2 Samuel 12:8 does not endorse polygamy; the phrase "I would have given you more" is a figure of speech for God's provision, not a promise of additional wives; God explicitly forbids polygamy for kings in Deuteronomy 17:17.

Winger identifies this as the strongest pro-polygamy text in the Bible but argues it is being over-read. Nathan's rebuke of David (2 Sam 12) recounts that God gave David Saul's wives — but there is no record of David having sexual relations with them; in ancient Near Eastern practice, the successor king retained the previous king's household for dynastic legitimacy, not necessarily sexually. The phrase "I would add to you as much more" most naturally reads as a hyperbolic expression of God's generous provision generally, not a literal offer of more wives. This reading is required by Deuteronomy 17:17, which explicitly prohibits kings from acquiring many wives. To read 2 Samuel 12:8 as God endorsing more wives directly contradicts Deuteronomy 17:17. Winger also points to Genesis and Jesus' teachings in the Gospels as further evidence that God opposes polygamy from the beginning.