The fact of polygyny cannot be inherently abominable because Yahweh sometimes sanctions it (v. 30). Sidney Sperry commented on this particular verse:
Jacob was emphasizing the failings of his own people and therefore had a tendency to press the misdemeanors of David and Solomon.… Jacob [is] very likely to have been ignorant of these words condemning Solomon for taking foreign wives who turned his heart to other gods, as found in the Book of Kings:
“Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, besides the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel: ‘Ye shall not go among them, neither they come among you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods’; Solomon did cleave unto these in love (1 Kgs. 11:1; Jewish Publication Society translation).”
George Reynolds and Janne Sjodahl cite the same verses with nearly the same conclusion. Solomon and David were condemned, not for having more than one wife, but for having foreign wives.
Benjamin McGuire, a graduate student in Near Eastern studies, suggests that this passage is related to a Deuteronomic law:
Jacob 2:24 reads: “Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.”
We start by asking under what conditions would this be considered an abomination apart from Jacob 3:5. And we come to the conclusion that this might reflect on Mosaic Law as it relates specifically to the king. The Deuteronomic kingship laws contain one specific reference which I believe Jacob is actually quoting here—Deut. 17:17 (see the larger unit in 17:14–20). The KJV reads: “17 Neither shall he [the king] multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.”
The language is not clear and creates some issues with drawing an easy connection to the [Book of Mormon] text, but if we read the same passage in the NIV, we get: “17 He [the king] must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.” Now we see a parallel—“he must not take many wives” translates into the [Book of Mormon] criticism: “truly had many wives and concubines.” It is not enough that they had many wives—Jacob stresses the point—they “truly had many wives.” This seems to make much better sense of a difficult passage.
This proposal does not contradict the problem of foreign wives. Most importantly, however, it links the issue to the king. Assuming that this is the background for Jacob’s comments about David and Solomon it underscores the plausible social scenario that he is directing his accusation to the politically powerful in the Nephite community.