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Identical twin sisters and polygamy

E

EnchantedLife

New Member
Identical twins are about 1 percent of the population. I know that there is little reliable information about polygamous households, but it would be good to know if identical twin sisters make good polygamous wives.

North America has about 75 million women of marriageable age, and about 750,000 of them will be pairs of identical twins. If 1 percent of twin sisters are prepared to take polygamy seriously, this would make 7,500 polygamous households where the wives are twin sisters. The numbers are similar for Europe.

In the future, there could be a town in North America, and another in Europe, where most households consist of a man and twin wives.

Once China and India become rich and well organised, all these figures will be three times higher.

Triplets are about 1 percent of the twin population, so we could see a few households of a man and triplet wives. Think of Big Love with the three wives being triplets.

Or in short, what proportion of polygamous wives are:
Twin sisters
Sisters
Unrelated
 
In all the cases I know of identical twins have quite distinct personalities and more often than not would not prefer this arrangement. There is also no reason this setup is desirable for a husband. Additionally there is debate as to weather a man should ever marry a woman and her sister in any case. It would be exceptionally rare to see such a thing as you describe even where polygamy allowed.
 
18 " 'Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.

the scripture above indicates that men are not to take their wife's sister as a "rival" wife,... would this mean that if sisters do not view each other as rivals it is ok? What if the sisters do not begin as rivals, but develope a rivalry later?

I am thinking of Jacob, it would appear that Rachel cooperated with her sister and father to trick Jacob into taking her sister Leah as a wife, knowing that she herself would be a wife too. Their rivalry developed over the fruitfulness of their wombs. Did their rivalry turn the marriage into an abomination? Or was God simply advising men to avoid rivalry? Families with multiple children know full well what troubles can come from sibling rivalry. Parents who have only one child have no clue the chaos and conflict that can develope with sibling rivalries. Does the presence of sibling rivalry in a family suggest a flaw, or a failure on the part of the parents?

Paul
 
I always understood the "rival sister wife" was all about the heart of the husband. He was taking his wife's sister as a wife to be mean or hurtful to his wife. Otherwise, why would a man do that? Why would he purposely bring strife to his family? It must have been something that was done at that time thus the clarification on it. Were men marrying sisters of their wives just because they could?? Or was it about not making your original wife feel unloved or uncared for because the man would spend too much time and attention on the new wife who was a sister. Yet, men can do that with any two women.

I do believe that sisters can marry the same man and be very happy but that is probably a rare thing. Just as twin sisters desiring to be with the same man. I suspect that a man who desires to marry two sisters but sees that a rivaly will grow between them would be wise not to marry both. As for the Leah and Rachel rivalry over the fruitfulness of the womb, didn't that have something to do with the heart of Jacob towards Leah? He had not fully chosen to love Leah as he should have so God withheld children from Rachel who he favored? I will have to go read that story again. But my point is that a rivaly can come later between sisters, or any two wives, that just points to a "heart" problem that needs to be worked thru.

Hope for the furture,
Julieb
 
I was naturally not thinking of wives as rivals. There would be no point, and if rivalry were common among polygamous wives, polygamy would become unworkable.

I just wondered if twin sisters are more likey to like the same man than sisters.

If one twin sister wants to be polygamous, what are the chances that her twin will also want to be polygamous, in another polygamous household.
If one sister wants to be polygamous, what are the chances that her sister will also want to be polygamous, in another polygamous household.
 
I see what your saying, from what I know I would tend to say that twins would not be especially likely to want the same man. But the case could exist. It would be more likely they would both go to different poly households than stay in the same.
 
If the question was about the same type of man, I would have to agree that generally speaking yes. Growing up, you tend to find the same traits attractive. But not necessarily in the same package/man that your twin would prefer. One big point to consider is that most sisters and women are taught to drop interest in any guy that her sibling might signal an interest in. If a guy were to show interest in my sister, or she in him, I have to think of it as an instant disconnect. There aren't usually allowances to take things further, even in thought alone.

Just because I have an interest in learning the ins and outs of polygamy doesn't mean that my sister will also. Now chances are that she will be more exposed to it but it all depends on the disposition and state of the other twin. Some might be more receptive, others might not. In my case, my sister is more likely to think that I'm going through an odd streak then anything else. She's made it pretty clear her stance on my research so far since I don't hide much from her.

I am one half of a twin and growing up, I've been exposed to many twins. Some, like my sister and I, are extremely close. Others are determined to get as far away from each other as possible and so on. Based on what I've seen and experienced, the chances aren't too much higher then in cases of siblings. They are still individuals even if they happen to share more common or look alike.

These are just my thoughts as a twin. Hope this helps!
 
Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.
Click to expand...

I've wondered about this command. It seems to imply that if the husband does not intend to favor one more than the other or to pit one against the other the marriage would be OK. Maybe a better understanding of the law as originally written would clear up the confusion.

I once knew a twin pair who made it clear that they wanted to marry me, but that they came as a package deal because they would not separate. They had switched on me several time when I first dated One of them and didn't know they were twins. I knew they polygamy was wrong though and passed on the offer. Now I wonder if I made a mistake. Too bad I didn't know then what I know now. They were both Bible believing, God fearing women who would have made excellent wives - even tho' they both had a serious mischievous streak. Oh well. :lol:
 
You beat me on that one! This is what I was goin to say. Good job!

faithfulfatherof9 said:
18 " 'Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.

the scripture above indicates that men are not to take their wife's sister as a "rival" wife,... would this mean that if sisters do not view each other as rivals it is ok? What if the sisters do not begin as rivals, but develope a rivalry later?

I am thinking of Jacob, it would appear that Rachel cooperated with her sister and father to trick Jacob into taking her sister Leah as a wife, knowing that she herself would be a wife too. Their rivalry developed over the fruitfulness of their wombs. Did their rivalry turn the marriage into an abomination? Or was God simply advising men to avoid rivalry? Families with multiple children know full well what troubles can come from sibling rivalry. Parents who have only one child have no clue the chaos and conflict that can develope with sibling rivalries. Does the presence of sibling rivalry in a family suggest a flaw, or a failure on the part of the parents?

Paul
Click to expand...
 
Jacob had problem in his family because he loved more Rachel and Joseph than anyone else. So everyone else become jealous.

Jacob wouldn't have problems in his family if he hasn't break this law.
 
I'm new hear (2nd post), so hello to everyone, but:
This may be worth considering.

Eze 23:1 The word of Jehovah came again unto me, saying,
Eze 23:2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:
Eze 23:3 and they played the harlot in Egypt; they played the harlot in their youth; there were their breasts pressed, and there was handled the bosom of their virginity.
Eze 23:4 And the names of them were Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister: and they became mine, and they bare sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem Oholibah.
ASV bible

MAN AND WOMAN IN BIBLICAL LAW
A Patriarchal Manifesto
Resurrecting the Biblical Family
Part 1
Tom Shipley
3. Leviticus 18:18
Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness,
beside the other in her lifetime.
Leviticus 18:18 is quite clearly a ban on a particular type of polygamy, in the context of a law-order
which permitted polygamy in general. The specific ban here would make no sense if there were a
general prohibition against polygamy. (The same thing may be said about the ban on taking both a
woman and her mother.) Therefore, this prohibition proves the proposition of the lawfulness of
polygamy generally.
Moreover, of all of the prohibitions in Leviticus 18, this is the only prohibition which is qualified in
any manner; it bans taking a wife in addition to her sister “to vex her.” What is the meaning of this? Is
it that there is an inherent “vexing” of the sister in marrying two sisters simultaneously? If so, why is
only one of the sisters vexed in this situation? Why are we not told to not take a wife to her sister to
vex “them?” Why is the one sister vexed in this situation and not both?
All of Leviticus 18 concerns proper relationships pertaining to near kin. Leviticus 18:18 is of a
slightly different nature than the preceding prohibitions, in that it is not banning an actual sexual
relationship with near of kin but a sexual relationship with the near of kin to one’s wife, and then
qualified by the qualifier, “to vex her.”
In order to comprehend what is being talked about in Leviticus 18:18, it is necessary to remember the
Hebrew mindset about marriage. If a woman was childless, this was seen as a reproach. What would
vex a woman in a polygamous situation more than anything else would be to be childless (see Genesis
16, Genesis 30:1, and I Samuel 1). Because of its focus on maintaining the integrity of families, what
Leviticus 18:18 is referring to is taking a blood sister to bear children in the presence of a barren
sister. This law is not a general ban on marrying sisters, but only on marrying sisters in a certain
prescribed situation. If a man has a barren wife, he is not to seek a woman capable of having children
among his wife’s kin. He must find a second wife from a woman unrelated to her. The concern of this
Polygamy: Miscellaneous Passages and Comments 129
law, therefore, is neither polygamy in general nor of marrying two sisters simultaneously, but of
maintaining the stability and good relations among family.
We must not forget Ezekiel 23 and Jeremiah 3 in this connection. In those two passages of Scripture
the LORD metaphorically portrays Himself as a man married, not only to two women, but married to
two sisters. This is logically sufficient to refute the notion that Leviticus 18:18 is a general ban
against marriage to two sisters simultaneously. (I refer the reader to “All the Polygamists of the Bible,
#22: YAHWEH” in this work in which I comment upon the use of the metaphors in Ezekiel 23 and
Jeremiah 3.)
 
Or in short, what proportion of polygamous wives are:
Twin sisters
Sisters
Unrelated
Click to expand...

I don't have any data, nor a second wife to add to count.

On a personal note; my wife has 2 sisters and the three of them get along okay but I wonder what would happen if they all stayed together in the same room for to long. I think sparks would fly. My 2 daughters are often at odds with each other, largely because I, as a father, have failed to teach and live the full counsel of God's word.

However, It may be that as more people begin to understand the Biblical family we will see more harmony among siblings, and sisters will be thrilled to remain together as sister wives. It also may happen that as this community grows larger that sisters as sister wives may become common practice because the man has a track record and is familiar. I think it's typical that a young girl is attracted the her older sisters boyfriend/husband. :idea:
 
I used to think the twin thing on T.V. showed how especially depraved society was that out of all the two women combinations they would choose the one specifically forbidden in leviticus 18.

And then I realized that the women usually get along more well with their twin than other people (maybe that is just my idea)

The problem is if you take the sister as a rival wife.

If she is not a rival than you are taking her as a wife, not a rival wife.

I was thinking twin dating sites might be a good place to look for wives, because you might be less despised by society if you married twins than other polygamous combination's. And they might already be okay with polygamy and get along really well.

If there were Siamese twins and they wanted to marry the same husband. Do you think they would be happier if they were split apart married to the same man. Or would they be happier if they were stuck together married to the same man?

I would imagine it would not be pleasant to have an arm or leg cut off even if it is another person.

By the way I think it is wrong for twin men to marry the same girl. Or to swap their wives. Once two twin men married two twin women as a group of four I think that is wrong.
 
julieb said:
I always understood the "rival sister wife" was all about the heart of the husband. He was taking his wife's sister as a wife to be mean or hurtful to his wife. Otherwise, why would a man do that? Why would he purposely bring strife to his family? It must have been something that was done at that time thus the clarification on it. Were men marrying sisters of their wives just because they could?? Or was it about not making your original wife feel unloved or uncared for because the man would spend too much time and attention on the new wife who was a sister. Yet, men can do that with any two women.

I do believe that sisters can marry the same man and be very happy but that is probably a rare thing. Just as twin sisters desiring to be with the same man. I suspect that a man who desires to marry two sisters but sees that a rivaly will grow between them would be wise not to marry both. As for the Leah and Rachel rivalry over the fruitfulness of the womb, didn't that have something to do with the heart of Jacob towards Leah? He had not fully chosen to love Leah as he should have so God withheld children from Rachel who he favored? I will have to go read that story again. But my point is that a rivaly can come later between sisters, or any two wives, that just points to a "heart" problem that needs to be worked thru.

Hope for the furture,
Julieb
Click to expand...
i agree 100%
 
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