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Polygamy is an inclusive term for several variant forms of [[marriage]]. It encompasses [[polygyny]], the practice of having multiple wives, [[polyandry]], the practice of having multiple husbands, and [[group marriage]], the practice of having multiple husbands and wives.  Any marriage of 3 or more people is polygamous.

'''Polygamy''' is an inclusive term for several variant forms of [[marriage]]. It encompasses [[polygyny]], the practice of having multiple wives, [[polyandry]], the practice of having multiple husbands, and [[group marriage]], the practice of having multiple husbands and wives.  Any marriage of 3 or more people is polygamous.

Polygamy, historically, has been wide spread.  The most common form of polygamy is polygyny.  Polygynous marriages are found in the [[Old Testament]], especially among the Hebrew kings.  The book of [[Deuteronomy]] gives an inheritance rule for polygynous families.<ref>Deuteronomy 21:15-17 [http://www.bartleby.com/108/05/21.html#15]</ref>The culmination was [[Solomon]] with 700 wives, a fact that led him down the path of corruption.  There was also a practice of giving a maid servant to a husband to sire children in the period of the patriarchs, but this was not polygamy as this was not considered to be an extention of marriage.  There are no examples of polygamy in the [[New Testament]] and it is stated that a deacon is to be the husband of one wife (in some Christian denominations today, that has been taken to mean that divorced men and in some cases even widowed men can not be deacons if they remarry.)  Furthermore, Judaism had largely repudiated the concept of polygamy by the time of [[Jesus]].

Polygamy, historically, has been wide spread.  The most common form of polygamy is polygyny.  Polygynous marriages are found in the [[Old Testament]], especially among the Hebrew kings.  The book of [[Deuteronomy]] gives an inheritance rule for polygynous families.<ref>Deuteronomy 21:15-17 [http://www.bartleby.com/108/05/21.html#15]</ref>The culmination was [[Solomon]] with 700 wives, a fact that led him down the path of corruption.  There was also a practice of giving a maid servant to a husband to sire children in the period of the patriarchs, but this was not polygamy as this was not considered to be an extention of marriage.  There are no examples of polygamy in the [[New Testament]] and it is stated that a deacon is to be the husband of one wife (in some Christian denominations today, that has been taken to mean that divorced men and in some cases even widowed men can not be deacons if they remarry.)  Furthermore, Judaism had largely repudiated the concept of polygamy by the time of [[Jesus]].