Reference: Marriage
American
The union for life of one man and one woman, is an ordinance of the Creator for the perpetuity and happiness of the human race; instituted in Paradise, Ge 1:27-28; 2:18-24, and the foundation of no small part of all that is valuable to human society. By promoting parental love and the sense of responsibility, marriage most effectually promotes the health and happiness of children, and their careful education to virtue, industry, and honor, to right habits and ends, and to all that is included in the idea of home. God made originally but one man and one woman. The first polygamists were Lamech and those degenerate "sons of God," or worshippers of Jehovah, who "took them wives of all that they chose," Ge 4:17; 6:2. On the other hand, Noah and his three sons had each but one wife; and the same appears to be true of all his direct ancestors' back to Adam. So also was it with Job, Nahor, Lot, and at first with Abraham. See CONCUBINE. In after-times a plurality of wives became more common among the Hebrews, and the Scriptures afford numerous illustrations of its evil results, Ge 16:16; Jg 8:30; 2Sa 3:3-5; 1Ki 11:1-8; 2Ch 11:18-21; 13:21. In the time of Christ there is no mention of polygamy as prevalent among the Jews.
The Israelites were forbidden to marry within certain specified degrees, Le 18; 18:1-27; De 27. Marriage with Canaanites and idolaters was strictly forbidden, Ex 34:16; and afterwards with any of the heathen nations around them, especially such as were uncircumcised, Ne 13. By the Levirate law, as it is termed, if a Jew died without children, his nearest brother or kinsman was bound to marry the widow, that her firstborn son after this marriage might be reckoned the son and heir of the first husband, Ge 38; De 25:5-10; Mt 22:23-26. The Savior set his seal to marriage as a divine and permanent institution, aside from all the civil laws which guard and regulate, or seek to alter or annul it; forbidding divorce except for one cause, Mt 5:32; 9/3/type/nsb'>19:3-6,9; and denouncing all breaches of marriage vows, even in thought, Mt 5:28. Compare Heb 13:4; Re 21:8.
Jewish parents were wont to arrange with other parents as to the marriage of their children, sometimes according to the previous choice of the son, and not without some regard to the consent of the daughter, Ge 21:21; 24; 34:4-6; Jg 14:2-3. The parties were often betrothed to each other long before the marriage took place. See BETROTHING. A dowry was given by the suitor to the parents and brethren of the bride, Ex 22:13; De 22:29; 2Sa 13:11. The nuptials were often celebrated with great pomp and ceremony, and with protracted feasting and rejoicing. It was customary for the bridegroom to appoint a Paranymphus, or groomsman, called by our Savior "the friend of the bridegroom," Joh 3.29. A number of other young men also kept him company during the days of the wedding, to do him honor; as also young women kept company with the bride all this time. The companions of the bridegrooms are expressly mentioned in the history of Samson, Jg 14:11,20; Song 5:1; 8:13; Mt 9:14; also the companions of the bride, Ps 45:9,14; Song 1:5; 2:7; 3:5; 8:4. The office of the groomsman was to direct in the ceremonies of he wedding. The friends and companions of the bride sang the epithalamium, or wedding song, at the door of the bride the evening before the wedding. The festivities of the wedding were conducted with great decorum, the young people of each sex being in distinct apartments and at different tables. The young men at Samson's wedding diverted themselves in proposing riddles, and the bridegroom appointed the prize to those should could explain them, Jg 14:14.
The Jews affirm, that before Jerusalem was laid in ruins, the bridegroom and bride wore crowns at their marriage. Compare Isa 61:10; Song 3:11, "Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother, crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart." The modern Jews, in some places, throw handfuls of wheat on the newly married couple, particularly on the bride, saying "Increase and multiply." In other places they mingle pieces of money with the wheat, which are gathered up by the poor. The actual ceremony of marriage was very simple, consisting of little more than the reading of the marriage contract, Pr 2:17; Mal 2:14, and the nuptial blessing invoked by the friends, Ge 24:60; Ru 4:11-12.
The wedding festivities commonly lasted seven days for a maid, and three days for a widow. So Laban says to Jacob, respecting Leah, "Fulfill her week," Ge 29:27. The ceremonies of Samson's wedding continued seven whole days, Jg 14:17-18. These seven days of rejoicing were commonly spent in the house of the woman's father, after which they conducted the bride to her husband's home.
The procession accompanying the bride from the house of her father to that of the bridegroom, was generally one of more or less pomp, according to the circumstances of the married couple; and for this they often chose the night, as is tell the custom in Syria. Hence the parable of the ten virgins that went at midnight to meet the bride and bridegroom, Mt 25. "At a Hindoo marriage, the procession of which I saw some years ago," says Mr. Ward, "the bridegroom came from a distance, and the bride lived at Serampre, to which place the bridegroom was to come by water. After waiting two or three hours, at length, near midnight, it was announced, as if in the very words of Scripture, 'Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.' All the persons employed now lighted their lamps, and ran with them in their hands to fill up their stations in the procession; some of them had lost their lights, and were unprepared; but it was then too late to seek them, and the cavalcade moved forward to the house of the bride, at which place the company entered a large and splendidly illuminated area, before the house, covered with an awning, where a great multitude of friends, dressed in their best apparel, were seated upon mats. The bridegroom was carried in the arms of a friend, and placed in a superb seat in the midst of the company, where he sat a short time, and them went into the house, the door of which was immediately shut, and guarded by sepoys. Others and I expostulated with the doorkeepers, but in vain. Never was I so struck with our Lord's beautiful parable as at this moment; 'and the door was shut.'"
Christianity invests the family institution with peculiar sacredness; makes true love its basis, and mutual preference of each others' happiness its rule; and even likens it to the ineffable union between Christ and his church, Eph 5:22-33. Nowhere in the world is woman so honored, happy, and useful as in a Christian land and a Christian home. Believers are directed to marry "in the Lord," 1Co 7:39. No doubt the restrictions laid upon the ancient people of God contain a lesson for all periods, and the recorded ill results of forbidden marriages among the Jews, if heeded, would prevent the serious evils which often result form union between a Christian and a worldling. As to the mutual duties of husband and wife, see Eph 5:22-23; 1Ti 2:11-12; 1Pe 3:1-7.
The Romish church puts dishonor on what the Holy Spirit describes as "honorable in all." It not only extols celibacy and virginity in the laity, but also strictly refuses marriage to all its priests, bishops, etc., and in thus "forbidding to marry," fixes upon itself the name of anti-Christ, 1Ti 4:3. See BETROTHING, CONCUBINE, DIVORCE, GARMENTS, etc.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him. He created male and female. God blessed them and said to them: Be fruitful and increase in number. Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and dominate the birds of the air. Have dominion over every living creature that moves on the ground.
Jehovah God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. Then Jehovah God formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to let him name them. Whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. read more. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But no suitable helper was found for Adam. Jehovah God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then Jehovah made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man. He brought her to the man. The man said: This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called 'Woman.' This is because she was taken out of Man. This is the reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. They will become one flesh.
Cain had intercourse with his wife. She became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Later Cain built a city. He named it after his son Enoch.
The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful. They married any of them they chose.
He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
They gave Rebecca their blessing in these words: May you, sister, become the mother of millions! May your descendants conquer the cities of their enemies!
Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you will have to work for me another seven years.
He told his father: I want you to get Dinah for me as my wife. Jacob learned that his daughter had been disgraced. Since his sons were out in the fields with his livestock, he did nothing until they came back. read more. Shechem's father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob.
If a wild animal killed the neighbor's animal he must bring in the dead body of the wild animal as evidence. He does not have to make up for an animal that has been killed.
You might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might commit spiritual immorality (fornication) with their gods and cause your sons also to commit spiritual immorality with their gods.
The man who has sex with her must give to the girl's father fifty shekels of silver, and she will become his wife because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.
When brothers live together and one of them dies without a son the wife of the deceased shall not marry outside the family to a strange man. Her husband's brother shall marry her and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. The firstborn son she bears will assume the name of the dead brother. That way his name will not be blotted out from Israel. read more. If the man does not desire to take his brother's wife, his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say: My husband's brother refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel. He is not willing to perform the duty of a husband's brother to me. The elders of his city must summon him and speak to him. If he persists and says: I do not desire to take her, his brother's wife shall must to him in the sight of the elders. She will pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. Then she will declare: It is done to the man who does not build up his brother's house. His name in Israel will be: 'The house of him whose sandal is removed.'
He went home and told his father and mother: A Philistine woman at Timnah caught my attention. Get her for me. I want to marry her. His father and mother asked him: Why do you go to those heathen Philistines to get a wife? Can you not find someone in our own family or among all our people? Samson told his father: I like her! She is the one I want. Get her for me.
The Philistines saw him. They sent thirty companions to stay with him.
He said: Out of the eater came something to eat; Out of the strong came something sweet. Three days later they still could not figure out the riddle.
She cried about it for the whole seven days of the feast. She nagged him so that on the seventh day he told her what the riddle meant. Then she told the Philistines. On the seventh day, before Samson went into the bedroom, the men of the city said to him: What could be sweeter than honey? What could be stronger than a lion? Samson replied: If you had not been plowing with my cow, you would not know the answer now.
The leaders and the others said: Yes, we are witnesses. May Jehovah make your wife become like Rachel and Leah, who bore many children to Jacob. May you become rich in the clan of Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem. May your family be like the family of Perez, the son whom Tamar gave to Judah, from the offspring that Jehovah may give you by this young woman.
Kings' daughters are among your noble ladies. At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.
She will be led to the King in embroidered work. The virgins, her companions who follow her, will be brought to you.
She is unfaithful to her own husband and forgets her sacred vows to God.
I am lovely and black, O you daughters of Jerusalem. I am like the tents of Kedar and the curtains of Solomon.
I charge you, O you daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles, and by the deer of the field: Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases.
I charge you, O you daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and by the deer of the field, that you do not stir nor awake my love, till he pleases.
Go forth, O you daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown that his mother crowned him with in the day of his wedding, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.
(The Beloved) I came to my garden, my sister, my spouse. I gathered my myrrh with my spice. I ate my honeycomb with my honey and drank my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends; drink, yes, drink abundantly, O beloved.
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, do not stir me up or awake my love until he pleases.
(The Beloved) You who dwell in the gardens, the companions listen to your voice. Cause me to hear it.
I will rejoice greatly in Jehovah. I will exult in my God for he has clothed me with garments of salvation. He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
You ask: Why do you not accept our offerings? It is because Jehovah is a witness between you and the wife of your youth. The one to whom you have been unfaithful! She is your companion, the wife of your marriage vows.
However, I tell you that whoever looks at a woman with lustful thoughts commits adultery with her in his heart.
I say to you that everyone divorcing his wife, except for the reason of fornication, makes her liable to commit adultery. And if she marries again, the man she marries also commits adultery.
The disciples of John asked: Why do your disciples not fast? They frequently fasted, and so did the Pharisees.
Pharisees came to him. They tested him, asking: Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason? He answered: Have you not read, that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female? read more. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. The two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What God has joined together, let no man pull apart (separate)!
I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery. And he who marries her when she is divorced, commits adultery.
That same day, Sadducees came to him. They believe there is no resurrection. They asked him a question. Teacher, Moses said if a man dies having no children, his brother should marry his wife, and bring up seed for his brother. read more. There were seven brothers. The first married and died, and having no children, left his wife to his brother. The same happened to the second, right on through the seventh.
The wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry whom she wishes, only in the Lord.
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, and Christ also is the head of the congregation, he being the savior of the body.
For the husband is the head of the wife, and Christ also is the head of the congregation, he being the savior of the body. The congregation is subject to Christ. Likewise let the wives also be to their husbands in everything. read more. Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the congregation and gave himself up for it. This is so he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word. So he will be able to present the congregation to himself as a glorious congregation, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. It should be holy and without blemish. In this way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He that loves his own wife loves himself. No man ever hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ also does the congregation. And we are members of his body! For this reason a man will leave his father and mother, and will stick (adhere) (cleave) (be joined) to his wife. The two will become one flesh. This secret is great! I speak with regard to Christ and of the congregation. Each one of you should love his own wife even as himself. The wife should respect her husband.
They will forbid marrying, [and command] to abstain from food, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
For the grace (divine influence) of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present age (world) (period of time).
Let marriage be honorable among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled: for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.
But the fearful and unbelieving, abominable and murderers, fornicators and those practicing spiritism, idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur: which is the second death.
Easton
was instituted in Paradise when man was in innocence (Ge 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 (Mt 19:4-5). It is evident that monogamy was the original law of marriage (Mt 19:5; 1Co 6:16). This law was violated in after times, when corrupt usages began to be introduced (Ge 4:19; 6:2). We meet with the prevalence of polygamy and concubinage in the patriarchal age (Ge 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 (Ge 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 (Ge 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 (Ge 31:15; 34:12; Ex 22:16-17; 1Sa 18:23,25; Ru 4:10; Ho 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 (Ge 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 (Ge 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 (Mt 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; 1Pe 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 (1Ti 4:3).
The marriage relation is used to represent the union between God and his people (Isa 54:5; Jer 3:1-14; Ho 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" (Re 19:7-9).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Jehovah God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. Then Jehovah God formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to let him name them. Whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. read more. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But no suitable helper was found for Adam. Jehovah God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then Jehovah made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man. He brought her to the man. The man said: This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called 'Woman.' This is because she was taken out of Man. This is the reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. They will become one flesh.
Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.
The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful. They married any of them they chose.
Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar. She said to Abram: Jehovah has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my maidservant. Perhaps I can build a family through her. Abram agreed to what Sarai said. read more. After Abram lived in Canaan ten years, Sarai, his wife, gave her Egyptian maidservant Hagar to her husband to be his wife. Abram had intercourse with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
Uz was their firstborn. Buz was next. Then there was Kemuel who became the father of Aram. Their other five sons were Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. read more. Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These are the eight children Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. His concubine, Reumah, also bore Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah.
I want you to swear by Jehovah God of heaven and earth that you will not get my son a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am living.
Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go. Let her be the wife of your master's son, as Jehovah has spoken.
He went out in the early evening to take a walk in the fields. He saw camels coming. Rebecca saw Isaac and she got down from her camel read more. She asked Abraham's servant: Who is that man walking toward us in the field? He is my master, the servant answered. So she took her veil (scarf) and covered her face. The servant told Isaac everything he had done. Isaac brought Rebecca into the tent that his mother Sarah had lived in. She became his wife. Isaac loved Rebecca. He was comforted for the loss of his mother.
It was clear to Esau that his father despised the local Canaanite women. So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath, the daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.
Laban gathered all the men of the place and gave a feast. In the evening when it was dark, he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him. Jacob slept with her. read more. Laban gave Zilpah, his servant-girl, to Leah, to be her maid. What have you done to me? Jacob asked Laban: Did I work for you in return for Rachel? Why did you cheat me? Laban answered: It is not our custom to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you will have to work for me another seven years.
Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you will have to work for me another seven years. Jacob did that. He finished the week with Leah. Then Laban gave his daughter Rachel to him as his wife. read more. Laban gave his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. Jacob slept with Rachel too. He loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.
Are we not accounted as foreigners by him? He sold us and also utterly consumed the price paid for us.
Shechem added: Let me have your favor and I will give you whatever you want. Ask anything as the bride price, no matter how expensive. I will do anything. Just let me marry Dinah.
For his first son Er, Judah got a wife whose name was Tamar.
Moses was content to live with the man. He gave Moses his daughter Zipporah.
When a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to anyone and has sexual intercourse with her, he must pay the bride price and marry her. If her father refuses to give her to him, he must pay an amount of money equal to the bride price for virgins.
In addition, Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon's widow, becomes my wife. This will keep the property in the dead man's family, and his family line will continue among his people in his hometown. Today you are witnesses to this.
For your Maker is your husband. Jehovah of Hosts is his name! The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. He is called the God of all the earth.
It is said: If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, her first husband should not go back to her again. The land would become completely polluted. You have behaved like a prostitute who has many lovers. Now you want to come back to me! Says Jehovah. Lift up your eyes to the bare hills and see. You have had sex with men in every place. You sat by the roadside waiting for them like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled (corrupted) (profaned) the land with your prostitution and wickedness. read more. Accordingly the rain has been withheld, and there have been no spring showers. Yet, you have the unashamed (conspicuous) (impudent) look of a prostitute, and you refuse to be ashamed. Now you call to me. You say, 'Father!' You have been my friend ever since I was young. Will you hold a grudge forever? Will you always be angry? You have said and done all the evil things that you could. During the reign of King Josiah, Jehovah asked me: Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She went up every high mountain and under every large tree, and she acted like a prostitute there. I thought that after she had done all this she would come back to me. But she did not come back, and her treacherous (unstable) (unreliable) (false) sister Judah saw her. Judah saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away because of her adultery and that I gave Israel her divorce papers. But treacherous Judah, her sister, was not afraid. She also acted like a prostitute. Because she was not concerned about her prostitution. She polluted the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. Even after all this, Israel's treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart. She was deceitful, says Jehovah. Jehovah said to me: Treacherous Judah was more reprehensible than unfaithful Israel. Go and proclaim this message to the north: 'Come back, unfaithful Israel. It is Jehovah speaking. I will no longer frown on you because I am merciful,' declares Jehovah. 'I will no longer be angry with you. Admit that you have done wrong! You have rebelled against Jehovah your God. You have given yourself to foreign gods under every large tree. You have not obeyed me,' says Jehovah. Return, you disobedient people, proclaims Jehovah. I am your husband. I will take you, one from every city and two from every family, and bring you to Zion.'
Therefore I will take back my grain at that time, and my new wine in the season. I will pluck away my wool and my flax that should have covered her nakedness.
I will even engage you to me in faithfulness. Then you will know Jehovah.
So I bought her for fifteen pieces of silver, and a homer of barley, and a half-homer of barley.
He answered: Have you not read, that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female? For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. The two shall become one flesh.
For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. The two shall become one flesh.
That same day, Sadducees came to him. They believe there is no resurrection. They asked him a question. Teacher, Moses said if a man dies having no children, his brother should marry his wife, and bring up seed for his brother. read more. There were seven brothers. The first married and died, and having no children, left his wife to his brother. The same happened to the second, right on through the seventh. After that the woman died. In the resurrection, with which of the seven will she be married? All seven had her. Jesus answered: You are mistaken! You do not know the scriptures or the power of God. In the resurrection they will not marry nor be given in marriage. They will be like the angels in heaven.
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, and Christ also is the head of the congregation, he being the savior of the body. read more. The congregation is subject to Christ. Likewise let the wives also be to their husbands in everything. Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the congregation and gave himself up for it.
Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the congregation and gave himself up for it. This is so he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word.
This is so he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word. So he will be able to present the congregation to himself as a glorious congregation, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. It should be holy and without blemish.
So he will be able to present the congregation to himself as a glorious congregation, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. It should be holy and without blemish. In this way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He that loves his own wife loves himself. read more. No man ever hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ also does the congregation. And we are members of his body! For this reason a man will leave his father and mother, and will stick (adhere) (cleave) (be joined) to his wife. The two will become one flesh. This secret is great! I speak with regard to Christ and of the congregation. Each one of you should love his own wife even as himself. The wife should respect her husband.
Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.
They will forbid marrying, [and command] to abstain from food, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
Let marriage be honorable among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled: for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.
Let us be glad, rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife made herself ready. It was granted to her that she dress in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the holy ones. read more. He said to me: Write: Blessed are they who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. He said to me: These are the true sayings of God.
Fausets
(See ADAM) The charter of marriage is Ge 2:24, reproduced by our Lord with greater distinctness in Mt 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 Ge 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, Eph 5:31; Mr 10:5-9; 1Co 6:16; 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 (Ro 6:5). He is her Head, as the husband is of the wife (1Co 11:3; 15:45). Death severs bridegroom and bride, but cannot separate Christ and His bride (Mt 19:6; Joh 10:28-29; 13:1; Ro 8:35-39).
In Eph 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 Ge 2:24 refers to literal marriage. Transl. Eph 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 (Joh 12:24; 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 6:13; Re 2:17; 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 (Lu 2:48-49; 8:19-21; 11:27-28). He shall again leave His Father's abode to consummate the union (Mt 25:1-10; Re 19:7). Marriage is the general rule laid down for most men, as not having continency (1Co 7:2,5, etc.). The existing "distress" (1Co 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 (Mt 5:32; 19:9; Ro 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.(1Co 11:8-9; 1Ti 2:13-15.) (See ADAM.) 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 (1Pe 3:1-7; 1Co 14:34-35). Polygamy began with the Cainites. (See LAMECH; DIVORCE; CONCUBINE.) The jealousies of Abraham's (Ge 16:6) and Elkanah's wives illustrate the evils of polygamy. Scripture commends monogamy (Ps 128:3; Pr 5:18; 18:22; 19:14; 31:10-29; Ec 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 (1Ti 3:2,12; 5:9; Lu 2:36-37; 1Co 7:40); the reverse in the case of young widows (1Ti 5:14). Marriage is honorable; but fornication, which among the Gentiles was considered indifferent, is stigmatized (Heb 13:4; Ac 15:20). Marriage of Israelites with Canaanites was forbidden, lest it should lead God's people into idolatry (Ex 34:16; De 7:3-4). In Le 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 (Ge 38:8; Mt 22:25). The high priest must marry only an Israelite virgin (Le 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; Ge 21:21; 38:6). The parents' consent was asked first, then that of the bride (Ge 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" (Joh 3:29). She was regarded as his wife, so that faithlessness was punished with death (De 22:23-24); the bridegroom having the option of putting her away by a bill of divorcement (De 24:1; Mt 1:19).
No formal religious ceremony attended the wedding; but a blessing was pronounced, and a "covenant of God" entered into (Eze 16:8; Mal 2:14; Pr 2:17; Ge 24:60; Ru 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; Isa 61:10, "ornaments," rather (peer) "a magnificent headdress" like that of the high priest, appropriate to the "kingdom of priests" (Ex 19:6); the bride wore "jewels" or "ornaments" in general, trousseau. He had a nuptial garland or crown (Song 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 3:6). The bride took a preparatory bath (Eze 23:40). This is the allusion in Eph 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 (Ge 24:65; 29:23); the symbol of her subjection to her husband's power, therefore called "power on her head" (1Co 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 (Jer 2:32). Also a gilded or gold "crown" or chaplet (kullah), a white robe sometimes embroidered with gold thread (Re 19:8; Ps 45:13-14) and jewels (Isa 61:10). Late in the evening the bridegroom came with his groomsmen ("companions," Jg 14:11; "children of the bridechamber," Mt 9:15), singers and torch or lamp bearers leading the way (Jer 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 (Mt 25:6; 22:1-11; Joh 2:2; Ps 45:15). The women of the place flocked out to gaze. The nuptial song was sung; hence in Ps 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 (Joh 3:29). Song 3:11; the feast lasted for seven or even 14 days, and was enlivened by riddles, etc. (Jg 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 "puri
See Verses Found in Dictionary
This is the reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. They will become one flesh.
This is the reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. They will become one flesh.
This is the reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. They will become one flesh.
When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman.
Your servant is in your hands, Abram said. Do with her whatever you think best. Then Sarai mistreated Hagar. So she ran away from her.
He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
The girl was a very attractive virgin. No man had ever had sexual intercourse with her. She went to the spring and filled her jar, and came back.
They called Rebecca and asked: Do you want to go with this man? Yes, she answered.
They gave Rebecca their blessing in these words: May you, sister, become the mother of millions! May your descendants conquer the cities of their enemies!
She asked Abraham's servant: Who is that man walking toward us in the field? He is my master, the servant answered. So she took her veil (scarf) and covered her face.
She asked Abraham's servant: Who is that man walking toward us in the field? He is my master, the servant answered. So she took her veil (scarf) and covered her face.
In the evening when it was dark, he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him. Jacob slept with her.
For his first son Er, Judah got a wife whose name was Tamar.
Then Judah said to Er's brother Onan: Go sleep with your brother's widow. Fulfill your obligation to her as her husband's brother. That way your brother may have descendants.
The prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women, danced with tambourines, and followed her.
You will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation. These are the words you must speak to the children of Israel.'
You might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might commit spiritual immorality (fornication) with their gods and cause your sons also to commit spiritual immorality with their gods.
While your wife is living, never marry her sister as a rival wife and have sexual intercourse with her.
The anointed priest should marry a virgin. He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, a woman who has lost her virginity, or a prostitute. He may only marry a virgin from his own people.
Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. They will lead your young people away from me to serve other gods. So the anger of Jehovah will be kindled against you and will destroy you suddenly.
Is there anyone here engaged to be married? If so, he should go home. Otherwise, if he is killed in battle, someone else will marry the woman he is engaged to.
Suppose there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man has sexual relations with her. You must bring them both out to the gate of that city and you must stone them to death! The girl did not protest what was happening and the man has violated his neighbor's woman. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.
When a man marries a woman and later decides he does not love her because he found something he does not like about her he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house.
A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or charged with any duty. He shall be free at home one year and shall give happiness to the wife he has married.
The Philistines saw him. They sent thirty companions to stay with him. Samson said to them: Let me tell you a riddle. If you can tell me the meaning before the seven days of the wedding feast are over, I will give each of you a piece of fine linen and a change of fine clothes. Tell us your riddle, they said: Let us hear it.
The leaders and the others said: Yes, we are witnesses. May Jehovah make your wife become like Rachel and Leah, who bore many children to Jacob. May you become rich in the clan of Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem. May your family be like the family of Perez, the son whom Tamar gave to Judah, from the offspring that Jehovah may give you by this young woman.
One of Nabal's servants told Nabal's wife Abigail: Have you heard? David sent some messengers from the wilderness with greetings for our master. He insulted them. Yet they were very good to us. They never bothered us. Nothing belonging to us was stolen at the time we were with them in the fields. read more. They protected our sheep and us day and night the whole time we were with them. Consider what you should do because our master and his whole household are doomed. He is such a worthless man that it is useless to talk to him. So Abigail quickly took two hundred loaves of bread, two full wineskins, five butchered sheep, a bushel of roasted grain, one hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred fig cakes and loaded them on donkeys. Lead the way, she told her young men, and I will follow you. But she did not tell her husband Nabal about it. She rode her donkey down a hidden mountain path. David and his men came to her. David thought: I guarded this man's possessions in the desert for nothing! Not one of his possessions was missing. Yet, he paid me back with evil when I was good to him. May God punish me if I do not kill every one of those men before morning! Abigail saw David and quickly got down from her donkey. She immediately bowed down in front of David with her face touching the ground. She fell at his feet and said: Let me be held responsible for this wrong. Please let me speak with you. Please listen to me. You should not take this worthless person Nabal seriously. He is like his name. His name is Nabal (Godless Fool). He is foolish. But I did not see the young men you sent.
The King's daughter is all glorious within. Her clothing is interwoven with gold. She will be led to the King in embroidered work. The virgins, her companions who follow her, will be brought to you. read more. They will come forward with gladness and rejoicing. They will enter into the King's palace.
Fire consumed his best young men, so his virgins were not given in marriage.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine inside your home. Your children will be like young olive trees around your table.
She is unfaithful to her own husband and forgets her sacred vows to God.
Let your fountain be blessed. Rejoice with the wife of your youth.
The man who finds a wife finds a good thing. He obtains favor from Jehovah.
A foolish son is a disgrace to his father. A contentious wife is like drips from a leaky roof. Real estate and riches are the inheritance of fathers. A prudent (wise) (sensible) wife is from Jehovah.
It is better to dwell on the corner of the roof than to share the house with a contentious (combative) woman.
It is better to dwell alone in the wilderness than with an angry contentious (quarreling and angry) woman.
Continual dripping on a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.
Who can find a virtuous woman? For her value is far above corals.
Who can find a virtuous woman? For her value is far above corals. The heart of her husband safely trusts her. He will have no lack of gain.
The heart of her husband safely trusts her. He will have no lack of gain. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeks wool, and flax, and works willingly with her hands.
She seeks wool, and flax, and works willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships for she brings her food from afar.
She is like the merchants' ships for she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considers a field and buys it. With the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
She considers a field and buys it. With the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She fortifies herself with strength and strengthens her arms.
She fortifies herself with strength and strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise is good. Her candle does not go out at night.
She perceives that her merchandise is good. Her candle does not go out at night. She stretches her hands to the spindle and her hands hold the distaff.
She stretches her hands to the spindle and her hands hold the distaff. She stretches out her hand to the poor. Yes, she reaches forth her hands to the needy.
She stretches out her hand to the poor. Yes, she reaches forth her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household. All her household is clothed with scarlet.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household. All her household is clothed with scarlet. She makes herself coverings of tapestry. Her clothing is silk and purple.
She makes herself coverings of tapestry. Her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.
Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes fine linen and sells it. She supplies sashes for the merchants.
She makes fine linen and sells it. She supplies sashes for the merchants. Strength and honor are her clothing. She will rejoice in time to come.
Strength and honor are her clothing. She will rejoice in time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness (she speaks kind things).
She opens her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness (she speaks kind things). She watches over her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.
She watches over her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her.
Her children arise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her. Many daughters have done well, but you are above them all.
Many daughters have done well, but you are above them all. Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain. But a woman who respects Jehovah will be praised. read more. Give her of the fruit of her hands. Let her own works praise her in the gates.
Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of the life he has given you under the sun, all the days of your vanity. That is your share in this life and in your labor under the sun.
Who is this that comes out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?
Go forth, O you daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown that his mother crowned him with in the day of his wedding, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.
Go forth, O you daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown that his mother crowned him with in the day of his wedding, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.
(Beloved and his Friends) Return, return, O Shulamite return, return, that we may look at you. (The Shulamite) What will you see in the Shulamite? It was the company of two camps.
How the faithful town has become a prostitute! She was full of justice, and righteousness lived in her. But now murderers live there!
For your Maker is your husband. Jehovah of Hosts is his name! The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. He is called the God of all the earth.
I will rejoice greatly in Jehovah. I will exult in my God for he has clothed me with garments of salvation. He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
I will rejoice greatly in Jehovah. I will exult in my God for he has clothed me with garments of salvation. He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
You will no longer be called Deserted, and your land will no longer be called Destroyed. You will be named My Delight. Your land will be named Married (owned as a wife). Jehovah is delighted with you, and your land will be married. Your sons will marry you like a young man marries a woman. Your God will rejoice over the same way a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.
Long ago you broke off your yoke, tore off your bonds, and said that you would not be a slave. You lay down and acted like a prostitute on every high hill and under every large tree.
A young woman cannot forget her jewelry or a bride her breastband (sash) (girdle). Yet, my people have forgotten me for countless days.
It is said: If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, her first husband should not go back to her again. The land would become completely polluted. You have behaved like a prostitute who has many lovers. Now you want to come back to me! Says Jehovah.
During the reign of King Josiah, Jehovah asked me: Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She went up every high mountain and under every large tree, and she acted like a prostitute there.
Judah saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away because of her adultery and that I gave Israel her divorce papers. But treacherous Judah, her sister, was not afraid. She also acted like a prostitute.
Return, you disobedient people, proclaims Jehovah. I am your husband. I will take you, one from every city and two from every family, and bring you to Zion.'
I will take from them the sounds of joy and happiness, the sounds of brides and grooms, the sound of mills, and the light of lamps.
Then I passed by you and saw that you were at the time for love. So I spread my skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became mine, declares the Lord Jehovah.
Furthermore, they have even sent for men who come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent. They came and you bathed, painted your eyes and decorated yourselves with ornaments for them.
I will engage you to me for a very long time! Yes I will engage you to me in righteousness, and in justice, and in loving kindness, and in mercies.
You ask: Why do you not accept our offerings? It is because Jehovah is a witness between you and the wife of your youth. The one to whom you have been unfaithful! She is your companion, the wife of your marriage vows.
Her husband Joseph was an honorable man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. So he decided to break the marriage agreement with her secretly.
I say to you that everyone divorcing his wife, except for the reason of fornication, makes her liable to commit adultery. And if she marries again, the man she marries also commits adultery.
Jesus replied: Should the wedding guests mourn and also celebrate with the groom? The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.
He answered: Have you not read, that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female? For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. The two shall become one flesh. read more. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What God has joined together, let no man pull apart (separate)!
I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery. And he who marries her when she is divorced, commits adultery.
Jesus continued to speak to them with illustrations. The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.
The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He sent out his servants to invite guests to the feast, but they would not come.
He sent out his servants to invite guests to the feast, but they would not come. Again he sent out other servants with orders to say to the guests, 'I have prepared my feast. Oxen and fat livestock are butchered and everything is ready, so come to the feast.'
Again he sent out other servants with orders to say to the guests, 'I have prepared my feast. Oxen and fat livestock are butchered and everything is ready, so come to the feast.' But they paid no attention and went about their business. One went to his farm and another went to his trade.
But they paid no attention and went about their business. One went to his farm and another went to his trade. The rest violently attacked his servants and put them to death.
The rest violently attacked his servants and put them to death. The king was angry, and sent his armies to put the evil servants to death and to destroy their town with fire.
The king was angry, and sent his armies to put the evil servants to death and to destroy their town with fire. He said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but the guests were not worthy.
He said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but the guests were not worthy. Go then, to the main roads, and invite all those whom you see to come to the feast.'
Go then, to the main roads, and invite all those whom you see to come to the feast.' They went to the roads and brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike. And the banquet room was filled with guests.
They went to the roads and brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike. And the banquet room was filled with guests. When the king met the guests he found that one of them was not wearing the right kind of clothes for the wedding.
When the king met the guests he found that one of them was not wearing the right kind of clothes for the wedding. The king asked why did he not wear proper clothes for the wedding? But the guest had no excuse. read more. The king gave orders for that person to be tied hand and foot and thrown outside into the dark. That is where people will cry and grind their teeth in pain. Many are called, but few chosen.
There were seven brothers. The first married and died, and having no children, left his wife to his brother.
The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. read more. The foolish took no oil with their lamps. The wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. They all slept, because the bridegroom delayed his arrival. There was a shout at midnight. 'Here is the bridegroom! Come meet him.'
There was a shout at midnight. 'Here is the bridegroom! Come meet him.' The virgins awoke and trimmed their lamps. read more. All the foolish virgins said to the wise: 'Give us your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered: 'There will not be enough for both of us. Go to the dealers and buy oil for yourself.' While they were away, the bridegroom came. They that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast and the door was shut.
(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat until they wash their hands. They practice the tradition of the elders.)
He wrote this commandment because of your hard hearts, Jesus replied. God made male and female from the beginning of creation. read more. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife. The two shall become one flesh. They are no longer two, but one flesh. That which God has joined together let not man take apart (separate).
Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher was a very old prophetess. She had been a widow eighty-four years. She never left the temple. She worshipped and fasted with supplications day and night.
When they saw him they were astonished. His mother said to him: Son, why did you treat us this way? Your father and I have searched for you and we have been worried. He said: Why did you look for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?
His mother and brother tried to come to him but could not because of the crowd. They told him: Your mother and your brothers are near. They wish to see you. read more. He answered, My mother and my brother are these who hear the word of God, and do it.
As he was talking a woman out of the crowd shouted: Blessed is the woman who bore you and nursed you. He replied: More blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.
Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the marriage feast.
Jesus said to them: Fill the jars with water. They filled them to the brim.
He that has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens to him. He rejoices greatly because he hears the bridegroom's voice. This fills me with joy.
He that has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens to him. He rejoices greatly because he hears the bridegroom's voice. This fills me with joy.
I give them eternal life. They will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father has given them to me. He is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
Truly I tell you unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies it bears much fruit.
Jesus knew before the feast of the Passover that the time had come for him to leave this world and return to his Father. He loved his own who were in the world to the very end.
The soldier with the spear pierced his side and suddenly blood and water came out. He who saw testified and his testimony is true. He knows and he speaks truth that you also may believe.
We should write to them that they should abstain from things polluted by idols, from fornication, from things strangled and from blood.
If we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be in the likeness of his resurrection.
So then if, while the husband lives, she is joined to another man, she will be called an adulteress. If the husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress, though she is joined to another man.
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? It is written: For your sake we are put to death all day long. We are considered as sheep for the slaughter. (Psalm 44:22) read more. In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians 6:12)
Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent for a time. That way you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer. Then come together again, that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Because of the present distress I think it is good for you to remain as you are.
I would have you know, that the head (authority) of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
For the man is not from the woman; but the woman is from the man. Neither was man created for woman but woman for man. read more. That is why the woman should have a sign of authority on her head because of the angels.
Thus it is written: The first man Adam was made a living being. The last Adam became a life giving spirit!
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, and Christ also is the head of the congregation, he being the savior of the body. read more. The congregation is subject to Christ. Likewise let the wives also be to their husbands in everything. Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the congregation and gave himself up for it. This is so he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word.
This is so he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word. So he will be able to present the congregation to himself as a glorious congregation, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. It should be holy and without blemish.
So he will be able to present the congregation to himself as a glorious congregation, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. It should be holy and without blemish. In this way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He that loves his own wife loves himself. read more. No man ever hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ also does the congregation. And we are members of his body!
And we are members of his body! For this reason a man will leave his father and mother, and will stick (adhere) (cleave) (be joined) to his wife. The two will become one flesh.
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother, and will stick (adhere) (cleave) (be joined) to his wife. The two will become one flesh. This secret is great! I speak with regard to Christ and of the congregation.
This secret is great! I speak with regard to Christ and of the congregation. Each one of you should love his own wife even as himself. The wife should respect her husband.
Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.
The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate in habits, sound in mind, orderly, hospitable, qualified to teach;
Let servants be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.
Let a widow be put on the list if she is under sixty years old, having been the wife of one man,
I desire therefore that the younger widows marry, bear children, rule the household, and give no occasion to the adversary for reviling.
They may train the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sober minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that the word of God will not be (defamed) dishonored.
Look for the blessed hope and appearance of the glory of the great God. And look for our Savior, Jesus Christ. He (Jesus Christ) gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify a people for himself, who are special people, zealous for good works. read more. Speak and exhort and reprove these things with all authority. Let no man despise you.
Let marriage be honorable among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled: for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.
In like manner, you wives, be in subjection to your own husbands. Even if your husband does not obey God's word, he may be won without a word by observing the way you live. Your husband could see your chaste behavior coupled with respect (reverence). read more. Your appearance should not come from the outward adornment, things like braiding the hair, and wearing jewels of gold, or wearing fine apparel. Let your appearance be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible apparel of a meek and quiet spirit. This is of great value in the sight of God. The holy women of old, who hoped in God, adorned themselves this way, being submissive to their own husbands. Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. You are her children now, if you do what is right and are not fearful. In the same way, you husbands live with your wives in an understanding way. Honor the woman as the weaker vessel. For you are joint-heirs of the grace of life. May your prayers not be hindered (cut-off) (blocked).
He who can hear should listen to what the Spirit says to the congregations! To those who overcome in victory I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give each of them a white stone on which is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.'
I will make the one who overcomes, a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will not go out from it anymore. I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is the New Jerusalem. This city comes down out of heaven from my God. I will write my new name on him.
One of the seven angels who had one of the seven bowls spoke to me. He said: Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. read more. So he carried me away in spirit to the wilderness. I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast. The beast was full of names of blasphemy. It had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet. She was adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She had a golden cup in her hand. It was full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. A name was written on her forehead, a mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth.
The ten horns that you saw on the beast will hate the harlot, and will make her desolate and naked. They will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God put in their hearts the desire to carry out his purpose, and to agree, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. read more. The woman you saw is that great city that reigns over the kings of the earth.
Let us be glad, rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife made herself ready.
Let us be glad, rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife made herself ready. It was granted to her that she dress in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the holy ones.
Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
One of the seven angels came to me. He had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues. He said: Come here, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife.
The Spirit and the bride say: Come And let him who hears say: Come. And let him who is thirsty come. And whoever will, let him drink the water of life freely.
Hastings
MARRIAGE
1. Forms of Marriage.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Jehovah God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.
The man said: This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called 'Woman.' This is because she was taken out of Man. This is the reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. They will become one flesh.
This is the reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. They will become one flesh.
He said to the woman: I will greatly increase your pains in childbirth; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.
Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.
Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah.
She said to Abram: Jehovah has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my maidservant. Perhaps I can build a family through her. Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
Abram had intercourse with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
Besides, she is my sister. She is my father's daughter, but not my mother's. She is also my wife.
She said to Abraham: Get rid of that slave woman and her son.
Early the next morning Abraham took bread and a container of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder. He also gave her the boy and sent her on her way. So she left and wandered around in the desert near Beer-sheba.
He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
I want you to swear by Jehovah God of heaven and earth that you will not get my son a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am living. Instead, you will go to the land of my relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.
You will be free from this oath if the woman is not willing to follow you. Only do not take my son back there.
Rebecca's brother was named Laban. He ran outside to go to the well where Abraham's servant was.
The servant took out gold and silver jewelry and clothes and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother.
The servant took out gold and silver jewelry and clothes and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother.
They called Rebecca and asked: Do you want to go with this man? Yes, she answered.
They gave Rebecca their blessing in these words: May you, sister, become the mother of millions! May your descendants conquer the cities of their enemies! Rebecca and her young women got ready. They mounted the camels to go with Abraham's servant, and they all started out.
He went out in the early evening to take a walk in the fields. He saw camels coming. Rebecca saw Isaac and she got down from her camel read more. She asked Abraham's servant: Who is that man walking toward us in the field? He is my master, the servant answered. So she took her veil (scarf) and covered her face.
She asked Abraham's servant: Who is that man walking toward us in the field? He is my master, the servant answered. So she took her veil (scarf) and covered her face. The servant told Isaac everything he had done. read more. Isaac brought Rebecca into the tent that his mother Sarah had lived in. She became his wife. Isaac loved Rebecca. He was comforted for the loss of his mother.
Isaac brought Rebecca into the tent that his mother Sarah had lived in. She became his wife. Isaac loved Rebecca. He was comforted for the loss of his mother.
When Esau was forty he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
When Esau was forty he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
Rebekah said to Isaac: I cannot stand Hittite women! I would rather die than see Jacob marry one of them.
Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and told him: Do not marry a Canaanite.
Jacob saw Rachel, daughter of his uncle Laban, with his uncle Laban's sheep. He came forward and rolled the stone off the opening of the well and watered his uncle Laban's sheep.
Jacob said to Laban: Give me my wife for the time is completed. I want to marry Rachel now! Laban gathered all the men of the place and gave a feast.
Laban gathered all the men of the place and gave a feast. In the evening when it was dark, he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him. Jacob slept with her.
In the evening when it was dark, he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him. Jacob slept with her. Laban gave Zilpah, his servant-girl, to Leah, to be her maid.
Laban gave Zilpah, his servant-girl, to Leah, to be her maid. What have you done to me? Jacob asked Laban: Did I work for you in return for Rachel? Why did you cheat me? read more. Laban answered: It is not our custom to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you will have to work for me another seven years.
Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you will have to work for me another seven years.
Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you will have to work for me another seven years. Jacob did that. He finished the week with Leah. Then Laban gave his daughter Rachel to him as his wife. read more. Laban gave his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. Jacob slept with Rachel too. He loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.
Rachel had not borne Jacob any children. As a result, she became jealous of her sister and said to Jacob: Give me children, or I will die. Jacob became angry with Rachel. He said: I cannot take the place of God. He is the one who keeps you from having children. read more. She said: Here is my maid Bilhah. Sleep with her, so that she can have a child for me. This way I can become a mother through her. Then Rachel let Jacob marry Bilhah. Jacob slept with Bilhah.
Jacob answered Laban: I was afraid you might take your daughters from me by force.
If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, out of respect for Isaac, had not been with me, you would have sent me away empty-handed by now. God has seen my misery and hard work. Last night he made it right!
He found the young woman so attractive that he fell in love with her. So he tried to win her affection. He told his father: I want you to get Dinah for me as my wife.
Ask anything as the bride price, no matter how expensive. I will do anything. Just let me marry Dinah.
Ask anything as the bride price, no matter how expensive. I will do anything. Just let me marry Dinah.
But we will let you marry her, if you and the other men in your tribe get circumcised.
Three days later the men who had been circumcised were still weak from pain. So Simeon and Levi, two of Dinah's brothers, attacked with their swords and killed every man in town.
While Israel lived in that region, Reuben went to bed with his father's concubine Bilhah. Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons.
Onan knew that the children would not belong to him. So when he had intercourse with his brother's widow, he let the semen spill on the ground, assuring that there would be no children for his brother.
Three months later Judah was told: Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant. Judah said: Bring her out and have her burned to death!
Pharaoh named Joseph, Zaphenath-paneah. He gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt.
Jacob went on to say: Joseph, your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh were born in Egypt. But I accept them as my own, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
You are like a raging flood. But you will not be the most important, for you slept with my concubine. You dishonored your father's bed.
Moses was content to live with the man. He gave Moses his daughter Zipporah.
Moses was content to live with the man. He gave Moses his daughter Zipporah.
Moses departed and returned to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him: Please, let me go, that I may return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive. Jethro said to Moses: Go in peace.
Amram married his father's sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived one hundred and thirty-seven years.
If a man takes a second wife, he must continue to give his first wife the same amount of food and clothing and the same rights that she had before.
When a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to anyone and has sexual intercourse with her, he must pay the bride price and marry her.
Never allow a witch to live.
You might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might commit spiritual immorality (fornication) with their gods and cause your sons also to commit spiritual immorality with their gods.
especially your own mother. This would disgrace your father. Do not disgrace him by having sex with any of his other wives.
Do not disgrace him by having sex with any of his other wives. Never have sexual intercourse with your stepsister, whether she is your father's daughter or your mother's daughter. It makes no difference whether or not she was born in your house. read more. Do not have sexual intercourse with your granddaughter, whether she is your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter, because she is related to you. Never have sexual intercourse with a daughter of your father and his wife. She is your own sister. Do not have sexual intercourse with your father's sister. She is your paternal aunt. Do not have sexual intercourse with your mother's sister. She is your maternal aunt.
Do not have sexual intercourse with your mother's sister. She is your maternal aunt. Never have sexual intercourse with the wife of your father's brother. She, too, is your aunt. read more. Never have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife. Never have sexual intercourse with her. Do not have sexual intercourse with your sister-in-law. She is your brother's wife. Do not have sexual intercourse with a woman and her daughter or a woman and her granddaughter. They are related. Doing this is perverted.
If a man commits adultery with the wife of an Israelite, both he and the woman should be put to death. A man who has intercourse with one of his father's wives disgraces his father. Both he and the woman must be put to death. They are responsible for their own death.
Never marry prostitutes, those who have lost their virginity, or divorced women because a priest is God's holy man.
Never marry prostitutes, those who have lost their virginity, or divorced women because a priest is God's holy man.
When a priest's daughter dishonors herself by becoming a prostitute, she dishonors her father. She must be burned.
The anointed priest should marry a virgin. He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, a woman who has lost her virginity, or a prostitute. He may only marry a virgin from his own people.
He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, a woman who has lost her virginity, or a prostitute. He may only marry a virgin from his own people.
A widowed or divorced daughter who has no children and who has returned to live in her father's house as a dependent may eat the food her father receives as a priest. Only a member of a priestly family may eat any of it.
A man, whose mother was Shelomith (daughter of Dibri, from the tribe of Dan in Israel) and whose father was from Egypt, got into a quarrel with an Israelite in the camp.
Jehovah continued to speak to Moses: Speak to the Israelites and say: 'A man's wife may have been unfaithful to him read more. and may have had sexual intercourse with another man without her husband's knowledge. She may have kept it secret if there were no witnesses to accuse her and she was not caught in the act. A husband may have a fit of jealousy and suspect his wife, whether she was actually unfaithful or not. He must then take his wife to the priest along with eight cups of barley flour as an offering for her. He must not pour olive oil on the flour or put frankincense on it, since it is a grain offering brought because of the husband's jealousy. It is an offering used for a confession, to remind someone of a sin that was committed. The priest will have the woman come forward and stand in Jehovah's presence. The priest will then take holy water in a piece of pottery and put some dust from the floor of the tent into the water. The priest will bring the woman into Jehovah's presence and loosen her hair. In her hands he will put the offering used for a confession, that is, the grain offering brought because of the husband's jealousy. The priest will hold the bitter water that can bring a curse in his hands. The priest will say to her: 'If no other man has had sexual intercourse with you and you have not been unfaithful to your husband, you are not guilty. This bitter water that can bring a curse will not harm you. If you have indeed been unfaithful and have had sexual intercourse with another man, Jehovah will make you an example for your people to see what happens when the curse of this oath comes true: Jehovah will make your uterus drop and your stomach swell. Then the priest will administer the oath and the curse by saying: May this water that can bring a curse go into your body and make your stomach swell and your uterus drop!' Then the woman will say: Amen! Amen! The priest will write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water. He will have the woman drink the bitter water that can bring the curse. This water will go into her and become bitter. The priest will take the grain offering she was holding. He will present it to Jehovah, and bring it to the altar. The priest will take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar. Then he will have the woman drink the water. If she has become unclean by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that can bring the curse will go into her and become bitter. Her stomach will swell, her uterus will drop, and she will become cursed among her people. However if the woman is not unclean and is pure, she is not guilty and will be able to have children. These are the instructions for how to deal with jealousy. They tell you what to do when a woman is unfaithful to her husband and becomes unclean. They also tell you what to do when a husband has a fit of jealousy and is suspicious of his wife. He will make his wife stand in Jehovah's presence. The priest will do everything these instructions tell him to do. The husband is not guilty of doing anything wrong. But the woman will suffer the consequences of her sin.
Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he was married to a Cushite woman from Sudan.
Why should our father's name be allowed to die out in his family because he had no son? Give us property among our father's relatives.
A widow or a divorced woman must keep every vow she makes and every promise to abstain from something.
and so Jehovah says that the daughters of Zelophehad are free to marry anyone they wish but only within their own tribe.
Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons.
He must not take many wives or his heart will turn astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
Is there anyone here engaged to be married? If so, he should go home. Otherwise, if he is killed in battle, someone else will marry the woman he is engaged to.
Is there anyone here engaged to be married? If so, he should go home. Otherwise, if he is killed in battle, someone else will marry the woman he is engaged to.
When you go to war with your enemies and Jehovah your God hands them over to you, you may take them captive. If you see a beautiful woman among the captives and your heart is set on her, you may marry her. read more. Take her to your home. She should shave her head and cut her nails. She should no longer wear the clothes she was wearing when you captured her. She may live in your house and mourn the loss of her father and mother for one month. After that you may marry her. Later if you are not happy with the woman you may divorce her. She may go free. But you have slept with her as your wife, so you cannot sell her as a slave or make her into your own slave.
Later if you are not happy with the woman you may divorce her. She may go free. But you have slept with her as your wife, so you cannot sell her as a slave or make her into your own slave. If a man have two wives and loves one more than the other. The first son of either wife is the man's first-born son, even if the boy's mother is the wife he does not love. A man near death and dividing up his property must give a double share to his first-born son. This is because he was the first to be born.
If a man marries a woman and has sex with her and then turns against her, he charges her with shameful deeds and publicly defames her. He says: 'When I had sex with this woman, I did not find proof of her virginity.' read more. The girl's father and her mother must present evidence of the girl's virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. The girl's father shall say to the elders: I gave my daughter to be this man's wife, but he turned against her. He has charged her with shameful deeds. He says: 'I did not find your daughter to be a virgin. But this is the evidence of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city. The elders of that city shall take the man and chastise him, They will fine him a hundred shekels of silver. They will give it to the girl's father, because he publicly defamed a virgin of Israel. She will remain his wife. He may not divorce her all his days.
They will fine him a hundred shekels of silver. They will give it to the girl's father, because he publicly defamed a virgin of Israel. She will remain his wife. He may not divorce her all his days. On the other hand if this charge is true, that the girl was not found a virgin, read more. they will take the girl to the doorway of her father's house. The men of her city shall stone her to death because she has committed an act of folly in Israel by playing the harlot in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you. If a man is caught having sexual intercourse with another mans wife, then both of them shall die! Both the man and the woman committing adultery must be killed. Thus you shall purge the evil from Israel.
If a man is caught having sexual intercourse with another mans wife, then both of them shall die! Both the man and the woman committing adultery must be killed. Thus you shall purge the evil from Israel. Suppose there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man has sexual relations with her.
Suppose there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man has sexual relations with her. You must bring them both out to the gate of that city and you must stone them to death! The girl did not protest what was happening and the man has violated his neighbor's woman. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. read more. If an engaged woman is raped (forced to experience sex) only the man who commits the act will die. Do nothing to the woman. There is no sin in the woman worthy of death. This is like the case where a man attacks and murders his neighbor. When he found her in the field, the woman who is engaged protested, but there was no one to save her.
The man who has sex with her must give to the girl's father fifty shekels of silver, and she will become his wife because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.
The man who has sex with her must give to the girl's father fifty shekels of silver, and she will become his wife because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.
The man who has sex with her must give to the girl's father fifty shekels of silver, and she will become his wife because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days. A man must not have sexual intercourse with his father's wife. This would violate his father.
No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of Jehovah. None of his descendants to the tenth generation shall enter the assembly of Jehovah.
Do not detest an Edomite for he is your brother. Do not detest an Egyptian, because you were an alien (strangers) (guests) in his land.
Jehovah your God walks in the middle of your camp. He is there to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you. Therefore your camp must be holy. He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you.
When a man marries a woman and later decides he does not love her because he found something he does not like about her he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house.
When a man marries a woman and later decides he does not love her because he found something he does not like about her he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house.
When a man marries a woman and later decides he does not love her because he found something he does not like about her he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house.
A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or charged with any duty. He shall be free at home one year and shall give happiness to the wife he has married.
When brothers live together and one of them dies without a son the wife of the deceased shall not marry outside the family to a strange man. Her husband's brother shall marry her and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. The firstborn son she bears will assume the name of the dead brother. That way his name will not be blotted out from Israel. read more. If the man does not desire to take his brother's wife, his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say: My husband's brother refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel. He is not willing to perform the duty of a husband's brother to me. The elders of his city must summon him and speak to him. If he persists and says: I do not desire to take her, his brother's wife shall must to him in the sight of the elders. She will pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. Then she will declare: It is done to the man who does not build up his brother's house. His name in Israel will be: 'The house of him whose sandal is removed.'
Cursed is the man who has sexual activities with his father's wife, because he has violated his father's rights.' And all the people say: 'Amen.'
Cursed is he who has sexual activities with his sister, the daughter of his father or of his mother. All the people answer: Amen. Cursed is he who indulges in sex with his mother-in-law. And all the people say: Amen.
She answered: Give me a blessing. For you have given me a land in the south which includes springs of water. He gave her the upper springs, and the lower springs.
She said: Give me a blessing: for you have given me a land south with spring water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite. There was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
They are finding things to capture and divide. They find a woman or two for every soldier, rich cloth for Sisera, embroidered pieces for the queen.
Gideon and all his men got up early and camped beside Harod Spring. The Midianite camp was in the valley to the north of them by Moreh Hill. Jehovah said to Gideon: The men you have are too many for me to give them victory over the Midianites. They might think that they had won by themselves and not give me credit. read more. Announce to the people: 'Anyone who is afraid should go back home.' We will stay here at Mount Gilead. Twenty-two thousand went back, but ten thousand stayed.' Jehovah said to Gideon: You still have too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will separate them for you. If I tell you a man should go with you, he will go. If I tell you a man should not go with you, he will not go. Gideon took the men to the water. Jehovah told him: Separate everyone who laps up the water with his tongue like a dog, from everyone who gets down on his knees to drink. There were three hundred men who scooped up water in their hands and lapped it. The others got down on their knees to drink. Jehovah said: I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Use the three hundred men who lapped the water. Tell everyone else to go home.
Gideon's son Abimelech went to the town of Shechem. All his mother's relatives lived there. He told them: Ask the men of Shechem: 'Which is better for you. To have all seventy of Gideon's sons govern you or to have just one man? Remember that Abimelech is your own flesh and blood.' read more. His mother's relatives talked to the men of Shechem about this for him. The men of Shechem decided to follow Abimelech because: He is our relative. They gave him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith. Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men to join him. He went to his father's house at Ophrah. There on top of a single stone he killed his seventy brothers, Gideon's sons. Gideon's youngest son Jotham hid and therefore was not killed.
One day Samson traveled to Timnah. He noticed a young Philistine woman. He went home and told his father and mother: A Philistine woman at Timnah caught my attention. Get her for me. I want to marry her.
He went home and told his father and mother: A Philistine woman at Timnah caught my attention. Get her for me. I want to marry her. His father and mother asked him: Why do you go to those heathen Philistines to get a wife? Can you not find someone in our own family or among all our people? Samson told his father: I like her! She is the one I want. Get her for me.
His father and mother asked him: Why do you go to those heathen Philistines to get a wife? Can you not find someone in our own family or among all our people? Samson told his father: I like her! She is the one I want. Get her for me.
Samson's father went to the woman's house. Samson gave a banquet there. This was a custom among the young men. The Philistines saw him. They sent thirty companions to stay with him.
On the fourth day they said to Samson's wife: Trick your husband into telling us what the riddle means. If you do not, we will burn your father's house with you in it. Did you invite us here to rob us?
Suddenly the power of Jehovah made him strong. He went to Ashkelon, where he killed thirty men. He stripped them and gave their fine clothes to the men who had solved the riddle. He returned home, furious about what had happened. His wife was given to his best man at the wedding.
He told Samson: I thought that you hated her, so I gave her to your friend. Her younger sister is prettier. You can have her, instead.
They took two women of Moab as their wives. One was Orpah and the other Ruth. They made their home there for about ten years.
Wash and perfume yourself and put on your best clothes. Go down to the floor. Make yourself known to the man after he is done eating and drinking.
There was a certain man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite of the mountains of Ephraim. His name was Elkanah. He was the son of Jeroham son of Elihu son of Tohu son of Zuph an Ephraimite.
The other wife did everything possible to make her unhappy. This is because Jehovah had not given her children.
David answered: Who am I? What is my family that I should be the king's son-in-law? The time came for Merab to be given to David. Instead, she was given to a man named Adriel from Meholah.
Saul's servants said these things to David. And David said: I am not rich or famous enough to marry Princess Michal.
When the officers told Saul what David had said,
So Abigail quickly took two hundred loaves of bread, two full wineskins, five butchered sheep, a bushel of roasted grain, one hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred fig cakes and loaded them on donkeys.
Meanwhile, Saul arranged for Michal to marry Palti the son of Laish, who came from the town of Gallim.
The second was Chileab, whose mother was Abigail, Nabal's widow from Carmel. The third was Absalom, whose mother was Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur.
Saul had a concubine named Rizpah. She was Aiah's daughter. Ishbosheth asked Abner: Why did you have sex with my father's concubine?
Go home, David said to Uriah, and wash your feet. Uriah left the royal palace, and the king sent a present to him.
How could I ever hold up my head in public again? And you, you would be completely disgraced in Israel. Please speak to the king. I am sure he will give me to you.
They pitched a tent for Absalom on the palace roof. There in the sight of everyone Absalom went in and had intercourse with his father's concubines.
They pitched a tent for Absalom on the palace roof. There in the sight of everyone Absalom went in and had intercourse with his father's concubines.
Bathsheba bowed low before the king. He asked: What do you want?
So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to talk to him for Adonijah. The king stood up to meet her and bowed down to her. He took his place on the king's throne and she sat at his right hand on the seat made ready for the king's mother.
Then King Solomon answered: Why are you requesting me to give Abishag the Shunammite to Adonijah? Take the kingdom for him in addition, for he is my older brother, and Abiathar the priest and Joab, the son of Zeruiah, are on his side.
Solomon made an alliance with the king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. He brought her to live in David's City until he finished building his palace, the Temple, and the wall around Jerusalem.
Huram was knowledgeable and skilled in making things out of copper. He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father had been from Tyre. He went to do all of King Solomon's work.
The king of Egypt attacked Gezer and captured it. They killed its inhabitants and set fire to the city. He gave it as a wedding present to his daughter when she married Solomon.
Solomon loved many women. They were of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites.
He would not let Maacah his mother be queen, because she had made a disgusting image for Asherah. Asa had the obscene image cut down and burned by the Kidron Stream.
It was as if he copied the evil ways of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. He took as his wife Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Zidon, and became a servant and worshipper of Baal.
According to their family genealogy, they had thirty-six men ready for battle, for they had many wives and children.
These were the men who conspired against him: Zabad, son of an Ammonite woman named Shimeath, and Jehozabad, son of a Moabite woman named Shimrith.
And now, O our God, what are we to say after this? For we have not obeyed your laws,
That way we would not give our daughters to the peoples of the lands, or take their daughters for our sons;
He was pleased with the girl and was kind to her. He quickly provided her with cosmetics and food. He gave her seven choice servant girls who were to be hers from the king's house. He had her and her servant-girls moved to the best place in the women's part of the house.
It comes out of its chamber like a bridegroom. Like a champion, it is eager to run its course.
Beautiful words fill my mind and stir my heart, as I compose this song for the king. Like the pen of a skilful writer (copyist) my tongue is ready with a poem.
The King's daughter is all glorious within. Her clothing is interwoven with gold. She will be led to the King in embroidered work. The virgins, her companions who follow her, will be brought to you. read more. They will come forward with gladness and rejoicing. They will enter into the King's palace.
They will come forward with gladness and rejoicing. They will enter into the King's palace.
If you go to her house, you are traveling the road to death. To go there is to approach the dead.
The lips of an immoral woman drip as a honeycomb. Her mouth is smoother than oil.
Do not lust after her beauty in your heart. Do not let her attract you with her eyelids.
Lift up your eyes and look around for they all gather together and come to you. As I live, declares Jehovah, you will certainly wear them like jewels and bind them on like a bride does.
This is what Jehovah says: Where are your mother's divorce papers? Did I give her any to get rid of her? To which of my creditors did I sell you? You were sold because of your sins. I got rid of your mother because of your rebellion.
I will rejoice greatly in Jehovah. I will exult in my God for he has clothed me with garments of salvation. He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
You will no longer be called Deserted, and your land will no longer be called Destroyed. You will be named My Delight. Your land will be named Married (owned as a wife). Jehovah is delighted with you, and your land will be married.
A young woman cannot forget her jewelry or a bride her breastband (sash) (girdle). Yet, my people have forgotten me for countless days.
Judah saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away because of her adultery and that I gave Israel her divorce papers. But treacherous Judah, her sister, was not afraid. She also acted like a prostitute.
I will cause the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem. The land will become a ruin.
They will incite a crowd against you and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.
that his father never did. He eats at the illegal mountain worship sites. He dishonors his neighbor's wife.
Some of them sleep with their father's wife. Some force women to have intercourse with them during their period. Some commit adultery, and others seduce their daughters-in-law or their half sisters.
Furthermore, they have even sent for men who come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent. They came and you bathed, painted your eyes and decorated yourselves with ornaments for them.
But they, righteous men, will judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.
Their mother played the harlot. She that conceived them acted shamefully! For she said, I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.
It will be at that day, said Jehovah; you will call me 'husband' (Ishi). You will no longer call me my 'master' (ba'ali).
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts. Let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
Jehovah proclaims: Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by measuring line. You will die in a land that is unclean. Israel will surely be led away captive out of his land.
Another thing you do is drown Jehovah's altar with tears, weeping and wailing. This is because he no longer accepts the offerings you bring him. You ask: Why do you not accept our offerings? It is because Jehovah is a witness between you and the wife of your youth. The one to whom you have been unfaithful! She is your companion, the wife of your marriage vows.
You ask: Why do you not accept our offerings? It is because Jehovah is a witness between you and the wife of your youth. The one to whom you have been unfaithful! She is your companion, the wife of your marriage vows. Did God make you one? Your flesh and spirit belong to him. What does God look for but godly descendants? Do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. read more. I hate divorce and he who covers his garment with violence,' said Jehovah, the God of Israel. Jehovah of Hosts declares: 'Guard yourselves and do not deal treacherously.'
Her husband Joseph was an honorable man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. So he decided to break the marriage agreement with her secretly.
Her husband Joseph was an honorable man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. So he decided to break the marriage agreement with her secretly.
You have heard it was said, 'You should not commit adultery.'
Again, it was said, 'Whoever gets rid of his wife has to give her a certificate of divorce.' I say to you that everyone divorcing his wife, except for the reason of fornication, makes her liable to commit adultery. And if she marries again, the man she marries also commits adultery.
I say to you that everyone divorcing his wife, except for the reason of fornication, makes her liable to commit adultery. And if she marries again, the man she marries also commits adultery.
I say to you that everyone divorcing his wife, except for the reason of fornication, makes her liable to commit adultery. And if she marries again, the man she marries also commits adultery.
Jesus replied: Should the wedding guests mourn and also celebrate with the groom? The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.
Pharisees came to him. They tested him, asking: Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?
Pharisees came to him. They tested him, asking: Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?
I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery. And he who marries her when she is divorced, commits adultery.
I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery. And he who marries her when she is divorced, commits adultery.
I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery. And he who marries her when she is divorced, commits adultery.
Teacher, Moses said if a man dies having no children, his brother should marry his wife, and bring up seed for his brother.
The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
Some Pharisees came to him and tried to trap him. Does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife? They asked.
He said: He who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. If she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.
Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man's brother die, and leave a wife behind him, and leave no child, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed for his brother.
Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher was a very old prophetess.
She loved much! She has many sins and they are forgiven. When little is forgiven, little love is shown.
The master of the dishonest manager praised him for doing a shrewd thing. People of this world are more astute at handling their affairs than people who belong to the light.
He that has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens to him. He rejoices greatly because he hears the bridegroom's voice. This fills me with joy.
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He said to them: You know that it is an unlawful thing for a man who is a Jew to keep company, or approach someone of another nation. But God revealed to me that I should not call any man defiled or unclean.
You should abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these you will do well. Farwell (best wishes).
Paul arrived at Derbe and Lystra where he saw a disciple named Timothy. He was the son of a Jewish woman, and his father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. read more. Paul wanted to have him travel with him. So he had him circumcised because of the Jews who were in the area. For they knew that his father was a Greek.
To the others, I speak and not the Lord. If any brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him he should not divorce her.
If the unbelieving leave, let him leave. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases for God has called us to peace.
Now concerning virgins I have no commandment from the Lord. Yet I give my opinion as one who has obtained the mercy of the Lord to be faithful.
The wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry whom she wishes, only in the Lord.
The wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry whom she wishes, only in the Lord.
Do we have a right to lead a sister as a wife just like other apostles, and as brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?
Now the works of the flesh (sinful human nature) are apparent. They are: fornication, uncleanness, loose conduct,
Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the congregation and gave himself up for it.
The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate in habits, sound in mind, orderly, hospitable, qualified to teach;
The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate in habits, sound in mind, orderly, hospitable, qualified to teach;
Let servants be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.
I desire therefore that the younger widows marry, bear children, rule the household, and give no occasion to the adversary for reviling.
I desire therefore that the younger widows marry, bear children, rule the household, and give no occasion to the adversary for reviling.
A blameless man will be the husband of one wife. He will have children that believe and who are not accused of violence and disobedience.
Let marriage be honorable among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled: for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.
Let marriage be honorable among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled: for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.
These are they who were not defiled with women. They are virgins. These are they who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed (bought) from among mankind. They are the first fruits to God and to the Lamb.
There will no longer be the light of a candle in you. The voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will be heard no more at all in you. Your merchants were the great men of the earth; for by your spiritistic practice all nations were deceived.
It was granted to her that she dress in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the holy ones.
Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Morish
This is God's institution: He said it was not good that man should be alone, and He provided a suitable help for Adam in the person of Eve. Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman (isha), because she was taken out of Man (ish). Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Ge 2:23-24. This declaration of union was confirmed by the Lord, who, in quoting the above, added, "Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." Mt 19:5-6; Mr 10:7-9. It is confirmed also by being taken as a type of the sacred union of the Lord with the church: "We are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." Eph 5:30-32.
All this shows that God's institution of marriage was the union of one man and one woman, the two and only two, becoming one. What is more than this is not of God, but is of human lust. This order was first broken through by Lamech, the sixth from Adam, who had two wives. Long after this instances are recorded of wives, on account of their great desire for children, giving their maid servants to their husbands: an act that would now be judged as most unnatural in a wife. Sarai gave her Egyptian handmaid to Abram 'to be his wife' (the same word for 'wife' being used for both Sarai and Hagar), and God said He would make of Ishmael a great nation. Jacob's two wives gave their handmaids to their husband, and thus he had four wives. God reckoned the twelve sons of these four women equally as sons of Jacob, and they became the heads of the twelve tribes. It might have been thought that God would not have blessed the issue of these unions, but He did: there is no record of any law having been given on this subject.
In early times marriages were also contracted between near relatives. This was altered by the law of Moses as well as restrictions introduced as to divorce, though even under the law, because of the hardness of their hearts, Moses allowed them to put away their wives for any cause, "but from the beginning it was not so," and from the time the Lord was on earth it was not to be so any longer. Mt 19:5-9. The choice of persons to be appointed as bishops and deacons in the church, was restricted to those who were the husbands of 'one wife.' 1Ti 3:2,12; Tit 1:6. God has providentially so ordered it in all countries called christian that a man is allowed to have but one wife; and in the best of those countries a man cannot divorce his wife except when she herself has already broken the marriage bond. Instruction is given in the Epistles to both: the wives are to be in subjection to their husbands, and the husbands are to love and cherish their wives, even as Christ the church. Eph 5:28-29.
It is not now known how the negotiations were conducted that led to a man and woman being betrothed, or espoused, or what were the ceremonies usually attending it. The betrothed couple were at once looked upon as husband and wife, as seen in the case of Joseph, who thought of divorcing his espoused wife Mary. Mt 1:18-19. In the East a man does not usually see his espoused wife until they are married (as Isaac did not see Rebecca and had no choice in the matter), the engagement, and the amount of dowry to be paid by the husband to the bride's father, being arranged by the relatives.
Of the ancient marriage ceremonies very little is known. On the night of a marriage the young women went forth with lamps or torches to meet the bridegroom and to escort him to the house of the bride, as in Matt. 25. Such processions have been seen in modern times, and the same cry has been heard, "Behold the bridegroom." They had marriage feasts, as in the parable of Matt. 22 (when a special garment was provided for each of the guests), and as the one to which the Lord, His mother, and His disciples were invited at Cana, where the Lord made the water into wine. Joh 2:1-11.
The assembly has been espoused as a chaste virgin to Christ, 2Co 11:2; and it waits for that glorious time when it will be said, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready . . . . arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of saints . . . . Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." Re 19:7-9. The Lord will also have an earthly bride during the kingdom. Ho 2:7. See also the Canticles.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The man said: This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called 'Woman.' This is because she was taken out of Man. This is the reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. They will become one flesh.
She will follow after her lovers but she will not reach them. She will seek them, but will not find them! She will say: 'I will return to my first husband for it was better for me then.'
The birth (genesis: origin) (beginning) of Jesus Christ was as follows: His mother Mary had been promised to Joseph in marriage. But before they were married, Mary realized that she was pregnant by Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph was an honorable man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. So he decided to break the marriage agreement with her secretly.
For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. The two shall become one flesh.
For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. The two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What God has joined together, let no man pull apart (separate)!
So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What God has joined together, let no man pull apart (separate)! They asked him: Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, to send her away? read more. He answered: Moses allowed you to send your wives away because of your hardness of heart. It was not allowed from the beginning. I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery. And he who marries her when she is divorced, commits adultery.
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife. The two shall become one flesh. They are no longer two, but one flesh. read more. That which God has joined together let not man take apart (separate).
There was a marriage in Cana of Galilee on the third day. The mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the marriage feast. read more. They ran out of wine. So the mother of Jesus said to him: They have no wine. Jesus said to her: Woman what have I to do with you? My hour has not arrived. His mother told the servants to do whatever he says. Six stone water jars were placed there to honor purification rules of the Jews. Each contained more than twenty gallons. Jesus said to them: Fill the jars with water. They filled them to the brim. Draw some out, he said, and take it to the master of the feast. So they drew some out. The master of the feast did not know about the water turned into wine. He tasted it and called the bridegroom. He said to him: Every man sets out the good wine first. When the men have drunk freely the lower quality wine is served. You have kept the good wine until now. This was the first miracle Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. It gave evidence of his glory and his disciples believed in him.
For I am zealous over you with a godly fervor (ardor) (zeal)! For I promised you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
In this way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He that loves his own wife loves himself. No man ever hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ also does the congregation. read more. And we are members of his body! For this reason a man will leave his father and mother, and will stick (adhere) (cleave) (be joined) to his wife. The two will become one flesh. This secret is great! I speak with regard to Christ and of the congregation.
The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate in habits, sound in mind, orderly, hospitable, qualified to teach;
Let servants be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.
A blameless man will be the husband of one wife. He will have children that believe and who are not accused of violence and disobedience.
Let us be glad, rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife made herself ready. It was granted to her that she dress in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the holy ones. read more. He said to me: Write: Blessed are they who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. He said to me: These are the true sayings of God.
Smith
Marriage.
1. Its origin and history. --The institution of marriage dates from the time of man's original creation.
From
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.
(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.
(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.
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.
(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
etc., and especial formal condemnation of fornication.
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
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
but this appears to have been subordinate to the previous consent of the father and the adult brothers.
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
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,
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.
The bride was veiled. Her robes were white,
and sometimes embroidered with gold thread,
and covered with perfumes!
she was further decked out with jewels.
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,"
children of the bride-chamber,
preceded by a band of musicians or singers,
and accompanied by persons hearing flambeaux,
2 Esdr. 10:2;
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.
The guests were provided by the host with fitting robes,
and the feast was enlivened with riddles,
and other amusements. The last act in the ceremonial was the conducting of the bride to the bridal chamber,
where a canopy was prepared.
The bride was still completely veiled, so that the deception practiced on Jacob,
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.
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.
and the distribution of food at meal times,
the manufacture of the clothing and of the various fabrics required in her home devolved upon her,
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.
The legal rights of the wife are noticed in
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
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Jehovah God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. Then Jehovah God formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to let him name them. Whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. read more. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But no suitable helper was found for Adam. Jehovah God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then Jehovah made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man. He brought her to the man. The man said: This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called 'Woman.' This is because she was taken out of Man. This is the reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. They will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Abram had intercourse with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
He took butter and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. He stood by them under the tree as they ate.
Early the next morning Abraham took bread and a container of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder. He also gave her the boy and sent her on her way. So she left and wandered around in the desert near Beer-sheba.
Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go. Let her be the wife of your master's son, as Jehovah has spoken.
Her brother and mother replied: Let the girl stay with us ten days or so. After that she may go.
They called Rebecca and asked: Do you want to go with this man? Yes, she answered.
Abraham married another woman. Her name was Keturah.
Then he took his last breath and died at a very old age. After a long and full life, he joined his ancestors in death.
So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath, the daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.
Laban gathered all the men of the place and gave a feast. In the evening when it was dark, he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him. Jacob slept with her.
In the evening when it was dark, he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him. Jacob slept with her.
Laban answered: It is not our custom to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one.
Why did you deceive me and slip away without telling me? If you had told me, I would have sent you on your way with rejoicing and singing to the music of tambourines and harps.
Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand. He clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck.
Suppose there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man has sexual relations with her. You must bring them both out to the gate of that city and you must stone them to death! The girl did not protest what was happening and the man has violated his neighbor's woman. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.
No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of Jehovah. None of his descendants to the tenth generation shall enter the assembly of Jehovah.
When a man marries a woman and later decides he does not love her because he found something he does not like about her he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house.
A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or charged with any duty. He shall be free at home one year and shall give happiness to the wife he has married.
Answer before Jehovah your God: 'My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and traveled there. They were few in number but he became a great, mighty and populous nation. The Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us. They imposed hard labor on us. read more. We cried out to Jehovah, the God of our fathers, and Jehovah heard our voice. He saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression. Jehovah brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him: Come my lord, come right in. Do not be afraid. When he came in to her tent, she covered him with a mantle.
The Philistines saw him. They sent thirty companions to stay with him. Samson said to them: Let me tell you a riddle. If you can tell me the meaning before the seven days of the wedding feast are over, I will give each of you a piece of fine linen and a change of fine clothes. Tell us your riddle, they said: Let us hear it.
Samson said to them: Let me tell you a riddle. If you can tell me the meaning before the seven days of the wedding feast are over, I will give each of you a piece of fine linen and a change of fine clothes. Tell us your riddle, they said: Let us hear it.
Later Samson went to visit his wife during the wheat harvest and took her a young goat. He told her father: Let me go to my wife in her room. But he would not let him go in.
It comes out of its chamber like a bridegroom. Like a champion, it is eager to run its course.
All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. Stringed instruments from the ivory palaces have made you glad.
All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. Stringed instruments from the ivory palaces have made you glad.
The King's daughter is all glorious within. Her clothing is interwoven with gold. She will be led to the King in embroidered work. The virgins, her companions who follow her, will be brought to you.
She seeks wool, and flax, and works willingly with her hands.
She seeks wool, and flax, and works willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships for she brings her food from afar.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household. All her household is clothed with scarlet. She makes herself coverings of tapestry. Her clothing is silk and purple.
She makes fine linen and sells it. She supplies sashes for the merchants.
How fair is your love, my sister, and my spouse! How much better is your love than wine! The smell of your perfume than all spices! Your lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under your tongue; and the smell of your garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
Lift up your eyes and look around for they all gather together and come to you. As I live, declares Jehovah, you will certainly wear them like jewels and bind them on like a bride does.
For your Maker is your husband. Jehovah of Hosts is his name! The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. He is called the God of all the earth.
I will rejoice greatly in Jehovah. I will exult in my God for he has clothed me with garments of salvation. He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Return, you disobedient people, proclaims Jehovah. I am your husband. I will take you, one from every city and two from every family, and bring you to Zion.'
I will cause the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem. The land will become a ruin.
This is what Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: 'I am going to put a stop to the sounds of joy and happiness and the sounds of brides and grooms in this place. This will happen in your lifetime, even as you watch.'
I will take from them the sounds of joy and happiness, the sounds of brides and grooms, the sound of mills, and the light of lamps.
I will engage you to me for a very long time! Yes I will engage you to me in righteousness, and in justice, and in loving kindness, and in mercies.
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts. Let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts. Let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
Her husband Joseph was an honorable man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. So he decided to break the marriage agreement with her secretly.
I say to you that everyone divorcing his wife, except for the reason of fornication, makes her liable to commit adultery. And if she marries again, the man she marries also commits adultery.
Jesus replied: Should the wedding guests mourn and also celebrate with the groom? The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.
Jesus replied: Should the wedding guests mourn and also celebrate with the groom? The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.
He answered: Have you not read, that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female? For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. The two shall become one flesh.
I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery. And he who marries her when she is divorced, commits adultery.
I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery. And he who marries her when she is divorced, commits adultery.
Jesus continued to speak to them with illustrations. The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. read more. He sent out his servants to invite guests to the feast, but they would not come. Again he sent out other servants with orders to say to the guests, 'I have prepared my feast. Oxen and fat livestock are butchered and everything is ready, so come to the feast.' But they paid no attention and went about their business. One went to his farm and another went to his trade. The rest violently attacked his servants and put them to death. The king was angry, and sent his armies to put the evil servants to death and to destroy their town with fire. He said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but the guests were not worthy. Go then, to the main roads, and invite all those whom you see to come to the feast.' They went to the roads and brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike. And the banquet room was filled with guests. When the king met the guests he found that one of them was not wearing the right kind of clothes for the wedding.
When you are invited to a marriage feast do not take the place of honor. Someone more distinguished than you may be invited.
The older son was out in the field. When he came close to the house he heard music and dancing.
Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the marriage feast.
He that has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens to him. He rejoices greatly because he hears the bridegroom's voice. This fills me with joy.
He that has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens to him. He rejoices greatly because he hears the bridegroom's voice. This fills me with joy.
We should write to them that they should abstain from things polluted by idols, from fornication, from things strangled and from blood.
So then if, while the husband lives, she is joined to another man, she will be called an adulteress. If the husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress, though she is joined to another man.
For the man is not from the woman; but the woman is from the man. Neither was man created for woman but woman for man.
For I am zealous over you with a godly fervor (ardor) (zeal)! For I promised you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
Each one of you should love his own wife even as himself. The wife should respect her husband.
Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.
They may train the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sober minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that the word of God will not be (defamed) dishonored.
Look for the blessed hope and appearance of the glory of the great God. And look for our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Let marriage be honorable among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled: for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.
There will no longer be the light of a candle in you. The voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will be heard no more at all in you. Your merchants were the great men of the earth; for by your spiritistic practice all nations were deceived.
Let us be glad, rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife made herself ready. It was granted to her that she dress in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the holy ones.
Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
One of the seven angels came to me. He had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues. He said: Come here, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife.
Watsons
MARRIAGE, a civil and religious contract, by which a man is joined and united to a woman, for the ends of procreation. The essence of marriage consists in the mutual consent of the parties. Marriage is a part of the law of nations, and is in use among all people. The public use of marriage institutions consists, according to Archdeacon Paley, in their promoting the following beneficial effects:
1. The private comfort of individuals.
2. The production of the greatest number of healthy children, their better education, and the making of due provision for their settlement in life.
3. The peace of human society, in cutting off a principal source of contention, by assigning one or more women to one man, and protecting his exclusive right by sanctions of morality and law.
4. The better government of society, by distributing the community into separate families, and appointing over each the authority of a master of a family, which has more actual influence than all civil authority put together.
5. The additional security which the state receives for the good behaviour of its citizens, from the solicitude they feel for the welfare of their children, and from their being confined to permanent habitations.
6. The encouragement, of industry.
Whether marriage be a civil or a religious contract, has been a subject of dispute. The truth seems to be that it is both. It has its engagements to men, and its vows to God. A Christian state recognizes marriage as a branch of public morality, and a source of civil peace and strength. It is connected with the peace of society by assigning one woman to one man, and the state protects him, therefore, in her exclusive possession. Christianity, by allowing divorce in the event of adultery, supposes, also, that the crime must be proved by proper evidence before the civil magistrate; and lest divorce should be the result of unfounded suspicion, or be made a cover for license, the decision of the case could safely be lodged no where else. Marriage, too, as placing one human being more completely under the power of another than any other relation, requires laws for the protection of those who are thus so exposed to injury. The distribution of society into families, also, can only be an instrument for promoting the order of the community, by the cognizance which the law takes of the head of a family, and by making him responsible, to a certain extent, for the conduct of those under his influence. Questions of property are also involved in marriage and its issue. The law must, therefore, for these and many other weighty reasons, be cognizant of marriage; must prescribe various regulations respecting it; require publicity of the contract; and guard some of the great injunctions of religion in the matter by penalties. In every well ordered society marriage must be placed under the cognizance and control of the state. But then those who would have the whole matter to lie between the parties themselves, and the civil magistrate, appear wholly to forget that marriage is also a solemn religious act, in which vows are made to God by both persons, who, when the rite is properly understood, engage to abide by all those laws with which he has guarded the institution; to love and cherish each other; and to remain faithful to each other until death. For if, at least, they profess belief in Christianity, whatever duties are laid upon husbands and wives in Holy Scripture, they engage to obey by the very act of their contracting marriage. The question, then, is whether such vows to God as are necessarily involved in marriage, are to be left between the parties and God privately, or whether they ought to be publicly made before his ministers and the church. On this the Scriptures are silent; but though Michaelis has shown that the priests under the law were not appointed to celebrate marriage; yet in the practice of the modern Jews it is a religious ceremony, the chief rabbi of the synagogue being present, and prayers being appointed for the occasion. This renders it probable that the character of the ceremony under the law, from the most ancient times, was a religious one. The more direct connection of marriage with religion in Christian states, by assigning its celebration to the ministers of religion, appears to be a very beneficial custom, and one which the state has a right to enjoin. For since the welfare and morals of society are so much interested in the performance of the mutual duties of the married state; and since those duties have a religious as well as a civil character, it is most proper that some provision should be made for explaining those duties; and for this a standing form of marriage is best adapted. By acts of religion, also, they are more solemnly impressed upon the parties. When this is prescribed in any state, it becomes a Christian cheerfully, and even thankfully, to comply with a custom of so important a tendency, as matter of conscientious subjection to lawful authority, although no Scriptural precept can be pleaded for it. That the ceremony should be confined to the clergy of an established church, is a different consideration. We think that the religious effect would be greater, were the ministers of each religious body to be authorized by the state to celebrate marriages among their own people, due provision being previously made by the civil magistrate for the regular and secure registry of them, and to prevent the laws respecting marriage from being evaded; which is indeed his business. The offices of religion would then come in by way of sanction and moral enforcement.
When this important contract is once made, then certain rights are acquired by the parties mutually, who are also bound by reciprocal duties, in the fulfilment of which the practical virtue of each consists. And here the superior character of the morals of the New Testament, as well as their higher authority, is illustrated. It may, indeed, be within the scope of mere moralists to show that fidelity, and affection, and all the courtesies necessary to maintain affection, are rationally obligatory upon those who are connected by the nuptial bond; but in Christianity nuptial fidelity is guarded by the express law, "Thou shalt not commit adultery;" and by our Lord's exposition of the spirit of that law which forbids the indulgence of loose thoughts and desires, and places the purity of the heart under the guardianship of that hallowed fear which his authority tends to inspire. Affection, too, is made a matter of diligent cultivation upon considerations, and by a standard, peculiar to our religion. Husbands are placed in a relation to their wives, similar to that which Christ bears to his church, and his example is thus made their rule. As Christ loved the church, so husbands are to love their wives; as Christ "gave himself," his life, "for the church," Eph 5:25, so are they to hazard life for their wives; as Christ saves his church, so is it the bounden duty of husbands to endeavour, by ever possible means, to promote the religious edification and salvation of their wives. The connection is thus exalted into a religious one; and when love which knows no abatement, protection at the hazard of life, and a tender and constant solicitude for the salvation of a wife, are thus enjoined, the greatest possible security is established for the exercise of kindness and fidelity. The oneness of this union is also more forcibly stated in Scripture than any where beside. "They twain shall be one flesh." "So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies; he that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church." Precept and illustration can go no higher than this; and nothing evidently is wanting either of direction or authority to raise the state of marriage into the highest, most endearing, and sanctified relation in which two human beings can stand to each other.
2. We find but few laws in the books of Moses concerning the institution of marriage. Though the Mosaic law no where obliges men to marry, the Jews have always looked upon it as an indispensable duty implied in the
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God blessed them and said to them: Be fruitful and increase in number. Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and dominate the birds of the air. Have dominion over every living creature that moves on the ground.
He found the young woman so attractive that he fell in love with her. So he tried to win her affection.
If a man takes a second wife, he must continue to give his first wife the same amount of food and clothing and the same rights that she had before.
When brothers live together and one of them dies without a son the wife of the deceased shall not marry outside the family to a strange man. Her husband's brother shall marry her and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her.
She will be led to the King in embroidered work. The virgins, her companions who follow her, will be brought to you.
There was a shout at midnight. 'Here is the bridegroom! Come meet him.'
Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the congregation and gave himself up for it.