What were marriage customs in the time of Jesus?

Answer 1

The husband to be had to built a canopi for ceremony . (proposal) where he give the bride to be a set of coints. They agree to a length of time to be spause, anywhere from a month to a year. They were not living together but they where promise or spaused. During that time the husband to be had to build their house. the wife to be had the options to same the coints or spend it. The day of the wedding the husband would to each neighbor door and ask if they have seen his bride. the neighboor would answer he hasn't but he can help find her, they would go on to all doors and the last door ofcurse would be the bride's house. She was then dress up and wearing a something like a tiara on her head with her daury or money and in the middle she would have the money given to her by her husband. then the ceremony will begin at the same place it was the first one.

At the time the males can break the compromise for any reason. but for girls it was difficult. They would have to prove that the male was either lying or that his character was mislead. for example if he was wearing a sing the he was in the military on the day of the proposal and then he ended being a farmer. then it was reason to break the compromise.

It the case of Joseph, Jesus father, it was mentioned on the bible that he was a Carpenter as in those days was great as he was not supporter of the roman Empiror, it talks about his character. He was a decent and honest men who work hard .

Answer 2

This is a fascinating subject. During the first century, Jewish marriage customs were (and are today) very complicated. As Jesus was/is/shall be Jewish, it is worthwhile to examine these customs.

The first section of the custom is the betrothal. During the first century, in other cultures, women were chattel, married off as part of the family's wealth. In Judaism, women were honored as a vital part of the family and had a say in their marriage. They could and did veto a prospective husband with no repercussions.

The man would approach the woman's father and enter negotiations for her hand in marriage. Note in Genesis Jacob's negotiation for Rachel with Laban. This was typical of the culture. Only after successful negotiations did an engagement take place.

Because of the seriousness of the negotiations, when the couple were engaged, they were "unofficially" married; meaning that if they changed their mind, they had to get a legal divorce...just for betrothal. They did not live together, nor have sex, but they were considered a "family in the making". So both parties were "off the market".

During the betrothal ceremony, the couple would share a meal in the presence of others, specifically bread and wine. During this ceremony, both parties would break the bread, share it with the other and declare "this represents my body which I would break for you" and then the wine similarly " this represents my blood which I would shed for you." At the end of these sentences, the groom would tell the bride, "Remember me until I come again." Sound familiar? At the end of the ceremony, the woman would go back to her father's house to prepare her furnishings for her new home. Her things would be carefully saved against the day that her husband to be would come to get her.

In the mean time, the man would return to his father's home and start to build his new wife a dwelling place. It is interesting to note that he had to have a place for her to live before he could marry her. So he literally had to build at least a separate room for her to live in at his father's home. The more well off got a piece of property from his father to build a proper house for his new wife. When it was "finished", the father had to inspect it to declare it finished. If the father didn't like what was done, he could make the man do it all over again, from the ground up. So it was up to the father to decide if the dwelling was done...to his satisfaction.

The moment the house was declared finished, the groom would immediately get cleaned up, gather his friends, and go to collect his bride. Since this day was indeterminate, the bride had to be ready at a moment's notice to "go get married". Her parents held the wedding feast, so much was held in waiting against the day they would be wed.

The groom would make a big deal about asking for his bride at every house in the village to gather the village together to witness the event. Together the whole village would arrive at the bride's house, the groom would knock at the door, and the bride would be surrendered to him for the ceremony. The marriage would take place at that point in time, and the wedding feast would commence immediately afterward.

Jewish weddings take place under a huppah, a prayer shawl stretched between four poles. The huppah is a symbolic tent, a reminder that Jews were nomads at the time of the Exodus. Once again the bride and groom share the bread and wine, exchange the same vows again and they are married.

The whole village then has the wedding feast (which lasts for seven days) in order to celebrate the couple's new status and welcome a new family in the village. After sundown, the couple retire to consummate the marriage. It is interesting to note that the bride's family makes the bed for the couple...and keeps the sheets against the possibility that the groom might make the claim that she was not pure at the time of the marriage.

Yes, divorce was possible, so everything was done to ensure that the marriage would be a lasting one.

You will find all the betrothal elements in the Last Supper passages in The Bible. Now you have the context for the odd sayings that Jesus said during that meal. In short, He was "betrothing" Himself to the future Church that night...and the Apostles knew it. They accepted on our behalf, so now the Church is the Bride.