Thomas Aquinas

And seven women shall take hold. After he condemns the calumny of the oppressors in chapters 2 and 3, in this chapter the prophet sets forth the consolation of the oppressed; and it is divided into two parts. In the first he consoles them against the oppression of women; in the second against the oppression of tyrants, there, at "in that day." Now women are accustomed to be troublesome to husbands in three respects: namely, in contempt of husbands; and as to this he says: and seven women shall take hold — which the Gloss expounds according to the letter, because it could be that after the captivity, many husbands having been killed, more women remained, so that seven would seek to have one husband. Below, 13: a man shall be more precious than gold, and a human being more than the purest gold. Second, they are accustomed to be troublesome in excess of food and clothing; and as to this he says: we will eat our own bread; as if to say: he will not need to give them expenses. Proverbs, the last chapter: she is become like the merchant's ship, bringing her bread from afar. She sought wool and flax, and worked by the counsel of her hands. Third, they are troublesome in the arrogance of pride; and as to this he says: only let thy name be called upon us, that we may be called thy wives: take away the reproach — namely, of barrenness. Deuteronomy 7: there shall not be among you a barren one of either sex, whether among men or among your flocks.

But from this it seems that it is lawful to have several wives, because God never consoles by means of what is unlawful. Moreover: every sin is unnatural; but for one man to have several wives is natural, because one man can impregnate several. To this it must be said that, as the Philosopher says, the union of male and female among men is not only for the sake of generation, as among brute animals, but also for the advantage of life: whence the male and the female have different functions, in which they assist one another. According, then, as something is variously ordered to these ends, accordingly it is variously called natural or unnatural. For that which can in no way stand together with the said end is altogether unnatural, and can never be good, as the sodomitic vice; and likewise this, that one woman have several husbands, because one woman is not impregnated by several; and as regards civil life, because one woman is not ruled by several, but the contrary. Something can stand in relation to the said end indifferently, so far as it is in itself; and this can be determined at different times in different ways, according to different circumstances, by the lawgiver; and it will be positive justice, as in the case of the degrees of consanguinity. But there is something by which someone can attain the end, yet which is an impediment to the end, in the majority of cases. And this, so far as it is in itself, is unnatural; but it can be lawful according to the dispensation of the lawgiver attending to special cases; and of this sort is that one man have several (wives): for one man can rule several according to civil life, and one man can impregnate several. But nevertheless some impediment attends generation, since it is necessary that the seed of the man be digested; and this cannot happen in those who come together frequently: for which reason such persons are frequently sterile. And it impedes the common life still more; because perfect friendship, such as that between a man and his wife, on account of which a man even leaves his father and mother (Genesis 2), cannot exist toward many.