quote:
Originally posted by catzenpewters:
Granted the biblical purpose of marriage seems to be for procreation (and monogamy)...
Actually, not monogamy. If you read the old testament and check historical resources, there are enough references to show that the standard social unit was intensely patriarchal, with potentially several wives, concubines and/or slaves kept in part for sexual use. Even the ten commandments (and there are actually many, many more commandments in those last major books of the main OT canon) refer to women as part of the "goods" owned by a neighbor which one shouldn't covet, along with his flock, etc. That's not to say wives weren't considered a matter of significant value among the ancient Jews. But under the law they were property of their husbands, and monogamy wasn't an option when you needed a lot of sturdy, young sons to protect the herd, invade neighboring lands and till the soil.