The setting for my first novel, Light of the Candle, and its sequel, Waiting for the Light, is 6th century BC Jerusalem. It was
a lot of fun to research the marriage customs of that time.
There were four parts to securing a marriage:
Finding a marriage partner
Parents had the responsibility to find marriage
partners for their children. If a girl’s father was dead, the eldest son was
charged with the responsibility to find a bride for his sisters. This was one
of the reasons that the eldest son was given a double portion of his father’s
estate, to provide for his siblings. When a suitable partner was found, payments
would be exchanged: the brideprice, given by the groom’s family to the bride’s,
and the dowry, given to the groom’s family by the bride’s. These were not to
enrich either family. They were insurance for the bride, so that she would be
solvent if her husband died or divorced her.
The Betrothal
The betrothal ceremony was a simple one, packed with
meaning. The groom made spoken promises to love and cherish his bride: “I will
betroth thee unto me forever….in loving kindness and in mercies….” (Hosea 2).
By law he was to provide her with all the necessities of life. In return, the
bride did not need to say anything. To indicate her consent, all she had to do
was reach out and take the cup of wine that the groom offered her. With these
promises, the man and woman were then considered to be married, even though
they would not live together for approximately one year.
Preparations
While the groom was busy building a house for his
bride, she also had many things to do to prepare for her wedding. The weaving
loom was kept busy, making things a bride would need to set up a
home: rugs, bed linens, towels, etc. She also would collect pots, utensils, and
bowls. The most important task the bride had was to make her wedding gown out
of linen cloth made from flax. She would embroider the neck and hem and sleeves
with a design of her own: leaves and flowers. Sarai, my main character, chose
pomegranates and daisies. Shortly before the year wait was over, the bride
would go to a sacred ceremonial bath, called a mikveh.
The Ceremony
The actual wedding day was fixed by the groom’s
father, when he determined that his son was prepared, he set the time for the
groom to fetch his bride. The bride must have all in readiness, for she would
not know the day. At midnight, the blowing of a ram’s horn announced the
groom’s coming as he moved through the streets toward her house with the bridal
cart, decorated with cloth and flowers. Those invited to the ceremony would
follow behind, carrying lit candles. When the procession arrived at the
father’s house, the groom would lift the veil to make certain that this was his
chosen bride, lower it again, and the ceremony would begin. After the vows of
love and promise, the crowd shouted with joy while the groom took his bride to
the chamber he had prepared. Then the wedding guests would feast on sweet honey
cakes, dates, grapes and pomegranates. The celebration would last sometimes for
seven days!
Carol Pratt Bradley is a historical novelist with an MFA in Creative Writing from Brigham Young University. She has three novels from WiDo Publishing:
Light of the Candle 2015
Fire of the Word 2016
Waiting for the Light 2017
Available on Amazon and WiDo Publishing's website
www.carolpbradley.com
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1 comment:
That business of lifting the bride’s veil still happens sometimes. My nephew and his bride chose to do it, though neither of them is very religious. She explained it to the guests, and I guess they just thought it was fun. It wasn’t at midnight, though, but late afternoon in a friend’s garden.
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