Christ and the Ancient Jewish Wedding Traditions

I never really thought a lot about why we are called "the bride of Christ," or any of the wedding analogies in the bible until I saw Zola Levitt explain the ancient Jewish wedding tradition. As he spoke, the pieces in my head clicked into place. I wanted to share this with others who may not know about it.

In the ancient Jewish tradition, when a man wanted to marry a woman, he went to her home, bringing with him a bethrothal contract and a skin of wine. He would speak to the father of the prospective bride, making him a financial offering. This offering, known as the "bride price" was meant to show his willingness to pay for the hand of the woman and the ability to provide for her. If the bride price was acceptable, the groom would pour a cup of wine, and the bride would drink it. The contract -- or covenant -- was signed, and a shofar -- or trumpet -- was sounded to announce the betrothal. He would make a formal ritual statement such as, "Thou art set apart for me according to the law of Moses and of Israel." From then on, the woman had to wear a veil over her head in public to signify her betrothal.

Although they were officially married at this point, the marriage could not yet be consumated.

The groom would give special gifts to his betrothed in order to show his appreciatio of her and to serve as reminders of him while he was away.

The groom would go then to his father's home to prepare a place for her. This place was known as a "chupah" and was the chamber where they would spend their honeymoon. It was built in his father's house and would usually take between one and two years to construct the place, and during that time, they did not see one another.

Between the time of the betrothal and the time of the groom's return, she would participate in a "mikvah," or ritual cleansing bath.

Once he was finished preparing the place, his father had to inspect and approve of the chamber. Only then could the groom would go to get his bride.

In essence, no one knew but the groom's father when that date would be.

Because of the uncertainty in scheduling, the bride had to be ready for the return of her groom at any time. And so did the rest of the wedding party.

Often, they would keep a candle burning for the groom and an extra jar of oil at the ready.

Once the father of the groom gave his approval on the chupah, the son would go back to get his bride.

He and the groomsmen would travel back and sound another trumpet to announce their impending arrival. This trumpet was known as the "last trump."

At this point, the groom would give to the bride's father the contract which they signed the night of the betrothal. The bride and groom would then leave her father's house and go to his father's house to begin their new life together.

Once there, the father of the groom would take the bride's hand and put it into the groom's hand. This action was known as the "presentation." At the moment of the presentation, they were officially wed.

Upon their marriage, the groom would then bring his wife to the chupah where the marriage is consummated. After consummation, he introduces her to his friends, the members of the wedding party, who had assembled and prepared the marrriage feast when they heard the last trump. During the feast, the groom would drink wine and then pass the cup to his bride. Her acceptance of the cup of wine signifies that she accepted the covenant that he signed all those months before the wedding.