Marriage

====Ancient Near East====
Many cultures have legends concerning the origins of marriage. The way in which a marriage is conducted and its rules and ramifications have changed over time, as has the institution itself, depending on the culture or demographic of the time.<ref>[[Hobhouse, Leonard Trelawny]] (1906) [https://archive.org/details/moralsinevolutio00hobh ''Morals in evolution: a study in comparative ethics''], New York: H. Holt and Co, p. 180.</ref>

The first recorded evidence of marriage ceremonies uniting a man and a woman dates back to approximately 2350 BC, in ancient [[Mesopotamia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theweek.com/articles/528746/origins-marriage|title=The origins of marriage|date=January 1, 2007|work=[[The Week]]|access-date=December 8, 2019}}</ref> Wedding ceremonies, as well as dowry and divorce, can be traced back to Mesopotamia and [[Babylonia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ehistory.osu.edu/articles/marriage-ancient-mesopotamia-and-babylonia|title=Marriage in Ancient Mesopotamia and Babylonia|last=Naranjo|first=Robert|website=eHistory.osu.edu|publisher=[[Ohio State University]]|access-date=December 8, 2019}}</ref>

<!---taken from article, "Jewish views on marriage"--->
According to ancient Hebrew tradition, a wife was seen as being property of high value and was, therefore, usually, carefully looked after.<ref name="JewEncMar" /><ref name="CheyneAndBlackMar" /> Early nomadic communities in the Middle East practiced a form of marriage known as ''[[Beena marriage|beena]]'', in which a wife would own a tent of her own, within which she retains complete independence from her husband;<ref name="WRSKinship167">[[William Robertson Smith]], ''Kinship and Marriage in early Arabia'', (1885), 167</ref> this principle appears to survive in parts of early Israelite society, as some early passages of the Bible appear to portray certain wives as each owning a tent as a personal possession<ref name="WRSKinship167" /> (specifically, [[Jael]],<ref>{{bibleverse||Judges|4:7|HE}}</ref> [[Sarah]],<ref>{{bibleverse||Genesis|24:26|HE}}</ref> and Jacob's wives<ref>{{bibleverse||Genesis|31:33–34|HE}}</ref>).

The husband, too, is indirectly implied to have some responsibilities to his wife. The [[Covenant Code]] orders "If he take him another; her food, her clothing, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish (or lessen)".<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|21:10|HE}}</ref> If the husband does not provide the first wife with these things, she is to be divorced, without cost to her.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|21:11|HE}}</ref> The [[Talmud]] interprets this as a requirement for a man to provide food and clothing to, and have sex with, each of his wives.<ref name="JewEncHusWif">{{Jewish Encyclopedia|inline=1|title=Husband and Wife|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=H&artid=986}}</ref>{{clarify|date=April 2013}} However, "duty of marriage" is also interpreted as whatever one does as a married couple, which is more than just sexual activity. And the term diminish, which means to lessen, shows the man must treat her as if he was not married to another.

As a [[polygyny|polygynous]]<!--this is NOT a spelling mistake for 'polygamous'--> society, the Israelites did not have any laws that imposed marital fidelity on men.<ref name="CheyneAndBlackJeal">{{EncyclopaediaBiblica|article=Jealousy, Ordeal of|section=Jannaeus-Jerah}}</ref><ref name="JewEncAdu">{{Jewish Encyclopedia|inline=1|title=Adultery|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=865&letter=A}}</ref> However, the prophet [[Malachi]] states that none should be faithless to the wife of his youth and that God hates divorce.<ref>{{bibleverse||Malachi|2:15–16|HE}}</ref> [[Adultery|Adulterous]] married women, adulterous betrothed women, and the men who slept with them, however, were subject to the [[Capital punishment|death penalty]] by [[Adultery#In the Hebrew Bible|the biblical laws against adultery]]<ref>{{bibleverse||Ezekiel|16:40|}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|20:10|HE}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|22:22–25|}}</ref> According to the [[Priestly Code]] of the [[Book of Numbers]], if a pregnant<ref>''[[Peake's commentary on the Bible]]'' (1962 edition), ad loc</ref> woman was suspected of adultery, she was to be subjected to the [[Ordeal of the bitter water|Ordeal of Bitter Water]],<ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers|5:11–31|HE}}</ref> a form of [[trial by ordeal]], but one that took a miracle to convict. The [[literary prophets]] indicate that adultery was a frequent occurrence, despite their strong protests against it,<ref>{{bibleverse||Jeremiah|7:9|HE}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Jeremiah|23:10|HE}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Hosea|4:2|}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Malachi|3:5|HE}}</ref> and these legal strictness's.<ref name="CheyneAndBlackJeal" />