Does the bible command us to have kids? If so, what are the verses?
Genisis Chapter 1 Verses 27/28
- And God created man to his own image: to the image of God he created him: male and female he created them.
- And God blessed them saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living creatures that move upon the earth.
I don’t know if this is exactly it, but from here…
Genesis 9:7
“As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”
I’m sure there are many others, but this is one I’ve heard many times…
Brendon
This passage was actually the one I think I was looking for…seems to say clearly enough.
Brendon (sorry about the double post)
That command was given to Noah and his family. I see no indication that it was meant as a general command for all of humanity. It certainly isn’t repeated anywhere in the New Testament or in the Mosaic Law.
Since all of humanity is descended from Noah and seems like it would be meant for everyone.
That doesn’t logically follow. God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son on an altar, for example. Does this mean that all of Abraham’s descendants should do the same?
God gave a command to Noah and his family, but gave no indication that ALL of humanity must do the same. Indeed, if every single person were commanded to “Go forth and multiply,” then the Apostle Paul must have been in violation of that command. Ditto for Jeremiah, to whom Yahweh said, “You must not marry and have sons or daughters in this place.” (Jeremiah 16:1-2 NIV). In all likelihood, neither Elijah nor John the Baptist were married or had children, either.
Well, if all the ‘children of Abraham’ did this, we would finally have peace in the MidEast, at least.
Interestingly enough, of the list of 613 commandments that Orthodox observe, having children is commandment #1*. There is a dispute in the Mishna with regard to how many children one is required to have. The School of Shammai maintains that one is required to have two sons. The School of Hillel maintains that one needs a son and a daughter. The Halacha (as usual) follows the School of Hillel.
Zev Steinhardt
Not to mean that it’s the most important, but that it is the first mentioned.
Nonetheless, Jews view this commandment as only binding on Jews. Having children is not one of the seven Noahide laws.
Zev Steinhardt
Perhaps he already had children. Or perhaps because God told him directly not to, then he was exempt.
There is an interesting theoretical discussion in halachic literature about the status of Elijah’s wife – specifically whether or not she could remarry. Of course, there may not have been a wife of Elijah (he may have never married or she may have been dead/divorced from him already).
Zev Steinhardt
Regardless of all those objections, there is nothing in Genesis 9 which suggests that “Go forth and multiply” was meant for anyone other than Noah’s immediate family. One might choose to interpret verse 7 in that fashion, but this specific interpretation is neither supported nor contradicted by the context. It certainly is not enforced anywhere in the Bible.
For these reasons, when people suggest that Genesis 9:7 was meant to apply to all of humanity (or even all of the Jews), I think they’re going far beyond what the context actually says.
Well, in a formal sense, the commandment is actually derived from Genesis 1, not 9.
Are you also suggesting that the permission to eat animals (given in Genesis 9:3) or the prohibition against murder (9:6) also applied only to Noah and his immediate family?
Zev Steinhardt
Wouldn’t it be kind of hard to “fill the Earth” if Adam and Eve (or Noah and his kids) were the only ones being fruitful? It seems to me that it’s meant to refer to humanity as a whole, even if not to every person individually.
And I’ll disagree with that as well, since nothing in that verse suggests that these commands were meant for all of humanity, for all time to come.
No, because both commands are affirmed elsewhere in the Bible – the New Testament and the Mosaic Law, for example.
A very fair assessment, one with which I wholeheartedly concur.
So to answer the OP… Does the Bible command us to have kids? Absolutely not. There is a general expectation that mankind should reproduce itself, but this is not a command that applies to each person individually.