Our Lost Tribe: The Igbos of Nigeria?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                             

                      It's quite a distance from Israel to Nigeria

A group of 3 Israeli video-makers went to Nigeria to speak with a leader of the Igbo tribe about being Jewish. The 5 men were held in jail for months before the embassy could get them released. They were held in jails of deplorable conditions, a can was the toilet for the 3.  

 The Igbo are one of Nigeria's largest ethnic groups.  Among them is a minority of practicing Jews who believe they are descended from the "lost tribes" of Israel".  

This news about being Jewish came out in 2013 My Jewish encyclopedia carries nothing about Nigeria or the Igbo/Ibo.                                                                                       

An interview with a parishoner revealed their story that in the family tree of Jacob (Yaakov), son if Isaac, son of Abraham, Jacob  had a 7th son named Gad by Zilpah,(Gen 30:10-11)  and he left Israel and went out and had a son named Eri.  Eri had a son named Aguleri and he was the beginning of the Igbo people of Nigeria.  Gad's full brother was Asher.  

Google found that: In Genesis 46:16 Eri (עֵרי "watchful") is the son of Gad. He was the progenitor of the Erites. (Numbers 26:16)

"Eri (king), the progenitor of the Umu-Eri and Umu-Nri"- which are "Igbo ancient Nigerian city-states," Thus, Eri was the father of the Erite family.  

My records say that Gad and his tribe had settled in Gilead and Central Transjordan where they gained a warlike reputation.  They flourished during the rule of King Saul and their position was consolidated under David.  After the split in the kingdom, which happened after King Solomon died in 932 BCE, Gad belonged to the northern kingdom called Samaria and suffered severely from Syrian attacks.  In 732, the region was devastated by Tiglath-Pileser III and most of its inhabitants  were exiled.  Later it was occupied by the Ammonites.  

There are 162 million people in Nigeria and the Igbi people make up 20 to 50 million of them.   

Rabbi Yisrael Uzan, a leader in the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States serves as the Chief Rabbi of Nigeria and the Chabad representative in Abuja, capital of Nigeria. Rabbi Mendel Sternbach serves as Rabbi of Lagos. They are involved in Humanitarian Aid, especially prior to Ramadan. 

                                                                  

 The groups claim that their religious practices result either from hundreds of years of continuous practice of Judaic or Judaic-like customs by their ethnic groups, customs inherited from the Jews of Bilad el-Sudan or by a more-recent departure from European Christianity to modern Judaism. Either way, Judaism in Nigeria has developed demographically with the interest of Jewish peoples in other countries, especially Israel and the United States.

Rabbi Yisrael Uzan, a leader in the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States serves as the Chief Rabbi of Nigeria and the Chabad representative in Abuja. Rabbi Mendel Sternbach serves as Rabbi of Lagos. They are involved in Humanitarian Aid, especially prior to Ramadan. 

The Igbo Jews of Nigeria are one of the components of the Igbo ethnic group.

                                                               

Certain Nigerian communities with Judaic practices have been receiving help from individual Israelis and American Jews who work in Nigeria, out-reach organizations like Kulanu, and African-American Jewish communities in America. Jews from outside Nigeria founded two synagogues in Nigeria, which are attended and maintained by Igbos. Because no formal census has been taken in the region, the number of Igbos in Nigeria who identify as either Israelites or Jews is not known. There are currently 26 synagogues of various sizes. An estimated 4,000 Igbos were practicing some form of Judaism in 2016. Some synagogues in Nigeria include: CHW known as Community of Hashem Worldwide with several synagogues around Nigeria and some part of Cameroon.  Akwa Ibom and Cross River Jews--

The Annang, Efik, and Ibibio people of Akwa Ibom and Cross River States of Nigeria have had ancient religious practices that strongly resembled some of the Jewish Torah. These include their traditional sacrifice of animals (rituals) by the presiding male of each village, or of a group of villages, for purification, especially during times of sickness. They have active synagogues with majority of the synagogues in the eastern part of the country a vibrant one in Abuja supported and provided with many Jewish materials by different Rabbis. There are also key synagogues in Port Harcourt and Lagos.  Yoruba Jews--

The Jewish community among the Yoruba are often referred to as the Bnai Ephraim (Children of Ephraim). Most of them around various communities in Ondo state since the 1930s, about 2000 people in all.

The Jewish Igbo are not yet recognized by Israel's rabbinate, but Miles says that does not matter to them. "They are happy to be acting, practicing, worshipping as Jews," he says.

1 Chronicles 5:11-16Helpful? Yes No

The sons of Gad lived over against them in the land of Bashan  (Bashan, country frequently cited in the Old Testament and later important in the Roman Empire; it is located in what is now Syria. Bashan was the northernmost of the three ancient divisions of eastern Palestine, and in the Old Testament it was proverbial for its rich pastures and thick forests. ) as far as Salecah: Joel the chief, Shapham the second, Janai, and Shaphat in Bashan. And their kinsmen according to their fathers' houses: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia and Eber, seven. These were the sons of Abihail the son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz. Ahi the son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was chief in their fathers' houses,

Numbers 1:24-25Helpful? Yes No

Of the people of Gad, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: those listed of the tribe of Gad were 45,650.

Gad had a population of 40,500 at the end of the Exodus in the 2nd census.  They suffered a loss of 5,150.  

Genesis 49:19Helpful? Yes No

“Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels.

Update: 7/31/21:  DNA should show some results as to their claim. Ilona is an Igbo Nigerian.   Ilona’s test shows “1.2% Middle Eastern,” according to a screenshot from the website MyHeritage.com. Ilona says other take-home tests, like one also posted online by a Nigerian-born attorney named Emeka Maduewesi, similarly show genetic markers from the region.

But a recent genetic test carried out by an American missionary group searching for “Jewish roots” came back negative — prompting fierce backlash from activists who called the project faulty and irresponsible.

It does depend on the DNA company.  Each has their own specialites.  Many that people are taking are from ancestry.com.  

Earlier this year Jewish Voice Ministries International, an evangelical missionary group from Arizona, collected saliva samples from some 124 Igbo men in the state of Nnewi. They used kits from Family Tree DNA, a Texas-based company that sells genealogical analyses, including a focus on Jewish heritage. The test was done in collaboration with a local religious group and with the assistance of a well-known Igbo doctor.

Family Tree DNA’s repository of Jewish genetic samples includes the datasets of Michael Hammer, from the University of Arizona’s Anthropology department, and the sample collection of Doron Behar, from Israel. “After a careful comparison, the lab was not able to find any connection to the samples we collected,” Bernis wrote in an email to the Forward.

This is the company I use and feel it is the best, but I find they set the scales to only show a connection using 7cMs, and on GedMatch.com, one can set the scales at 3cMs,  to see a connection to people.    I would go with what these 2 companies say.  

Reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQC7xWN_Rto

https://www.wewereneverlost.com/-  We Were Never Lost

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Nigeria

https://www.cnn.com/2013/02/01/world/africa/nigeria-jews-igbo/index.html

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia-Gad

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/israeli-filmmakers-arrested-in-nigeria-over-rumored-igbo-separatist-ties-673710

https://www.npr.org/2012/12/14/167180589/nigerias-jews-celebrate-hanukkah

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk0140NQL9Hkdto8utCS_MBpeWwGtbg:1627761876745&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=pictures+of+Igbo+Jews,+pictures&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjWucTDjY7yAhVCrZ4KHVH6BFYQ7Al6BAgHEFc&biw=1920&bih=880-dozens of pictures

https://www.openbible.info/labs/cross-references/search?q=Genesis+46%3A16

Update:  https://forward.com/news/380398/irresponsible-jewish-dna-test-sparks-backlash-in-nigeria/

Russia's Experiments in Creating A Jewish Homeland

 Nadene Goldfoot                                           

The Pale of Settlement was created by Catherine II of Russia  to separate the Jews from the Russians.  This was simply an area that Jews were ALLOWED to live in as they had been expelled from the main body of Russia.  There were 2 Catherines.  Catherine Ist ruled from 1725 to 1727 and in May 1727, expelled all Jews that were living in Little Russia.  Up to the very end of the 19th century, Little Russia was the prevailing term for much of the modern territory of Ukraine controlled by the Russian Empire, as well as for its people and their language. This can be seen from its usage in numerous scholarly, literary and artistic works. This order was countermanded after her death.  Catherine II, the Great,  ruled from 1762 to 1796 and her Jewish policy was marked by a combination of liberalism and coercion.  On the one hand, Jews were allowed to register in the merchant and urban classes in 1780 but permission was restricted to White Russia in 1796.  Belarus, country of eastern Europe was White Russia. Until it became independent in 1991, Belarus, formerly known as Belorussia or White Russia, was the smallest of the three Slavic republics included in the Soviet Union (the larger two being Russia and Ukraine).

This marked the beginning of the Pale Of settlement.  During her last years, which were marked by reaction in 1789 to 1796, she prevented the extension of Jewish settlement and in 1795, prohibited Jewish residence in rural areas. Russia came up with the oppressive STATUTE CONCERNING THE JEWS of 1835.  The Pale amounted to 25 provinces of Czarist Russia:  Poland, Lithuania, White Russia, Ukraine, Bessarabia and Crimea.  To live outside this perimeter, one needed to belong to a certain group and have permission.  One had to have high school diploma,  be big businessmen, skilled artisans or  Cantonists.  The local governor decided what to do with those breaking this law.  Sometimes borders were found to be restricted.  They were never dependable. 

In 1882, under Russia's "May Laws", Jews were excluded from rural areas inside the Pale. These May Laws  was legislation enacted by the Russian government on May 3, 1882, prohibiting Jews from living or acquiring property except in towns in the Pale of Settlement.  It took the Russian Revolution to revoke them.   As a result of these restrictions, Jewish economic development was severely hampered.  The Pale was abolished in effect in August 1915 and legally in March 1917, which was the end of World War I.   

                                                                               

Then they created much later on March 28, 1928, that Birobidzhan be set aside for Jewish colonization, with the intent of "creating on this territory a Jewish national administrative-territorial unit".  It just happened to be a Russian autonomous region in Eastern Siberia.  it happened that the Soviet government, on the initiative of President Kalmin, allotted Birobidjan for Jewish settlement and Yiddish was recognized as an official language there. It was rather like an Indian Reservation in the USA.   

This proclamation was followed by a barrage of publicity encouraging Jews to take advantage of this opportunity.  official reports claimed that the 1st Jewish settlers arrived in  Birobidzhan on the very day of the announcement.  Evidently this announcement was to throw off support for the Crimean project.  Debates went on until 1931, when the president of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union called for preparations for transforming Birbidzhan into the Jewish Autonomous Region of the USSR.  3 years later, the President of the Soviet Union formally declared Birobidzhan the Jewish Autonomous Region.  That would have been in 1934.  

Research turned up that between 1928 and 1938--43,200 Jews moved there with only 19,000 staying, disappointing to officials who hoped for massive immigration.  It had failed to inspire the Jewish masses of the USSR.  Of the almost 20,000 Jewish inhabitants who went there in the early days of the experiment, over 11,000 had left by 1934 and the government began to recruit new settlers.  In 1939, at the height of Nazis going into Poland, the Jewish population amounted to 23,000.---20% of the total.  In 1951 there were 40,000 Jews or 26.5%.  

Yiddish was in the course of time largely supplanted by Russian and the small Yiddish theater was closed in the early 1950s.  A Yiddish (now the Russian) newspaper, Birobidjaner Shtern (founded in 1930) continued to appear a few times a week.  

The project did get enthusiastic support from the Jewish Communists and Yiddishists outside Russia, though and even from some Zionists who greeted the establishment of Birobidzhan as a positive, healthy step toward the improvement of the sorry state of Soviet Jews.  Committees enlisting active aid for Birobidzhan were set up around the world, the most important were in the USA, Argentina, and Palestine.  

However, the project to set up a Jewish autonomous region has been abandoned.  Its Jewish population in 1991 was a surprising  high of 6,500.  I  wonder if they knew that Israel was created in 1948 and if the Russians would have allowed them to migrate there.  

Obviously Russian support for this experiment such as Stalin and the other true leaders of the country were far from sentiment about Jews at this point of their existence of the the great task of maintaining its nationality.  they thought that they needed to change the population into a completely settled agricultural peasantry numbering in the hundred of thousands at least.  Only this could the Jewish masses hope for the survival of their nationality. Orthodox Soviet ideology denied the nationality of the Jews. They were aetheists, In their Far Eastern foreign policy, the hope of winning support among Western Jewry, and the need to ameliorate the economic crisis of the Jews in the Soviet Union were Stalin's reasons for doing this.  It's evident that the project idea did not come from the Jews of Russia.  

 The attempt to Change small businessmen into farmers after thousands of years;  being kept from owning land and farming on it did not enthuse the farming experience in the Jews.    They really did need a Houdini in order to do that.  Besides, they had no dog in the race; no reason to leave their shtetls and go to an even colder climate of Siberia when they originally were a Mediterranean people.  I'm just shocked that 6,500 Jews had remained by 1991 when Israel had been created in 1948.  They've had 43 years to prepare for Aliyah.  

Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen discusses the Soviet effort, in 1929, to create an autonomous Jewish state in the country's far eastern region. Gessen is the author of Where The Jews Aren't.  Masha Gessen, welcome back to FRESH AIR. So just give us the basic outline of - what was Birobidzhan?

"MASHA GESSEN: So Birobidzhan was and actually still is nominally one of the two Jewish states in the world, the other one obviously being Israel. But Birobidzhan was formed earlier. It was part of a Soviet experiment. The Soviet Union initially conceived itself as a sort of anti-imperial empire in which every nation had the right to self-determination and to some sort of autonomy. And the Jews, who had before the revolution lived in the Pale of Settlement and had very limited civil rights, were supposed to be emancipated to be like other nations and therefore had to get an autonomy of their own. And so from the Soviet point of view, it was an attempt to make Jews like other ethnic groups living in the Soviet Union."

Purges took place with anyone connected to the project.  Stalin ruled that for any autonomous region to become a Republic, it must have a population of more than one million.  Not even the most optimistic believer could hope that Birobidzhan one day would be a Jewish state.  

In 2017, Jewish Autonomous Region in Russia’s far east is now barely 1% Jewish but officials hope to woo back people who left after Soviet collapse. 

                                                              

In front of Birobidzhan’s railway station, loudspeakers blast out Yiddish-language ballads while hundreds of schoolchildren in ersatz folk costumes dance circles around the menorah monument that dominates the square.

Across town, labourers are building a kosher restaurant, the city’s first. A two-storey building under construction next door will house a mikvah, the ritual pool in which religious Jews must bathe.

The Jewish renaissance in Birobidzhan is the latest chapter in the surreal tale of this would-be Siberian Zion, founded nearly a century ago.

Nestled on the border with China, seven timezones east of Moscow and a six-day journey away on the Trans-Siberian railway, the region was first settled en masse during the early 1930s as part of a plan to create a Soviet homeland for Jews during the rule of Joseph Stalin.

Its story since then has reflected the vicissitudes of Soviet and then modern Russian history. The population of the area, still officially called the Jewish Autonomous Region, is barely 1% Jewish, but the authorities are trying to cultivate the memory of Jewish customs and history among the residents and even hope to attract new Jewish migrants.

Eli Riss, Birobidzhan’s 27-year-old rabbi, said the local Jewish community currently numbered 3,000 at most, and only 30 were regulars at the synagogue. His parents emigrated to Israel when he was young but after religious schooling he returned to his birthplace as a rabbi.

“We are a long way from Israel here and a long way even from Moscow, where there are big Jewish communities,” he said. “My task is for people to understand what it means to be Jewish.”

When the area was officially established as the Jewish Autonomous Region in 1934, 14 years before the foundation of Israel, it was the first explicitly Jewish territory in modern times. By 1939, 18% of the population was Jewish and Birobidzhan had a Yiddish theatre and Yiddish newspaper. The work of the police department, courts and city administration was carried out at least partially in Yiddish.

                                                                        

                                   Outside the Knesset in Jerusalem, our menorah

How fickle the Russians have been toward the rights of Jews.  How fickle all countries have been towards us.  That's why we need Israel.  Living under the umbrella of another country such as Russia didn't pan out.  They've all had their anti-Semitic history that bubbles up when you least expect it.  Creating Israel was the bravest thing we have done since trying to defend Jerusalem in 70 CE against the Romans.  Our handful of representatives went up against the world in their appeal to logic and reason to regain our ancient country after they had all seen the aftermath  of the worst war the world had ever seen, won their rights only to see the world turn again by taking away 80% of our land-but they left us what crumbs we have; and look what a handful of Jews have done with it and with us!  A people, only 0.02% of the world, and we've done well, well enough indeed.  

Resource:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

Israel Emiot in THE BIROBIDZHAN AFFAIR-A Yiddish Writer in Siberia

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/27/revival-of-a-soviet-zion-birobidzhan-celebrates-its-jewish-heritage

https://www.npr.org/2016/09/07/492962278/sad-and-absurd-the-u-s-s-r-s-disastrous-effort-to-create-a-jewish-homeland

When Did Polygamy End Within The Jewish Culture? Christians? Islam?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                

The Tanakh (Old Testament), of Judaism  reflects, without recommending, a polygamous society.  However, the household of Isaac, son of Abraham of the 2nd millennium BCE, regarded as a model in later Jewish tradition, was monogamous.  His wife was Rebecca and she was the daughter of Bethuel and mother of the twins,  Esau and Jacob. Rebecca is regarded as the ideal type of Jewish womanhood.  

                                                                    

Polygamy became general in the luxurious courts of the 1st Jewish kings of Saul, David and Solomon.  King Solomon's number of concubines is recorded which were pretty outstanding, even for a king in those days.  According to the biblical account, Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. The wives were described as foreign princesses, including Pharaoh's daughter and women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon and of the Hittites.

I can't help but think about Abram and Sarai when Sari wanted to get pregnant and it wasn't happening.  She actually gave her Egyptian servant, Hagar, to Abram,, hoping she would conceive.  Hagar bore Abram Ishmael.  Later, much later, Sarai finally conceived, said to be at age 90,  Isaac.  Since she died at age 127, I would think Isaac was a menopausel baby.  This long time frame is what may lead to a menopause baby. During the time when the female body is not having a menstrual cycle, the body may still be releasing those last few eggs. If the egg is released and there is a viable sperm waiting to fertilize the egg, you can, and will, get pregnant.

This did not make for a happy polygamous situation for the children or for the 2 women.  Ishmael teased Isaac.  Jealousy  took place between the women..  Hagar took Ishmael and left.  

                                                                       

 Solomon's  marriage to Pharaoh's daughter appears to have cemented a political alliance with Egypt, whereas he clung to his other wives and concubines "in love." The Message, a biblical paraphrase, says that Solomon was "obsessed with women".

The only wife mentioned by name is Naamah the Ammonite, mother of Solomon's son and successor, Rehoboam. The biblical narrative notes with disapproval that Solomon permitted his foreign wives to import their national deities, building temples to Ashtoreth and Milcom.  The Ammonites were a people nearby  in Ammon, which was later known as Transjordan, today's Jordan and were also a Semitic people, related to the Israelites (Gen.19:38).  That's all it took in those days to keep the peace, marry a daughter of the king.  Solomon had a lot of enemies surrounding him, thus that many wives, one would think.                                                     

Polygynous marriage: A man would leave his family of origin and join with his first wife. Then, as finances allowed, he would marry as many additional women as he desired and could afford. The new wives would join the man and his other wives in an already established household. Polygyny -- the marriage of one man and multiple women -- was practiced by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons, until the practice was suspended, a least temporarily, in the late 19^th century. It is still practiced by separated fundamentalist Mormon groups which have left and been excommunicated from the main Mormon church.          

                                          Buying a slave

A man, one or more wives, and some concubines: A man could keep numerous concubines, in addition to one or more wives. These women held an even lower status than a wife.  As implied in Genesis 21:10, a concubine could be dismissed when no longer wanted. According to Smith's Bible Dictionary, "A concubine would generally be either (1) a Hebrew girl bought...[from] her father; (2) a Gentile captive taken in war; (3) a foreign slave bought; or (4) a Canaanitish woman, bond or free." ₂ They would probably be brought into an already-established household. Abraham had two concubines; Gideon: at least 1; Nahor: 1; Jacob: 1; Eliphaz: 1; Gideon: 1; Caleb: 2; Manassah: 1; Saul: 1; David: at least 10; Rehoboam: 60; Solomon: 300; an unidentified Levite: 1; Belshazzar: more than 1.

                                                                 

    King Abdullah II of Jordan and his Queen Rania on their 10th anniversary. 

King Abdullah II of Jordan did that very thing  to keep the peace by marrying a beautiful Palestinian lady on June 10, 1993, at least it worked out that way.  He fell in love with a Palestinian.    Black September, when Palestinian Arabs attacked Jordan, happened   between 16 and 27 September 1970, with certain aspects of the conflict continuing until 17 July 1971.  Black September (Arabic: أيلول الأسود‎; Aylūl Al-Aswad), also known as the Jordanian Civil War was a conflict fought in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan between the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF), under the leadership of King Hussein, Abdulla's father, and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), under the leadership of Yasser Arafat.   They are not practicing Polygamy, though. 

The ideal picture of the housewife in Proverbs 31 of Solomon seems to picture a monogamous household.  The society reflected in the Talmud is essentially monogamous, only a handful of rabbis being recorded as having more than one wife.  This ideal governed Jewish life thereafter.  

                                                                   

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character: Read To Wife on Shabbat

1 A wife of noble character who can find?     She is worth far more than rubies. 11 Her husband has full confidence in her      and lacks nothing of value.  12 She brings him good, not harm,    all the days of her life.  13 She selects wool and flax     and works with eager hands.14 She is like the merchant ships,     bringing her food from afar.15 She gets up while it is still night;     she provides food for her family     and portions for her female servants. 16 She considers a field and buys it;    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.17 She sets about her work vigorously;    her arms are strong for her tasks.18 She sees that her trading is profitable,    and her lamp does not go out at night.19 In her hand she holds the distaff    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.20 She opens her arms to the poor    and extends her hands to the needy.21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;    for all of them are clothed in scarlet.22 She makes coverings for her bed;    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,    where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.24 She makes linen garments and sells them,    and supplies the merchants with sashes.25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;    she can laugh at the days to come.26 She speaks with wisdom,
    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.27 She watches over the affairs of her household    and does not eat the bread of idleness.28 Her children arise and call her blessed;    her husband also, and he praises her:29 “Many women do noble things,    but you surpass them all.”30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

The takkanah (Takkanah: "positive legislation", practices instituted by the rabbis not based (directly) on the commandments as such, e.g. rabbinical mitzvot) .of Rabbi Gershom Ben Judah aka (Rabbenu) 965=1028) born in Metz and lived in Mainz, Germany forbidding polygamy happened in about 1,000 CE, King Solomon died in 920 BCE, so this took place almost 2,000 years afterwards, meaning polygamy was occurring for 2,000 years.  One doesn't have a law against something unless it had been happening and was found to be out of favor in their eyes.  Thus, this gave formal sanction among Ashkenazi Jews to what was already generally accepted, .His legal decisions and regulations were accepted as binding  by European Jewry.    

Among the Sepharim (Spanish)  and Mizrachim (Oriental) Jews, on the other hand, polygamy continued to be legal, though by no means general.  In Italy, down to the 17th century, a person whose wife was barren was occasionally permitted by papal licence to take a 2nd wife.  With the Europeanization of many oriental communities in recent generations, polygamy  has become increasingly rare.  

In Israel, monogamy is  enforced by law, though existing polygamous marriages are recognized.  That would be occurrences among the Arabs.  I'm not sure if any Mormons are living in Israel, of which a branch of them still do practice polygamy, mainly in Mexico  as it is outlawed in other places.  

Religions have differing views on marriage and polygamy. For example, because Buddhism does not regard marriage as a sacrament and only a secular affair, forms of marriage vary by country. For example, Thailand legally recognized polygamy in 1955, and Myanmar outlawed polygyny in 2015.   Myanmar, Under Burmese Buddhist law, a man has the right to take more than one wife, but a wife cannot legally take more than one husband. A husband can commit adultery and face no risk of divorce or loss of property. ... Buddhist men no longer have the right to polygyny, yet neither are second wives protected by law.

In Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church condemns polygamy. The Lutheran Church accepts some polygamists. The Anglican Communion ruled that polygamy was permissible in certain circumstances in 1988. 

                                                            

 In Islam, a Muslim man may have more than one wife at the same time, up to four wives, according to Islamic marital jurisprudence.  Polygamy is legal for Muslim men according to Jordanian law. The Embassy can neither stop a man from taking a second, third, or fourth wife in Jordan, nor can it get such marriages dissolved.  Egypt is among Arab countries that allow Muslim men to marry more than one wife. ... Egypt's laws are said to be sharia-based, which means that they must conform to Islamic law. Nonetheless, Islam restricts polygamy by making it necessary for men who have more than one wife to treat each wife fairly and on equal footing.  The Salafists in Egypt are not happy about restricting  polygamy in a bill that would force the men to get the 1st wife's permission to take on a 2nd wife;   AND underage marriages.  A woman's rights group are active.   Tunisia banned polygamy in 1957.  Much of Africa allows polygamy.  The Salafists said the proposal oversteps the Islamic religion, which gives men the right to have four wives at one time.  “You cannot eliminate a licence that was given by God to men by man-made law,” said Salafist activist Sameh Abdel Hamid. “Laws are OK so long as they do not violate religious rules.”

Resource:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

http://www.religioustolerance.org/mar_bibl0a.htm

https://thearabweekly.com/egyptian-salafists-uproar-over-bill-restricting-polygamy-underage-marriages-0#:~:text=Egypt%20is%20among%20Arab%20countries,marry%20more%20than%20one%20wife.&text=Egypt's%20laws%20are%20said%20to,fairly%20and%20on%20equal%20footing.

https://www.babymed.com/getting-pregnant-during-menopause#:~:text=The%20menopause%20baby&text=This%20long%20time%20frame%20is,%2C%20and%20will%2C%20get%20pregnant.

https://jo.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/marriage-in-jordan/#:~:text=Multiple%20Marriages%2FPolygamy,it%20get%20such%20marriages%20dissolved.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Myanmar+law+about+polygamy&sxsrf=ALeKk01gfB7rvbFHGEgWSZVgULsHdxzc-Q%3A1627591404216&source=hp&ei=7BIDYeXNCqCs0PEP2de-2Ac&iflsig=AINFCbYAAAAAYQMg_LWCOspzuMn3ao1A6xB3UOvtXkKa&oq=Myanmar+law+about+polygamy&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyCAghEBYQHRAeOgQIABBDOgcILhCxAxBDOgsIABCABBCxAxCDAToHCAAQyQMQQzoHCAAQQxCLAzoLCAAQgAQQsQMQiwM6DggAEIAEELEDEIMBEIsDOggIABCABBCxAzoFCAAQgAQ6BQguEIAEOgoIABCABBCHAhAUOggIABCABBDJAzoLCC4QgAQQxwEQrwE6BggAEBYQHjoFCAAQhgNQ6TJYiYABYLaFAWgBcAB4AIABdIgBrwuSAQQxOC4ymAEAoAECoAEBuAEC&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwjl8_C7konyAhUgFjQIHdmrD3sQ4dUDCAo&uact=5

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Proverbs

https://www.womeninthebible.net/bible-archaeology/solomons-palace/