The wedding’s center was the procession: the bridegroom came, often at night, with lamps, to lead the bride to his own house, then days of feasting. That is the scene behind the virgins waiting with lamps (Matt 25:1–13) and “the friend of the bridegroom” (John 3:29). A maiden’s wedding was commonly held on a Wednesday; the marriage contract (ketubah) secured the bride a settlement, the legal minimum for a maiden was two hundred denars.
Daily life in Bible times
The wedding
Family & home
Sources, trace every one
Every cited verse, in full. Tap any reference to open it in the reader.
- Matthew 25:1bsb
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
- John 3:29bsb
The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
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