Understanding Biblical Customs

9. When we consider customs involving women in Bible times, what three things should we keep in mind?

⁹ Women were well treated among God’s servants in Bible times. Of course, in considering customs involving women in those days, it is helpful to keep several things in mind. First, when the Bible tells of unpleasant situations that developed because of selfish domination by wicked men, that does not mean that God approved of such treatment of women. Second, although Jehovah tolerated certain customs among his servants for a time, he regulated these in order to protect women. Third, we must be careful not to judge ancient customs by modern standards. Certain customs that might appear unpleasant to people living today were not necessarily viewed as demeaning by women back then. Let us consider some examples.

10. How did Jehovah view the practice of polygamy, and what indicates that he never abandoned his original standard of monogamy?

¹⁰ Polygamy:a According to Jehovah’s original purpose, a wife would not share her husband with another woman. God created only one wife for Adam. (Genesis 2:21, 22) After the rebellion in Eden, the practice of polygamy first appeared in the line of Cain. Eventually it became a custom and was adopted by some worshipers of Jehovah. (Genesis 4:19; 16:1-3; 29:21-28) Although Jehovah allowed polygamy and it served to increase Israel’s population, he showed consideration for women by regulating the practice so that wives and their children would be protected. (Exodus 21:10, 11; Deuteronomy 21:15-17) Moreover, Jehovah never abandoned his original standard of monogamy. Noah and his sons, to whom the command to ‘be fruitful and fill the earth’ was repeated, were all monogamous. (Genesis 7:7; 9:1; 2 Peter 2:5) God portrayed himself as a monogamous husband when symbolizing his relationship with Israel. (Isaiah 54:1, 5) Then, too, God’s original standard of monogamy was reestablished by Jesus Christ and was practiced in the early Christian congregation.​—Matthew 19:4-8; 1 Timothy 3:2, 12.

11. Why was a bride-price paid in Bible times, and was this demeaning to women?

¹¹ Paying a bride-price: The book Ancient Israel​—Its Life and Institutions states: “This obligation to pay a sum of money, or its equivalent, to the girl’s family obviously gives the Israelite marriage the outward appearance of a purchase. But the [bride-price] seems to be not so much the price paid for the woman as a compensation given to the family.” (Italics ours.) So the payment of a bride-price served to compensate the woman’s family for the loss of her services and for the effort and expense required of her family in caring for her. Instead of demeaning the woman, then, it affirmed her value to her family.​—Genesis 34:11, 12; Exodus 22:16; see The Watchtower, January 15, 1989, pages 21-4.

12. (a) How were married men and women at times referred to in the Scriptures, and were these terms offensive to women? (b) What is noteworthy about the terms Jehovah used in Eden? (See footnote.)

¹² Husbands as “owners”: An incident in the life of Abraham and Sarah about 1918 B.C.E. indicates that by their time it had evidently become customary to view a married man as the “owner” (Hebrew, baʹʽal) and a married woman as the ‘owned one’ (Hebrew, beʽu·lahʹ). (Genesis 20:3) These expressions are thereafter at times used in the Scriptures, and there is no indication that pre-Christian women found them offensive.b (Deuteronomy 22:22) Wives were not to be treated as pieces of property, though. Property or wealth could be bought, sold, and even inherited, but this was not so of a wife. “The inheritance from fathers is a house and wealth,” says a Bible proverb, “but a discreet wife is from Jehovah.”​—Proverbs 19:14; Deuteronomy 21:14.