Yitz,
1. Hundreds? I dispute that.
2. The only polygamous Tanna was Rabbi Tarfon – and as the number given is 300 it could be that they were only pro forma marriages so that they could eat terumot and maaserot as he was a cohen. In fact, Chazal call a co-wife a tzaara.
3. One can also say that polygamy among Sephardim (which was actually very uncommon) was influenced by Islam.
Menu