HUSBAND (ἁ?νήρ).—Betrothal and marriage were virtually one among the Jews. The former consisted in the simple act, on the part of the bridegroom or his deputy, of giving to the bride or her representative a written engagement, in the presence of two witnesses, or a piece of money, large or small, with the words, ‘Be thou consecrated unto me.’ Like marriage itself, of which it was the initiatory step, it could be dissolved only by death or divorce. Under the Mosaic Law, the marriage tie was comparatively easily broken, and divorces seem to have been quite common. During the period of the later prophets the ethical standard was considerably advanced (‘God hates putting away,’ Malachi 2:16). Christ Himself utterly set aside the law of Moses, and limited the dissolution of the marriage tie to the one cause of adultery; and in this respect He apparently put the two sexes on the same plane (Mark 10:11 f.). The mercy of Christ towards sinners against the law of sexual morality as laid down by Himself is, however, beautifully illustrated in His treatment of the Samaritan woman (John 4:16-18), and in that of the woman taken in adultery (John 8:4-11). * [Note: This passage, whether genuine or not, is certainly a true reflexion of our Lord’s mind and character.]
In Matthew 1:16, Matthew 1:9 Joseph is called ‘the husband’ of Mary, indicating, in connexion with v. 25, that true marital relations existed between them. This is in evident conflict with the Apocrypha, which assigns to Joseph the place of a guardian rather than that of a true husband, in order to uphold the perpetual virginity of Mary. See, further, artt. Marriage, Wife.
Henry E. Dosker.