives for ever.” Compare Lev. xxv. 44, 46.
Until they can do so, until they shall do so, we shall urge their not doing it as one reason why the Scripture “cannot be used to stock our houses with wives as well as with slaves.”