W. M. Flinders Petrie.
BRIDE. — In patriarchal times the bride is com- monly chosen, not by the hride^om, but by his parents or friends, and they do not necessarily consult him. Abraham sends a confidential servant to find a bride for Isaac (Gn 24). Judah takes Tamar as a bride for his son Er (38*). Isaac in- structs Jacob as to his choice (28^). And, in the absence of the father, Hagar takes a wife for Ishmael (2P>). Where the bridegroom chooses, it is his father who makes the proposal, as in the cases of Shechem (SI*-*) and Samson (Jg U--'"). Whether the consent of the bride was usually asked, is not clear ; Gn 24^* is not evidence. Perhaps Rebekah was only asked whether she would go at once ; it had been previously agreed that slie was to go. And these patriarchal customs have not undergone much change in the East : a bride may know nothing of the bridegroom till the wedding.
Tlie bride was commonly paid for; i.e. her father received money or service in return for his consent to part with her (Gn 31" 34", 1 S 18^-" etc.). The bride herself received no do\vTy ; and To 7" is tlie earliest mention of a marriage contract, which perhaps was of the nature of a settlement.
Betrothal was much more serious than ' engage- ment'is with us. Unfaithfulness on the part of the bride during the interval between betrothal and marriage was regarded as adulterj', and might be punished with death (Dt 22-^-^). She was to be stoned, not strangled ; and this makes it probable that the 'woman taken in adultery' was betrotlu'il and not yet married ([.In] S-"-*). Nothing of the kind is found in Greek or Roman law, according to which betrothal was a mere
Eromise on the part of the bride to marry the ridegroom, and did not create any legal obliga- tion. There was no penalty for breach of promise (Smith, Diet, of Aiit. 3rd ed. ii. p. 140a).
The main feature in the marriage ceremony, which was a legal formality rather than a religious rite, was the fetching of tlie bride from the house of her father to the house of the bridegroom or his father. Among the Greeks the bride prejiared herself for the wedding by a bath ; and at Athens
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the water for Xoi-rpoi' wiiipiKbv was taken from the fountain Callirrhoe. Tliere is reason for believing tliat Jewish brides did the like, and that there is allusion to this custom (Uu 3^ Ezk S;!", Eph 5=-"). If the la.st reference is correct, the allusion is very striking. At the wedding the bride wore a veil, which entirely covered her, a sash, and a crown. •Attire' in Jer 2"* prob. means the bridal sash (cf. Is 3» RVm, 49'»), and katldh, the Heb. word for bride, is by some connected with the crown.* The bride remained veiled throughout; and thus Jacob did not detect the substitution of Leah for lUchel (Uu 29™"^). Embroidery, perfumes, and jewels were usual with those who could afford them (Ps 45''- "• », Is 49'« 61>», Rev 21»).
In mystical language 'the bride' in the OT is Israel, and the bridegroom or husband is J". This image prevails throughout Ps 45, and is found in various passages in the Prophets (Is 54° 62», Jer 3'*, Hos 2"'). Pos-sibly the Song of Songs was mystically interpreted among the Jews even before it was admitted to the Canon. Hence idolatry on the part of Israel is ' playing the harlot'^ (Jer 3'-»-e), U 'whoredom' (Hos 4" 9'), and worthy of death (Ps 73-'').
In the NT ' the bride ' is the Church, and the bridegroom is Christ (2 Co 11', Rev 19' 21»-», Mt 9", Jn 3^) ; and in the Apoc. the bride is usually the ideal Church, the heavenly Jeru- salem. But in Rev 22" we have ' the bride ' used of 'the Church militant here on earth,' praying to her Lord to return to her. Here again, al.so, an apostate Church is regarded as a harlot (17'-'). A. Plummer.
BRIDEGROOM.— Much that might be said under this head lias been anticipated in the article BRIDE. To this day in the East the bridegroom has, as a rule, little to do with the choice of the bride. Love matches are rare, and in many cases are impo.s-sible. In the OT we see that where the son chose his own bride independently of his parents, his relations with the latter were not happy (On 2g«. » 27"). Jehoiada the priest chooses wives for the orphan king, Joash (2 Ch 24', corap. 25'"). The interval between betrothal and marriage might be of any duration, for the espousal of children to one anotiier has always been common in the East; but a year for maidens and a month for widows Beems to have been customary.
On the wedding day the bridegroom wore a garland (Ca 3", comp. Is 61'") as well as the bride, and was often profusely perfumed (Ca 3°). Weddings commonly took place in the evening ; and at the proper time the bridegroom sets out, along with his ' companions' (Jg 14"), the ' sons of the bride-chamber' (Mk 2'», Lk 5"), with lights (2 Es 10'- ») and music (1 Mac 9»'), to fetch the bride. She also is accompanied by companions, maidens, some of whom start with her from her fatlier's house (Ps 45"), while others join the bridal party afterwards, all of them jjrovided with lamps (.Mt 25'-"). Thus they go to meet the bridegroom, who conducts the whole party to the wedding feast, which might last many Jays (Jg 14", To 8'"). The details of the ceremony would vary, esp. as regards magnificence ; but tliere was not of neces.sity any religious rite. The essential act wiui the brulegrooiii's fetching the bride from her home to his. Of the custom of jiroviiliiig wedding garments for guests nothing is known with certainty (Mt 22"-^0, for Jg 14" is not in ]x>int; but rich clothing is in the East one of the commonest of presenUs. A bridegroom was exempt from military service lietween betrothal and mar-