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 from more or less the same era as the oft-cited Leviticus passage. Mitt Romney’s claim that marriage has been between one man and one woman for 3,000 years (an odd assertion for the great-grandson of a man with five wives), is about as historically accurate as “The Flintstones” cartoon.
