I also have a selection of several articles on this topic, but they make for fairly bulky files. If the management would like to suggest a way to do so in an archive, I'd be happy to upload a couple. (Most are multiple files, making up an html package.) The largest and most comprehensive of these is called" The Meaning of Husband of Mia Wife" by Andy Woods.
I also have another by Jeffrey Brian White, which came from Zulluwith, and another by Pastor Don Milton, who has been a contributor here before. This link may work for his article:
http://www.christianmarriage.com/home/i ... cle&sid=50
Finally, the first such article I remember seeing was written by Pastor Steve Butt, and appeared on the Bfree site as a Q&A a number of years ago. If I can find that one (or if Nathan remembers it) perhaps we can post it.
And - really finally - I just saw this short piece from Sam Chapman:
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"One" Wife
When first faced with a direct presentation of the Scriptural basis of Biblical Polygyny, fellow believers often try to refute this truth by referring to what are known as the three "one wife" verses.
Trustworthy is the word: If a man longs for the position of an overseer, he desires a good work. An overseer, then, should be blameless, the husband of one [3391] wife, sober, sensible, orderly, kind to strangers, able to teach, not given to wine, no brawler, but gentle, not quarrelsome, no lover of money, one who rules his own house well, having his children in subjection with all reverence, for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how shall he look after the assembly of Elohim? (1 Timothy 3:1-5, The Scriptures)
Let attendants be the husbands of one [3391] wife, ruling children and their own houses well. (1 Timothy 3:12, The Scriptures)
If anyone is unreprovable, the husband of one [3391] wife, having believing children not accused of loose behaviour, or unruly. (Titus 1:6, The Scriptures)
These three "one wife" verses, of course, are only instructions to overseers (bishops), attendants (deacons) and elders, and not to any others in the assemblies, or indeed to anyone else at all. Nevertheless, they certainly could be seen as a restriction that prevents multiple wives, or even divorce and remarriage, for those in leadership. Yet each of these verses suggest that having a family (wives and children) gives one experience in how to rule or manage or govern. These Scriptures might simply be saying that these leaders should be husbanding a wife and children, not necessarily ONLY one wife.
In each of these "one wife" references, the word translated as 'one' is actually the Greek word 'mia' (Strong's #3391). This same Greek word (#3391, 'mia') can also be found in other Messianic Scriptures, where it is translated differently:
Now after the Sabbath, toward dawn on the first [3391] day of the week, Miryam from Magdala and the other Miryam came to see the tomb. (Matthew 28:1, The Scriptures)
When therefore it was evening on that day, the first [3391] day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the taught ones met, for fear of the Yehudim, Yahushua came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace to you." (John 20:19, The Scriptures)
Reject a divisive man after the first [3391] and second warning (Titus 3:10, The Scriptures)
The word mia can be translated to mean either "one thing", "a thing" or "first thing", depending on the context of its usage. Here is the definition of the Greek word mia, according to the Strong's Concordance:
3391. mia, mee-ah; irreg. fem. of 1520; one or first:- a (certain), + agree, first, one, x other.
In light of all the other Scriptures permitting polygyny, those "one wife" verses could simply establish the principle that bishops, deacons and elders should not be divorced, and they should still be married to their "first" wife, namely the "wife of their youth" (Malachi 2:14,16). Clearly, translating mia as either "first" or "a" fits the context better, while bringing it into harmony with all the other Scriptures. For example, Revelation chapter 6 tells us about seven seals:
And I saw when the Lamb opened one [3391] of the seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, like a sound of thunder, "Come and see." (Revelation 6:1, The Scriptures)
Revelation 6:3 states that the Lamb "opened the second seal". Revelation 6:5 states that He "opened the third seal". Revelation 6:7 states that He "opened the fourth seal". Revelation 6:9 states that He "opened the fifth seal". Revelation 6:12 states that He "opened the sixth seal". Revelation 8:1 states that He "opened the seventh seal".
Considering that seals two through seven were all descriptively mentioned by number, and that seal one was referred to as mia, which can be translated either as "one" or "first", perhaps a better translation of the word mia within the context of Revelation 6:1 would be "first", since this would be consistent with the manner that the other seals were described when they were opened. Revelation 6:1a might therefore better read, "And I saw when the Lamb opened the first seal".
There are many other places in Scripture where the word mia is translated as "first" or "a", but the point is that those "one wife" verses could just as easily be translated as "first wife" or "a wife" instead of "one wife". Considering the reference to family (wives and children) in each of these verses, it seems that the plain sense meaning in these Scriptures is that the man must have been married.
