Was polygamy a sin?

[TonyChanYT]

A man could have more than one wife in the OT, Deuteronomy 21:

15 If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love,

Deuteronomy 25:

5 If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.

The brother of the dead man could already have a wife of his own and take on one more wife.

2 Samuel 12:

8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.

God not only permitted David to have multiple wives but also gave him wives. True?

What about in the NT?

English Standard Version 1 Timothy 3:

2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.

1 Corinthians 7:

2 But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.

It seems that polygamy was permitted in the OT but discouraged in the New. Matthew 19:

8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.

 

[Windmillcharge]

Polygamy was never part of God's plan, that is seen I genesis 2 where a man shall leave his parents a d join his wife and the two shall become one.

Polygamy was permitted, and as can be seen in the relationships shown in the bible, it was a source of constant friction.

 

[Lambano]

“Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same.”​

― Oscar Wilde

 

[Randy Kluth]

Yes, the Bible has permitted polygamy, though not encouraging it. For a king it was a practice that on occasion seemed to be desirable due to the greater trust a king can put in his sons and daughters, as opposed to officials that could conspire against him. The same could be said for very wealthy individuals who required the assistance of very large families to avoid conflicts. Within the church and under normal circumstances , a person not managing a kingdom or a large business would want to follow the pattern in Genesis, whereby one woman was created for one man. Not only is managing a smaller family more affordable, but it allows greater time to spend outside of the family business within the church and elsewhere.