Editing Christian views on marriage (section)

=== Old Testament ===
{{See also|Polygamy#Judaism|Pilegesh}}

[[Polygyny]], or men having multiple wives at once, is one of the most common marital arrangements represented in the Old Testament,<ref name="JewEncMar">{{Jewish Encyclopedia|article=marriage|url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=M&artid=213}}</ref> yet scholars doubt that it was common among average Israelites because of the wealth needed to practice it.<ref>Gene McAfee [http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t120.e0669 "Sex"] The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, eds. Oxford University Press Inc. 1993. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. 19 March 2010.</ref> Both the [[biblical patriarchs]] and [[kings of Israel]] are described as engaged in polygamous relationships.<ref>[[Dale Martin (scholar)|Dale Martin]] [https://vimeo.com/8581466 lecture].</ref> Despite the various polygynous relationships in the Bible, Old Testament scholar Peter Gentry has said that it does not mean that God condones polygyny. He also made note of the various problems that polygynous relationships present with the examples of Abraham, Jacob, David, and Solomon in the Bible.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Showalter |first1=Brandon |title=Does God condone polygamy? Bible scholar says 'no,' OT shows it only creates turmoil |date=14 December 2019 |url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/does-god-condone-polygamy-bible-scholar-says-no-old-testament-shows-it-only-creates-turmoil.html |access-date=21 July 2020}}</ref> Alternatively, this could be a case of [[graded absolutism]].

[[Betrothal]] ({{transliteration|hbo|[[erusin]]}}), which is merely a binding promise to get married, is distinct from marriage itself ({{transliteration|hbo|[[nissuin|nissu'in]]}}), with the time between these events varying substantially.<ref name="JewEncMar" /><ref name="CheyneAndBlackMar">{{EncyclopaediaBiblica|article=Marriage|section=Manius-Mash}}</ref> Since a wife was regarded as property in biblical times, the betrothal ({{transliteration|hbo|erusin}}) was effected simply by purchasing her from her father (or [[parental guardian|guardian]]) (i.e. paying the [[bride price]] to the woman and her father);<ref name="JewEncMar" /><ref name="CheyneAndBlackMar" /> the woman's consent is not explicitly required by any biblical law. Nonetheless, in one Biblical story, [[Rebecca]] was asked whether she agreed to be married before the marriage took place.<ref name="CheyneAndBlackMar" /><ref>{{Bibleverse|Genesis|24:57–58|HE}}</ref> Additionally, according to French [[anthropologist]] Philippe Rospabé, the payment of the bride price does not entail the [[Slavery|purchase of a woman]], as was thought in the early twentieth century. Instead, it is a purely symbolic gesture acknowledging (but never paying off) the husband's permanent debt to the wife's parents.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Graeber|first=David|url=https://archive.org/details/debtfirst5000yea00grae/page/131|title=Debt: The First 5,000 Years|publisher=Melville House|year=2011|isbn=978-1-933633-86-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/debtfirst5000yea00grae/page/131 131–132]}}</ref>

[[File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 146.jpg|thumb|right|Rembrandt's depiction of Samson's marriage feast]]
Like the adjacent Arabic culture ([[Pre-Islamic Arabia|in the pre-Islamic period]]),<ref>[[William Robertson Smith]], ''Kinship and Marriage in early Arabia'', (1885), 81</ref> the act of marriage appears mainly to have consisted of the groom fetching the bride, although among the [[Israelites]]  the procession was a festive occasion, accompanied by music, dancing, and lights.<ref name="JewEncMar" /><ref name="CheyneAndBlackMar" /> To celebrate the marriage, week-long feasts were sometimes held.<ref name="JewEncMar" /><ref name="CheyneAndBlackMar" />

In Old Testament times, a wife was submissive to her husband, which may interpreted as Israelite society viewing wives as the [[Slavery|chattel]] of husbands.<ref name="JewEncMar" /><ref name="CheyneAndBlackMar" />

Since a wife was regarded as property, her husband was originally free to divorce her with little restriction, at any time.<ref name="CheyneAndBlackMar" />