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marriage Summary and Overview

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marriage in Easton's Bible Dictionary

was instituted in Paradise when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:18-24). Here we have its original charter, which was confirmed by our Lord, as the basis on which all regulations are to be framed (Matt. 19:4, 5). It is evident that monogamy was the original law of marriage (Matt. 19:5; 1 Cor. 6:16). This law was violated in after times, when corrupt usages began to be introduced (Gen. 4:19; 6:2). We meet with the prevalence of polygamy and concubinage in the patriarchal age (Gen. 16:1-4; 22:21-24; 28:8, 9; 29:23-30, etc.). Polygamy was acknowledged in the Mosaic law and made the basis of legislation, and continued to be practised all down through the period of Jewish histroy to the Captivity, after which there is no instance of it on record. It seems to have been the practice from the beginning for fathers to select wives for their sons (Gen. 24:3; 38:6). Sometimes also proposals were initiated by the father of the maiden (Ex. 2:21). The brothers of the maiden were also sometimes consulted (Gen. 24:51; 34:11), but her own consent was not required. The young man was bound to give a price to the father of the maiden (31:15; 34:12; Ex. 22:16, 17; 1 Sam. 18:23, 25; Ruth 4:10; Hos. 3:2) On these patriarchal customs the Mosaic law made no change. In the pre-Mosaic times, when the proposals were accepted and the marriage price given, the bridegroom could come at once and take away his bride to his own house (Gen. 24:63-67). But in general the marriage was celebrated by a feast in the house of the bride's parents, to which all friends were invited (29:22, 27); and on the day of the marriage the bride, concealed under a thick veil, was conducted to her future husband's home. Our Lord corrected many false notions then existing on the subject of marriage (Matt. 22:23-30), and placed it as a divine institution on the highest grounds. The apostles state clearly and enforce the nuptial duties of husband and wife (Eph. 5:22-33; Col. 3:18, 19; 1 Pet. 3:1-7). Marriage is said to be "honourable" (Heb. 13:4), and the prohibition of it is noted as one of the marks of degenerate times (1 Tim. 4:3). The marriage relation is used to represent the union between God and his people (Isa. 54:5; Jer. 3:1-14; Hos. 2:9, 20). In the New Testament the same figure is employed in representing the love of Christ to his saints (Eph. 5:25-27). The Church of the redeemed is the "Bride, the Lamb's wife" (Rev. 19:7-9).

marriage in Smith's Bible Dictionary

1. Its origin and history. --The institution of marriage dates from the time of man's original creation. #Ge 2:18-25| From #Ge 2:24| we may evolve the following principles: (1) The unity of man and wife, as implied in her being formed out of man. (2) The indissolubleness of the marriage bond, except on; the strongest grounds, Comp. #Mt 19:9| (3) Monogamy, as the original law of marriage (4) The social equality of man and wife. (5) The subordination of the wife to the husband. #1Co 11:8,9; 1Ti 2:13| (6) The respective duties of man and wife. In the patriarchal age polygamy prevailed, #Ge 16:4; 25:1,8; 28:9; 29:23,26; 1Ch 7:14| but to a great extent divested of the degradation which in modern times attaches to that practice. Divorce also prevailed in the patriarchal age, though but one instance of it is recorded. #Ge 21:14| The Mosaic law discouraged polygamy, restricted divorce, and aimed to enforce purity of life. It was the best civil law possible at the time, and sought to bring the people up to the pure standard of the moral law. In the Post-Babylonian period monogamy appears to have become more prevalent than at any previous time. The practice of polygamy nevertheless still existed; Herod the Great had no less than nine wives at one time. The abuse of divorce continued unabated. Our Lord and his apostles re-established the integrity and sanctity of the marriage bond by the following measures: (a) By the confirmation of the original charter of marriage as the basis on which all regulations were to be framed. #Mt 19:4,5| (b) By the restriction of divorce to the case of fornication, and the prohibition of remarriage in all persons divorced on improper grounds. #Mt 5:32; 19:9; Ro 7:3; 1Co 7:10,11| (c) By the enforcement of moral purity generally #Heb 13:4| etc., and especial formal condemnation of fornication. #Ac 15:20| 2. The conditions of legal marriage. --In the Hebrew commonwealth marriage was prohibited (a) between an Israelite and a non-Israelite. There were three grades of prohibition: total in regard to the Canaanites on either side; total on the side of the males in regard to the Ammonites and Moabites; and temporary on the side of the males in regard to the Edomites and Egyptians, marriages with females in the two latter instances being regarded as legal. The progeny of illegal marriages between Israelites and non-Israelites was described as "bastard." #De 23:2| (b) between an Israelite and one of his own community. The regulations relative to marriage between Israelites and Israelites were based on considerations of relationship. The most important passage relating to these is contained in #Le 18:6-18| wherein we have in the first place a general prohibition against marriage between a man and the "flesh of his flesh," and in the second place special prohibitions against marriage with a mother, stepmother, sister or half-sister, whether "born at home or abroad," granddaughter, aunt, whether by consanguinity on either side or by marriage on the father's side, daughter in-law, brother's wife, stepdaughter, wife's mother, stepgranddaughter, or wife's sister during the lifetime of the wife. An exception is subsequently made, #De 26:5-9| in favor of marriage with a brother's wife in the event of his having died childless. The law which regulates this has been named the "levirate," from the Latin levir, "brother-in-law." 3. The modes by which marriage was effected. --The choice of the bride devolved not on the bridegroom himself, but on his relations or on a friend deputed by the bridegroom for this purpose. The consent of the maiden was sometimes asked #Ge 24:58| but this appears to have been subordinate to the previous consent of the father and the adult brothers. #Ge 24:51; 34:11| Occasionally the whole business of selecting the wife was left in the hands of a friend. The selection of the bride was followed by the espousal, which was a formal proceeding undertaken by a friend or legal representative on the part of the bridegroom and by the parents on the part of the bride; it was confirmed by oaths, and accompanied with presents to the bride. The act of betrothal was celebrated by a feast, and among the more modern Jews it is the custom in some parts for the bride. groom to place a ring on the bride's finger. The ring was regarded among the Hebrews as a token of fidelity #Ge 41:42| and of adoption into a family. #Lu 15:25| Between the betrothal sad the marriage so interval elapsed, varying from a few days in the patriarchal age, #Ge 24:55| to a full year for virgins and a month for widows in later times. During this period the bride-elect lived with her friends, and all communication between herself and her future husband was carried on through the medium of a friend deputed for the purpose, termed the "friend of the bridegroom." #Joh 3:29| She was now virtually regarded as the wife of her future husband; hence faithlessness on her part was punishable with death, #De 22:23,24| the husband having, however, the option of "putting her away." #De 24:1; Mt 1:19| The essence of the marriage ceremony consisted in the removal of the bride from her father's house to that of the bridegroom or his father. The bridegroom prepared himself for the occasion by putting on a festive dress, and especially by placing on his head a handsome nuptial turban. #Ps 45:8; So 4:10,11| The bride was veiled. Her robes were white, #Re 19:8| and sometimes embroidered with gold thread, #Ps 45:13,14| and covered with perfumes! #Ps 45:8| she was further decked out with jewels. #Isa 49:18; 61:10; Re 21:2| When the fixed hour arrived, which was, generally late in the evening, the bridegroom set forth from his house, attended by his groomsmen (Authorized Version "companions," #Jud 14:11| "children of the bride-chamber," #Mt 9:15| preceded by a band of musicians or singers, #Ge 31:27; Jer 7:34; 16:9| and accompanied by persons hearing flambeaux, #Jer 25:10| 2 Esdr. 10:2; #Mt 25:7; Re 18:23| and took the bride with the friends to his own house. At the house a feast was prepared, to which all the friends and neighbors were invited, #Ge 29:22; Mt 22:1-10; Lu 14:8; Joh 2:2| and the festivities were protracted for seven or even fourteen days. #Jud 14:12; Job 8:19| The guests were provided by the host with fitting robes, #Mt 22:11| and the feast was enlivened with riddles, #Jud 14:12| and other amusements. The last act in the ceremonial was the conducting of the bride to the bridal chamber, #Jud 15:1; Joe 2:16| where a canopy was prepared. #Ps 19:5; Joe 2:16| The bride was still completely veiled, so that the deception practiced on Jacob, #Ge 29:23| was not difficult. A newly married man was exempt from military service, or from any public business which might draw him away from his home, for the space of a year, #De 24:5| a similar privilege was granted to him who was 'betrothed. #De 20:7| 4. The social and domestic conditions of married life. --The wife must have exercised an important influence in her own home. She appears to have taken her part in family affairs, and even to have enjoyed a considerable amount of independence. #Jud 4:18; 1Sa 25:14; 2Ki 4:8| etc. In the New Testament the mutual relations of husband and wife are a subject of frequent exhortation. #Eph 5:22,33; Col 3:18,19; Tit 2:4,5; 1Pe 3:1-7| The duties of the wife in the Hebrew household were multifarious; in addition to the general superintendence of the domestic arrangements, such as cooking, from which even women of rank were not exempt. #Ge 18:8; 2Sa 13:5| and the distribution of food at meal times, #Pr 31:13| the manufacture of the clothing and of the various fabrics required in her home devolved upon her, #Pr 31:13,21,22| and if she were a model of activity and skill, she produced a surplus of fine linen shirts and girdles, which she sold and so, like a well-freighted merchant ship, brought in wealth to her husband from afar. #Pr 31:14,24| The legal rights of the wife are noticed in #Ex 21:10| under the three heads of food, raiment, and duty of marriage or conjugal right. 5. The allegorical and typical allusions to marriage have exclusive reference to one object, viz., to exhibit the spiritual relationship between God and his people. In the Old Testament #Isa 54:5; Jer 3:14; Ho 2:19| In the New Testament the image of the bridegroom is transferred from Jehovah to Christ, #Mt 9:15; Joh 3:29| and that of the bride to the Church, #2Co 11:2; Re 19:7; 21:2,9|

marriage in Schaff's Bible Dictionary

MAR'RIAGE Its origin is recorded in Gen 2:18-25, and its constitution is confirmed by our Lord. Matt 19:5-6; Mark 10:5-10. Marriage, in its primitive and normal state, is an inseparable union between one man and one woman for mutual comfort and happiness, and for the propagation of the race. It dates from Paradise before the fall. It is indissoluble except on account of fornication.
Polygamy first appeared among the Cainites, Gen 4:19, and in spite both of the example of Noah and his sons, who were monogamists. Gen 7:13, and of the general discouragement and special restrictions which the Mosaic law placed in its way, it still prevailed up to the time of the Captivity. It must be noticed, however, that among the Hebrews polygamy never assumed those degraded and degrading forms under which we meet it among pagan nations, or even among the Mohammedans. A distinction was always made between the chief wife and the secondary wives, between the legitimate wife and the concubines; and thus the principle of monogamy was always retained, though not always carried out. The Mosaic law enjoined the kings not to multiply their wives, Deut 17:17; prohibited any one from marrying two sisters at the same time. Lev 18:18; asserted the matrimonial rights of each wife within certain limits, Ex 21:10-11; and entailed considerable ritual observances on the man. Lev 15:18. Nevertheless, instances of polygamy are of frequent occurrence, such as Gideon, Jud 8:30; Elkanah, 1 Sam 1:2; Saul, 2 Sam 12:8; David, 2 Sam 5:13; Solomon, 1 Kgs 11:3; the sons of Issachar, 1 Chr 7:4; Shaharaim, 1 Chr 8:8-9; Rehoboam, 2 Chr 11:21; Abijah, 2 Chr 13:21; Joash, 2 Chr 24:3. After the Captivity the O.T. has no instance of polygamy on record, but the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and the post-Exilian prophets warned the Jews against mixed marriages with heathen women. The monogamic spirit of the Mosaic law, in consonance with the general spirit of the O.T., had now so far worked itself out into the details of practical life that monogamy had become the rule. Yea, in the period before the advent of Christ, a view had arisen among the Jews according to which even the propriety of marriage was doubted. It was the sect of the Essenes which represented this view, some of them rejecting marriage altogether, while others accepted it only with many restrictions. Nevertheless, instances of polygamy still occurred, as may be seen from the earliest commentators on 1 Tim 5:9. Herod the Great had at one time nine wives. Thus Christianity had to contend at once against both extremes -- the polygamists and the ascetics. With the former the contest was very short; polygamy soon disappeared from the Christian marriage.
But in spite of Col 2:16-23, 1 Tim 4:3, and other passages of the N.T. in which the propriety of marriage is strongly inculcated, the unmarried state was still held to be more honorable and of greater holiness up to the very time of the Reformation. In the pre-Mosaic period marriages between near relatives were not uncommon among the Hebrews. The great anxiety to keep the blood of the family pure, the strong feeling of exclusiveness toward foreigners, and the smallness of the tribe led naturally to such measures. By the Mosaic law, Lev 18:6-18, the degrees of relationship which made marriage illegal were sharply defined -- mother, stepmother, sister, half-sister, granddaughter, aunt, daughter-in-law, brother's wife, stepdaughter, wife's mother, step-granddaughter, or wife's sister during the lifetime of the wife. With respect to a brother's wife, an exception was made in the case of the brother having died childless. Deut 25:5. In this case the brother married the widow, according to the so-called Levirate -- from the Latin levir, "brother-in-law." -- law, but the progeny which issued from this connection was in all legal respects to be reckoned as the progeny of the dead man. Marriages between Israelites and foreigners were comparatively rare; the marriages of Joseph with an Egyptian, Gen 41:45, of Manasseh with a Syrian, 1 Chr 7:14, of Moses with a Midianitish, Ex 2:21, and afterward with a Cushite, woman. Num 12:1, were exceptional cases. Absolute prohibition, however, did not exist except with respect to the Canaanites, Ex 34:16; Deut 7:3-4, though the legal disabilities of the Ammonites and Moabites, Deut 23:3, had nearly the same effect. On the whole, marriages between Israelite women and foreigners were much rarer than marriages between Israelites and foreign women. After the Captivity this latter form of intermarriage became so common as to endanger the national character of the people, and the prohibition against the Canaanites was then extended also to the Ammonites. Moabites, and Philistines. Neh 13:23-25. Among the more special regulations of the Mosaic marriage-law may be mentioned: the high priest was forbidden to marry any but a virgin out of his own people. Lev 21:13-14. Thus the Levirate law could never be applied to him. The priests were forbidden to marry prostitutes and divorced women. Lev 21:7. An heiress was forbidden to marry out of her own tribe. Num 36:5-9, etc.
Among the Jews divorce was not an act of the civil judicature, based on proper evidence on the part of the injured party. The husband could from a mere caprice, from having "found in her the nakedness of a thing," put away his wife by simply writing for her a bill of divorce, and a woman thus divorced could afterward marry whom she liked. Deut 24:1-4. In this Christianity made a great change, our Lord admitting only one sufficient reason for a divorce -- adultery -- and adding: "Whosoever marrieth her that is put away doth commit adultery." Matt 19:9. As the Mosaic law did not absolutely discountenance polygamy, its conception of adultery was limited to the unlawful intercourse with a married or betrothed woman, but the penalty was death to both the guilty parties. Lev 20:10; Deut 22:22-24, and the manner of execution seems to have been stoning. Eze 16:38-40; John 8:5. It depended, however, on the husband to transform the death penalty into a simple bill of divorce, and this seems to have been the prevailing custom in the time of the N.T. See Matt 1:19.
Generally, the marriage was negotiated exclusively by the parents, no regard being paid to the wishes of the young folks. This is still the case in Eastern countries, especially among the Mohammedans. Often, however, we find that the bridegroom exercised some influence on the choice of his wife, but there is no instance on record in which the consent and pleasure of the bride were asked for: from this humiliating subjection Christianity alone has succeeded in elevating woman. After the selection of the bride followed the espousal or betrothal -- a contract made under oath and accompanied by presents; a written contract was not in use, however, until after the Captivity.
A marriage-dowry was given -- not by the father to his daughter, but by the bridegroom to the parents of the bride. The primitive idea of the Hebrew marriage was evidently that the bride was bought, and in many cases the bridegroom paid the dowry in actual service; as, for instance, Jacob, Gen 29; Joseph, Gen 41:45; Moses, Ex 2:21; Dan 3:1; Othniel. Jud 1:12, etc. After the betrothal the bride was considered as a wife, and any unfaithfulness by her was punished as adultery. She remained, however, for some time in the parental house, and during this period all communications between her and the bridegroom were carried by the "friend of the bridegroom."
When the marriage feast was to be consummated, the bridegroom came to the house of the bride anointed, arrayed in festive garment, with the nuptial turban on his head, Ps 45:8; Cant. Song 4:10-11; Isa 61:10; Cant. Song 3:11, and accompanied by a number of his friends -- "the children of the bride-chamber." Matt 9:15. The bride he found veiled, adorned with jewels and the bridal chaplet, and surrounded by her maidens. Ps 45:13-14; Isa 49:18; Isa 61:10; Rev 19:8; John 21:2. In a great procession, with torch lights and lamps. Matt 22:1-10; Matt 25:1-10; Luke 14:8; John 2:1-10; Rev 19:9, he then carried her to his house, where the feast was prepared; and often this feast lasted for seven days. Both in the O.T. and in the N.T. the betrothal, marriage-feast, and marriage have given rise to numerous allegorical and typical allusions, the relation between Jehovah and his chosen people being the point of comparison in the O.T., Isa 54:5; Jer 3:14; Hos 2:19, etc., that of Christ and his Church in the N.T. Matt 9:15; John 3:29; 2 Cor 11:2; Rev 19:7.

marriage in Fausset's Bible Dictionary

frontADAM) The charter of marriage is Genesis 2:24, reproduced by our Lord with greater distinctness in Matthew 19:4-5; "He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain, shall be one flesh." The Septuagint, and Samaritan Pentateuch reads "twain" or "two" in Genesis 2:24; compare as to this joining in one flesh of husband and wife, the archetype of which is the eternally designed union of Christ and the church, Ephesians 5:31; Mark 10:5-9; 1 Corinthians 6:16; 1 Corinthians 7:2. In marriage husband and wife combine to form one perfect human being; the one is the complement of the other. So Christ makes the church a necessary adjunct to Himself. He is the Archetype from whom, as the pattern, the church is formed (Romans 6:5). He is her Head, as the husband is of the wife (1 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Corinthians 15:45). Death severs bridegroom and bride, but cannot separate Christ and His bride (Matthew 19:6; John 10:28-29; John 13:1; Romans 8:35-39). In Ephesians 5:32 translated "this mystery is great," i.e. this truth, hidden once but now revealed, namely, Christ's spiritual union with the church, mystically represented by marriage, is of deep import. Vulgate wrongly translated "this is a great sacrament," Rome's plea for making marriage a sacrament. Not marriage in general, but the marriage of Christ and the church, is the great mystery, as the following words prove, "I say it in regard to (eis) Christ and in regard to (eis) the church," whereas Genesis 2:24 refers to literal marriage. Transl. Ephesians 5:30, "we are members of His (glorified) body, being (formed) out of (ek) His flesh and of His bones." Adam's deep sleep wherein Eve was formed out of His opened side, symbolizes Christ's death which was the birth of the spouse, the church (John 12:24; John 19:34-35). As Adam gave Eve a new name, 'ishah, "woman" or "wife" the counterpart of iysh, "man" or "husband," so Christ gives the church His new name; He, Solomon, she, the Shulamite (Song of Solomon 6:13; Revelation 2:17; Revelation 3:12). The propagation of the church from Christ, as that of Eve from Adam, is the foundation of the spiritual marriage. Natural marriage rests on the spiritual marriage, whereby Christ left the Father's bosom to woo to Himself the church out of a lost world. His earthly mother as such He holds secondary to His spiritual bride (Luke 2:48-49; Luke 8:19-21; Luke 11:27-28). He shall again leave His Father's abode to consummate the union (Matthew 25:1-10; Revelation 19:7). Marriage is the general rule laid down for most men, as not having continency (1 Corinthians 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7:5, etc.). The existing "distress" (1 Corinthians 7:26) was Paul's reason then for recommending celibacy where there was the gift of continency. In all cases his counsel is true, "that they that have wives be as though they had none," namely, in permanent possession, not making idols of them. Scripture teaches the unity of husband and wife; the indissolubleness of marriage save by death or fornication (Matthew 5:32; Matthew 19:9; Romans 7:3); monogamy; the equality of both (iysh) and (ishah) being correlative, and she a "help-meet for him," i.e. a helping one in whom as soon as he sees her he may recognize himself), along with the subordination of the wife, consequent on her formation subsequently and out of him, and her having been first to fall.(1 Corinthians 11:8-9; 1 Timothy 2:13-15.) frontADAM.) Love, honor, and cherishing are his duty; helpful, reverent subjection, a meek and quiet spirit, her part; both together being heirs of the grace of life (1 Peter 3:1-7; 1 Corinthians 14:34-35). Polygamy began with the Cainites. (See LAMECH; DIVORCE; CONCUBINE.) The jealousies of Abraham's (Genesis 16:6) and Elkanah's wives illustrate the evils of polygamy. Scripture commends monogamy (Psalm 128:3; Proverbs 5:18; Proverbs 18:22; Proverbs 19:14; Proverbs 31:10-29; Ecclesiastes 9:9). Monogamy superseded polygamy subsequently to the return from Babylon. Public opinion was unfavorable to presbyters and women who exercise holy functions marrying again; for conciliation and expediency sake, therefore, Paul recommended that a candidate should be married only once, not having remarried after a wife's death or divorce (1 Timothy 3:2; 1 Timothy 3:12; 1 Timothy 5:9; Luke 2:36-37; 1 Corinthians 7:40); the reverse in the case of young widows (1 Timothy 5:14). Marriage is honorable; but fornication, which among the Gentiles was considered indifferent, is stigmatized (Hebrews 13:4; Acts 15:20). Marriage of Israelites with Canaanites was forbidden, lest it should lead God's people into idolatry (Exodus 34:16; Deuteronomy 7:3-4). In Leviticus 18:18 the prohibition is only against taking a wife's sister "beside the other (namely, the wife) in her lifetime." Our Christian reason for prohibiting such marriage after the wife's death is because man and wife are one, and the sister-in-law is to be regarded in the same light as the sister by blood. Marriage with a deceased brother's wife (the Levirate law) was favored in Old Testament times, in order to raise up seed to a brother (Genesis 38:8; Matthew 22:25). The high priest must marry only an Israelite virgin (Leviticus 21:13-14); heiresses must marry in their own tribe, that their property might not pass out of the tribe. The parents, or confidential friend, of the bridegroom chose the bride (Genesis 24; Genesis 21:21; Genesis 38:6). The parents' consent was asked first, then that of the bride (Genesis 24:58). The presents to the bride are called mohar, those to the relatives mattan. Between betrothal and marriage all communication between the betrothed ones was carried on through "the friend of the bridegroom" (John 3:29). She was regarded as his wife, so that faithlessness was punished with death (Deuteronomy 22:23-24); the bridegroom having the option of putting her away by a bill of divorcement (Deuteronomy 24:1; Matthew 1:19). No formal religious ceremony attended the wedding; but a blessing was pronounced, and a "covenant of God" entered into (Ezekiel 16:8; Malachi 2:14; Proverbs 2:17; Genesis 24:60; Rth 4:11-12). The essential part of the ceremony was the removal of the bride from her father's house to that of the bridegroom or his father. The bridegroom wore an ornamental turban; Isaiah 61:10, "ornaments," rather (peer) "a magnificent headdress" like that of the high priest, appropriate to the "kingdom of priests" (Exodus 19:6); the bride wore "jewels" or "ornaments" in general, trousseau. He had a nuptial garland or crown (Song of Solomon 3:11, "the crown wherewith His mother (the human race; for He is the Son of man, not merely Son of Mary) crowned Him in the day of His espousals"); and was richly perfumed (Song of Solomon 3:6). The bride took a preparatory bath (Ezekiel 23:40). This is the allusion in Ephesians 5:26-27; "Christ loved ... gave Himself for the church, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church not having spot." The veil (tsaip) was her distinctive dress, covering the whole person, so that the trick played on Jacob was very possible (Genesis 24:65; Genesis 29:23); the symbol of her subjection to her husband's power, therefore called "power on her head" (1 Corinthians 11:10). (See DRESS.) Our "nuptials" is derived from nubo, "to veil one's self." She also wore girdles for the breasts ("attire," kishurim) which she would not readily forget (Jeremiah 2:32). Also a gilded or gold "crown" or chaplet (kullah), a white robe sometimes embroidered with gold thread (Revelation 19:8; Psalm 45:13-14) and jewels (Isaiah 61:10). Late in the evening the bridegroom came with his groomsmen ("companions," Judges 14:11; "children of the bridechamber," Matthew 9:15), singers and torch or lamp bearers leading the way (Jeremiah 25:10); the bride meantime with her maidens eagerly awaited his coming. Then he led the bride and her party in procession home with gladness to the marriage supper (Matthew 25:6; Matthew 22:1-11; John 2:2; Psalm 45:15). The women of the place flocked out to gaze. The nuptial song was sung; hence in Psalm 78:63 "their maidens were not praised" in nuptial song (Hebrew) is used for "were not given in marriage," margin. The bridegroom having now received the bride, his "friend's joy (namely, in bringing them together) was fulfilled" in hearing the bridegroom's voice (John 3:29). Song of Solomon 3:11; the feast lasted for seven or even 14 days, and was enlivened by riddles, etc. (Judges 14:12.) Wedding garments were provided by the host, not to wear which was an insult to him. Large waterpots for washing the hands and for "purifying" ablutions were provided (Mark 7:3). These had to be "filled" before Jesus changed the water into wine; a nice propriety in the narrative, the minor circumstances being in keeping with one another; the feast being advanced, the water was previously all emptied out of the waterpots for the guests' ablutions (John 2:7). Light is thrown upon Egyptian marriages by a translation of an Egyptian contract of marriage, by Eugene Revillout. It is written in the demotic character upon a small sheet of papyrus, No. 2482, Cat. Egyptien, Musee du Louvre. It is dated in the month of Choiach, year 33 of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and the contracting parties are Patina, son of Pchelkhous, and the lady, Ta-outem, the daughter of Rehu. The terms of the deed are singular as to the dowry required on both sides, together with the clauses providing for repudiation. After the actual dowry is recited, the sum being specified in shekels, the rights of the children which may hereafter come from the marriage, as well as the payment of the mother's pin-money, are secured by the following clause: "thy pocket money for one year is besides thy toilet money which I give thee each year, and it is your right to exact the payment of thy toilet money and thy pocket money, which are to be placed to my account, which I give thee. Thy oldest son, my oldest son, shall be the heir of all my property, present and future. I will establish thee as wife." Practicing in marriage law in Egypt was one of the priestly functions, for at the conclusion the contract states that "the writer of this act is ... the priest of Ammon Horpneter, son of Smin" (?). The bridegroom was exempted from military service for a year (Deuteronomy 20:7; Deuteronomy 24:5). Women in Scripture times were not secluded as now, but went about married and single with faces unveiled (Genesis 12:14; Genesis 24:16; Genesis 24:65). Some were prophetesses, as Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Anna, and took part in public concerns (Exodus 15:20; 1 Samuel 18:6-7; Abigail, 1 Samuel 25:14-25). The duties of husband and wife are laid down (Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18-19; Titus 2:4-5; 1 Peter 3:1-7). Brawling wives stand in contrast to the model wife, God's gift (Proverbs 19:13; Proverbs 21:9; Proverbs 21:19; Proverbs 27:15; Proverbs 31:10-31). (On the spiritual harlot, see BEAST and ANTICHRIST.) Woman, harlot, bride, and ultimately wife, i.e. Christ's church in probation, the apostate church, and the glorified church, form the grand theme of the Bible from first to last. Israel had God for her "husband," she became a harlot when she left Him for idols (Isaiah 1:21; Jeremiah 2:20; Jeremiah 3:1; Jeremiah 3:6; Jeremiah 3:8; Jeremiah 3:14). Again, Jehovah is to reunite Israel to Him as His earthly bride, as the elect church is His heavenly bride (Isaiah 54:5, etc.; Isaiah 62:4-5; Hosea 2:19; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19:7; Revelation 21:2; Revelation 21:9; Revelation 22:17). The Father prepares for His Son the marriage feast (Matthew 22:1-14). The apostate church, resting on and conformed to the godless world, is the harlot riding on the beast and attired in scarlet as the beast. God's eternal principle in her case as in Israel's and Judah's shall hold good, and even already is being illustrated in Rome's being stripped by the world power; when the church sins with the world, the world the instrument of her sin shall be the instrument of her punishment (Ezekiel 23; Revelation 17:1-5; Revelation 17:16-18). (See IDOLATRY.)