Biblical Question

What does the Bible say about contraception in marriage?

Q: What does the Bible say about contraception in marriage?

Short answer for What does the Bible say about contraception in marriage?: retrieved texts are reported directly; where claims exceed cited passages, state INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE.

Retrieved texts include Genesis 9:7, Genesis 8:17, Genesis 9:1, Genesis 3:16.

The texts do not directly address broader modern formulations; NO DIRECT REFERENCE IN SOURCE TEXTS and INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE apply beyond retrieved passages.

THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

1. QUESTION

What does the Bible say about contraception in marriage?

2. PRIMARY TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

The retrieved source texts contain no direct references to contraception as a practice. The following verses address procreation and fruitfulness:

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it..." — Genesis 1:28 (KJV)

"And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." — Genesis 9:1 (KJV)

"And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein." — Genesis 9:7 (KJV)

"And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins." — Genesis 35:11 (KJV)

"Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle..." — Deuteronomy 28:4 (KJV)

One text presents a contrasting perspective on childbearing:

"For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck." — Luke 23:29 (KJV)

2. LINGUISTIC/HISTORICAL DATA

From the texts provided:

The Hebrew imperative "be fruitful and multiply" (פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ) appears repeatedly in Genesis as a divine blessing/command given to: sea creatures and birds (1:22), humanity at creation (1:28), Noah post-flood (9:1, 7), and Jacob (35:11).
These texts frame procreation within the context of blessing and covenant promise, not explicit commandment regarding method of family planning.
No text retrieved addresses the prevention of conception directly.

3. SCHOLARLY POSITIONS

Based solely on the texts provided, the following interpretive options may be noted:

Some interpreters treat "be fruitful and multiply" as a universal moral command binding on all marriages.
Others view these statements as blessings or directives given to specific persons (Adam, Noah, Jacob) in particular redemptive-historical contexts.
Luke 23:29 introduces an eschatological situation where barrenness is called "blessed," though the context is judgment, not normative ethics.

The retrieved texts do not resolve which interpretive framework is correct.

4. SOURCES

| Reference | Translation | |-----------|-------------| | Genesis 1:22 | KJV | | Genesis 1:28 | KJV | | Genesis 3:16 | KJV | | Genesis 8:17 | KJV | | Genesis 9:1 | KJV | | Genesis 9:7 | KJV | | Genesis 28:3 | KJV | | Genesis 35:11 | KJV | | Genesis 38:4 | KJV | | Genesis 48:4 | KJV | | Deuteronomy 28:4 | KJV | | Isaiah 45:10 | KJV | | Jeremiah 29:6 | KJV | | Luke 23:29 | KJV | | James 1:15 | KJV |

5. CONSENSUS INDICATOR

INSUFFICIENT TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

The retrieved texts do not mention contraception explicitly. They affirm procreation as a blessing and, in some contexts, a command—but they do not address the moral status of preventing conception within marriage.

Notable absence: The well-known narrative of Onan (Genesis 38:8–10), which is often cited in discussions of contraception, was not included in the retrieved texts (only Genesis 38:4 appears, which merely records a birth). Without that passage and its interpretive context, no assertion about the Bible's teaching on contraceptive practice can be responsibly made from these sources.

Sources

Genesis 9:7 (KJV) — score 0.532

And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

Genesis 8:17 (KJV) — score 0.501

Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

Genesis 9:1 (KJV) — score 0.479

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

Genesis 3:16 (KJV) — score 0.471

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Genesis 1:28 (KJV) — score 0.470

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Genesis 28:3 (KJV) — score 0.455

And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;

Deuteronomy 28:4 (KJV) — score 0.454

Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

Genesis 1:22 (KJV) — score 0.453

And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Jeremiah 29:6 (KJV) — score 0.451

Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.

Luke 23:29 (KJV) — score 0.448

For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

Genesis 38:4 (KJV) — score 0.448

And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.

Genesis 48:4 (KJV) — score 0.445

And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

Isaiah 45:10 (KJV) — score 0.441

Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?

Genesis 35:11 (KJV) — score 0.440

And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;

James 1:15 (KJV) — score 0.433

Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

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