There is no record of Prophet Jesus opposing polygamy. If he did so, it would have meant that the condemned the practice of the prophets before him. There are a number of examples of polygamous marriages among the prophets recorded in the Torah. Prophet Abraham had two wives, according to Genesis 16:13 "So after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife." So did Prophet David, according to the first book of Samuel 27:3, "And David dwelt with Achish at Gat, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahin'oam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal's widow." In 1st Kings 11:3, Solomon is said to have "...had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines." Solomon's son, Rehobo'am, also had a number of wives, according to 2nd Chronicles 11:21, "Rehobo'am loved Ma'acah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and concubines (he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and had twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters)." In fact, the Torah even specified laws regarding the division of inheritance in polygamous circumstances. In Deuteronomy 21:15-16,the law states: "15 If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other disliked, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the disliked, and if the first-born son is hers that is disliked, 16then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the first-born in preference to the son of the disliked, who is the first-born." The only restriction on polygamy was the ban on taking a wife's sister as a rival wife in Leviticus 18:18,"And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is yet alive." The Talmud advises a maximum of four wives as was the practice of Prophet Jacob.25 According to Father Eugene Hillman, "Nowhere in the New Testament is there any explicit commandment that marriage should be monogamous or any explicit commandment forbidding polygamy."26 He further stressed the fact that the Church in Rome banned polygamy in order to conform to Greco-Roman culture which prescribed only one legal wife while tolerating concubinage and prostitution.27 Islaam limited polygamy to a maximum of four wives at one time and stipulated the maintenance of justice as a basic condition for polygamy Qur'aan 4:3, God states: "Marry of the women that please you two, three or four. But if you fear that you will not be able to deal justly, then [marry only] one ..."
Some Muslim sources claim that Jesus never opposed polygamy, suggesting that the New Testament is silent on monogamy and that limiting marriage to one wife is a later cultural imposition. They compare this to the Qur'an, which permits polygamy with conditions. This argument attempts to present Jesus as compliant with Islamic marital law rather than establishing divine authority over marriage.
Old Testament figures like Abraham, David, Solomon, and Rehoboam had multiple wives, and laws like Deuteronomy 21:15-16 regulated inheritance in polygamous families.
Polygamy was tolerated in Israelite culture, but this does not define God's ideal for marriage.
Jesus explicitly reaffirms God's original design for monogamy:
"Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?" (Matthew 19:4-5).
He elevates marriage to a sacramental union, pointing back to Eden, emphasizing one man, one woman as God's ideal.
The New Testament doesn't need to repeat every Old Testament law. Jesus' silence on polygamy does not imply approval; rather, He assumes the Edenic ideal.
Church restrictions on polygamy were not merely cultural; they reflect Jesus' teaching and the biblical pattern (Ephesians 5:31-33).
Islamic polygamy is legalistic, allowing multiple wives under certain conditions.
Christian monogamy is covenantal and symbolic, pointing to Christ's union with the Church (Ephesians 5:25-27).
Jesus' authority in marriage is divine, not human compliance with social norms.
Jesus' silence on polygamy in the New Testament does not equate to approval. He consistently affirmed God's original design for one man and one woman, elevating marriage as a sacred covenant. While Islam permits polygamy within limits, Christian teaching sees monogamy as reflecting the divine pattern of love, fidelity, and Christ's relationship with His Church, underscoring Jesus' divine authority and moral teaching.