Throughout Scripture, there are events, customs, and many other things that are generally seen as backward to a modern reader. One of these appears in Genesis 34:12, Exodus 22:16, and 1 Samuel 18:25. These verses speak about a bride-price. A man was to pay money to the family of his would-be wife for her hand in marriage (think of something like a dowry). Paying a price for a bride is seen by some as degrading to women because it treats her like property. Is this true? Does the Bible treat women as mere property because of this?

Quite to the contrary, this is not the way that it was understood in Ancient Israel. First, the Hebrew word for bride-price (mohar) is better translated as “marriage gift” (or “marriage present”).[1] The marriage gift was usually several years’ worth of wages and helped the bride’s family compensate for the work that the woman would have provided for the family (remember that most people were farmers, and they needed all the help they could get to operate the family farm, so no one would starve). It also helped to provide economic stability for the new marriage, create closer family ties, and provide security in case of divorce or the death of a spouse.[2]

More importantly, however, paying a bride-price (remember, which was usually several years of wages) showed that the man had serious intentions in marrying the young woman. It made him value the marriage as it would be costly and hard to get. This would force him to make a full and formal commitment instead of making marriage a quick decision (like it is for so many today). This would make the man appreciate and work hard for the marriage.[3]

Paying a bride-price was not degrading to women. It honored them instead of treating them like property. This is a “problem” that skeptics take away from the verses in question simply because they do not understand the customs recorded in the Bible.

What do you think?

[1] Paul Copan. Is God a Moral Monster? (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011), 117. Richard Davidson. Flame of Yahweh (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2007), 249. Daniel Block. “Marriage and Family in Ancient Israel” in Marriage and Family in the Biblical World, Ken M. Campbell ed. (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2003), 57.

[2] Copan, 117. Block, 57.

[3] Copan, 117. Douglas K. Stuart. Exodus (Nashville: B&H Publishing, 2006), 510.