The conventions used in compiling this list of polygamists are as follows:
This list is intended to include all polygamists
to be found in the Bible, as verifiable by the Bible itself.
This list includes both holy and unholy men in the Bible
in which there appears to be an occurence of polygamy.
This list does not include those polygamists who are indeed
in the Bible, but of whose polygamy cannot be verified by the
Bible itself. (That is, for example, they may have been
identified as being polygamous via other sources, such as from
"Josephus", etc.)
When listed names are followed by an asterisk (*), that
indicates that that man's polygamy was
determined by implication. In cases such as Abdon,
having 40 sons, for example, is strong implication
of the occurrence of polygamy. Simultaneously, in the case such
as with Hosea, the reference to what appears
to be another wife, yet lacks other support, is an acknowledged
weaker implication of the possibility of an occurrence of
polygamy. (Special Note: the double-asterisk (**), for Issachar,
indicates that it is a reference to "Issachar's Tribe",
rather than to Issachar himself.)
