THE SLOW ROAD TO MONOGAMY
among those groups that had already established monogamy, to strengthen it. There were exceptions in which the authorities bowed to the reality that the individuals involved would simply live together without the blessings of Judaism and the official community. Rather than see this occur, they decided to accept such a marriage, if it had already taken place, presumably through an officiant who was unaware of the adultery.” We may see this as a way of maintaining some control over the sexual lives of the community and vaguely as a step toward monogamy as it sought to provide a way back into the community for those who had trespassed.
POLYGAMY
The major obstacle to a monogamous union was polygamy, which was very much part of the Bible . The lives of the Patriarchs indicated that polygamy was well established and was taken for granted. The obvious problems of the status of each wife and the status of the offspring were raised in a realistic manner in Genesis and, later, within the royal families of Israel and Judea . Polygamy, of course, was possible only for the wealthy. It waxed and waned in Jewish life; Epstein indicated that it virtually ceased at the end of the biblical period but resumed in Hellenistic times.* Some groups, such as the Zadokites of Damascus ® and, later, the Karaites , 3 legislated monogamy. Most talmudic scholars, however, accepted polygamy.*® Although the ideal of monogamous marriage existed, it was not pursued with vigor.
Imperial Rome sought to eliminate polygamy throughout the empire, but as one can see from repeated decrees by Theodosius (379-395), Justinian (527-565), and Leo the Philosopher(886912), with only limited success.” According to Epstein , matters
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