Varieties of marriage in the Bible: And their analogues in the ancient world.
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文摘
This study focuses on the development of marriage as a social institution in the Bible. The comparative philological method is utilized to examine Hebrew as well as cognate literature, including ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic texts and cuneiform documents from Sumer, Bablylonia, Assyria, Nuzi and the Hittite realm. Ancient Indic texts and Greek Classical literature is also examined. These include legal documents such as wills and contracts, epistles, historical annals and records, and literary and mythological texts.;The approach is topical rather than chronological since there is a dearth of primary material available. Conclusions must be deduced from a variety of sources. The study indicates that marriages were contracted for political, economic and social reasons. In a few cases the romantic element also enters into the picture. All of the varieties of marriage are investigated, including purchase marriage, marriage by capture, marriage by gift or reward for a deed of prowess, erebu marriage and levirate marriage. Divorce is also analyzed. The requirements and reasons for marriage as well as the rituals of courtship, contract, dowry and ceremony are cited and addressed. The study examines Biblical marriages with emphasis on the milieu in which they originated. It demonstrates that the ancient Hebrews did not live in a vacuum, but rather interacted in a broad political, cultural and social ecumene. They developed their own unique social institutions and customs partly because of their association with the diverse nations of the ancient world and partly as a reaction against the pagan environment in which they found themselves. The thesis indicates that although the Hebrews were not one of the major powers of the ancient world they shared many of the same customs and mores of the great empires. They associated with royalty and were welcomed in the courts of the leading kings.;Marriage customs in the ancient world did not differ to any great extent in the Aegean sphere, including the countries of the Mediterranean littoral, the Near East, and in the Indo-European realms. These customs indicate that the bridge between the ancient east and west was well traveled.