Page 76 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Revised

and sometimes younger. Young women married as soon as they were physically ready, generally
around age 13 to 14.

Marriage was defined as a union of one man and one woman in Judea. Polygamy among Jews greatly
decreased and, at this time, basically vanished.

A marriage was consummated in two steps. First, there was a betrothal of one year. Parents came
together to sign a marriage contract of betrothal called a ketubah, in which the marriage was initiated
but not consummated physically for a term of one year. The couple lived apart during this period of time
while the boy constructed a home for his bride, and the young girl proved her chastity. The
commitment of a betrothal was so legally binding that a divorce breaking that commitment was
required. If a man’s betrothed became pregnant, people would assume that she had regarded him as an
inadequate man, and this would publicly humiliate him. It also spoke of her lack of discretion and
unwillingness to keep herself pure for her husband. Worse yet, if he did not divorce her, people would
assume that he was the father of the child, and he would bear great shame in a culture that was
obsessed with shame and honor. He would bear this shame for multiple years to come.

Contrary to the practice of many other cultures, in which the bride’s father would pay the groom’s
family a dowry, in Jewish culture, the groom’s father paid a bride price, or mohar, to the bride’s family in
order to negotiate the betrothal and, in essence, “purchase” the bride. The groom would also give a gift
to the bride called a mattan, which became a part of the property the bride would bring into the
marriage. These gifts were not always monetary; they may have been property or even services
provided to the bride’s family. A good father was expected to share the mohar with his daughter or give
it over to her entirely. 104

Jewish law required a man to divorce a wife who had been unfaithful. The man could divorce the
unfaithful wife publicly in a court of justice. The court would not only establish his innocence but also,
he would get to keep his wife’s entire dowry. A man could also opt to divorce her privately without the
court’s involvement, but by doing so, the man forfeits the profit of her dowry.

New Testament Application
In considering Mary and Joseph, who were betrothed, Mary was found to be pregnant. Consider what is
going on in Joseph’s mind considering this information. Joseph was a righteous man and not vindictive,
so he planned to dissolve his marriage privately. Imagine the disappointment after working almost a
year building his bridal suite for Mary to discover she was with child. It appears that she did NOT speak
with Joseph about her encounter with the angel; she left her defense up to the Lord. Both were people
of great maturity and faith in how they handled the situation.

Mary traveled to see her relative, Elizabeth, shortly after learning that she was to be the mother of the
Messiah. It is obvious that she was pregnant when she arrived at Elizabeth’s home, as John the Baptist
leaped in Elizabeth’s womb in response to Mary’s presence. Elizabeth was in her sixth month of
pregnancy when she arrived, and most likely, Mary departed to return to Nazareth just before John was
born. So Mary would have been at least about four months pregnant when she arrived back in
Nazareth, just about the time when pregnancy begins to become obvious. She may have been able to
conceal her pregnancy for another month or two, but it was not long before Joseph discovered that she
was with child.

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