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There is plenty of historical evidence that the Jews practised polygamy in the time of Christ, and and for several centuries thereafter. Here are a couple of references I have found for you:
Polygamy was still practiced by Jews in New Testament times. Flavius Josephus (A.D. 93) a Jewish historian stated “for it is the ancient practice among us to have many wives at the same time” (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 17). A Roman law passed in 212 A.D. tolerating polygamy among Jews, was abolished in 285 A.D. by Emperor Diocletian. Augustine, a Roman Catholic theologian, writing in the 4th century stated that in his time and in keeping with Roman custom it was no longer allowed to take another wife so as to have more than one wife living. The Church accepted and promoted the Roman understanding and structure of marriage instead of Biblical models e.g. polygamy. Source.
Judaism – Polygyny is widely and explicitly condoned and practiced throughout the Old Testament, and is still permitted to non-Ashkenazi Jews, who never accepted the decrees of Rabenu Gershom (965-1023?) ending polygamy. In certain rare cases even Ashkenazi Jews are religiously permitted polygamy. However, polygamy is rarely practiced, as there are few places welcoming to Jews where the civil laws will permit it.
Christianity – Of course, all contemporary mainstream Christian denominations now prescribe monogamy as a matter of doctrine or dogma. However, with the exception of 1 Timothy 3, which is directed toward church “leaders” and “helpers”, the New Testament does not address monogamy per se. The consensus among Biblical scholars is that the Book of Timothy was not authored by St. Paul, but rather added significantly later by other early church fathers. It can be strongly argued that neither Paul (whose real preference was for celibacy) nor the leaders of the early church who actually authored the passage in question, would have felt the need to specify monogamy for these individuals unless it were unusual among believers of the era.
Old Testament references frequently cited to justify monogamy, such as Genesis 2:24, obviously were not viewed as prohibitive by Judaism, which continued its historic sanction of polygamy for over a millennium after the time of Christ. Likewise the Seventh and Ninth Commandments, forbidding “adultery” and “coveting neighbors’ wives” were both viewed as admonitions against transgressing on the property of others, i.e., the female “possessions” of men. Neither Commandment was interpreted by Hebrew scholars as forbidding polygyny, nor even relationships between men (married or not) and unmarried women.
It was not until the writings of Tertullian (A.D. 160?-220?), over two centuries after the death of Christ, that the “institutional” case for monogamy within what became the Catholic Church was set forth. This was in response to the “heresy” of the Psychics, who in part followed the same logic of a “strict constructionist” interpretation of Paul’s writings noted above. Strangely enough, this doctrine was written by Tertullian after he became a heretic himself, having rejected his earlier Christian beliefs and having been excommunicated. Tertullian’s “psychics” actually were the lineal ancestors of the Catholic Church he had abandoned. Marriage would not even be recognized as a sacrament for another 1,000 years; divorce would not be absolutely proscribed for another 500 years after that. Source.
All the emphasis that are in bold italics belong to the original text. The rest are mine.
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