Marriage from the Old Testament

MODULE 5

Names: _____________________________________________________________

Course and Block: _____________________________________________________________

Instructor/Professor: ______________________________________________________________

Date: ______________________________________________________________

Introduction. As a continuation of Unit I, module 1-3 presented the

Ecclesiological perspective of marriage and family. Unit II, presents to us the Christian
perspective of marriage. Module 5 presents the original concept of family/marriage in the
Old Testament. It presents to us how God design this union. This biblical perspective will
enlighten us about the very concept of a family/marriage.
.

MODULE INTRODUCTIONS AND FOCUS QUESTION (S):

Module 4 of unit II presented the Ecclesiological perspective of marriage
and family. It considers family as the Domestic Church which is the seat of
unity and communion; sanctuary of life; agent of socialization and the
leaven for evangelization. Unit II, presents to us the Christian perspective
of marriage. Module 5 offers the original concept of family/marriage in
the Old Testament. It shows to us how God design this union from the
very beginning of its conception. This biblical perspective will enlighten us
about the very concept of a family/marriage. In this module I ask what the
concept of family in the Old Testament is. Does God design the family to
meet the need of man for companionship? Does my family provide each
member of the spirit of companionship? Does my family fulfil God’s
design that each member in the family is always present when they are in
need?
In this module, you should be able to ....
After completing the unit 2, the students will be able to:
1. DOCTRINE; Demonstrate understanding on the concept of Marriage in the Old
Testament
2. MORAL: Grow in their desire to discover and respond to God’s covenantal
relationship and to meet the human need for companionship.
3. WORSHIP: Express appreciation and gratitude to God for the gift of marriage
relationship that built on commitment and love.
As Dominican-educated youth, the students are able to practice the Dominican three-
fold mission at the end of the module, through:
1. Laudare —To praise God for realizing us the beauty of lifelong commitment in marriage,
2. Benedicere — To sanctify or bless us through the teaching of the Church against the
attack of Modern society challenging the very fiber of the institution of marriage.
S. Praedicare — To preach with zeal and passion the true meaning of marriage which is
not just a physical union, but a spiritual and emotional union.
Opening Prayer

and take from me the double

darkness in Which l have been
born,

an obscurity of both sin and

In the name of
ignorance.
the Father, and of
the Son, and of Give me a sharp sense of
the Holy Spirit. understanding, a retentive
Amen. memory, and the ability to
grasp things correctly and
Creator of all
fundamentally.
things,
Grant me the talent of being
true Source of
exact in my explanations,
light and wisdom,
lofty origin of all and the ability to express
being, myself with thoroughness and
charm.
graciously let a
ray of Your Point out the beginning, direct
brilliance the progress, and help in
penetrate into completion; through Christ our
the darkness of Lord.
my
understanding
In the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
 Let’s find out how much you already know about this topic. Think and
give your best answers to the question by clicking the Yes or NO. Please
answer all items. After taking this short test, you will see your score.
Take note of the items that you were not able to correctly answer and
look for the right answer as you go through this module.

Response “YES” Statement Response “NO”

1. God designed marriage to meet

the human needs for
companionship and to provide an
illustration of man’s relationship
with Him.
2. It is being said that it takes three to
make a good and satisfying marriage:
God, the man, and the woman.
Marriage has been described as a
triangle with God at the top: the closer
each partner moves to God, the
closer they move toward each other.
The further each moves from God, the
further they move from each other
3. The woman is the missing part of the
man. Just as a jigsaw puzzle is incomplete
if half the pieces are missing, so a man is
incomplete without his wife. God
designed it so that the man needs the
woman and the woman needs the man.
Both are equal persons and yet have
distinct roles to fulfill.

4. In marriage it fulfils our need for

companionship, thus, marriage
must be a primary, permanent,
exclusive, and intimate
relationship.
5. In the context of the Old Testament,
the woman was the possession of the
man and if divorced would not be able
to remarry.
 Quaestio

ACTIVITY 1: Anticipation Reaction Guide (ARG)

What are your ideas when you think about the family in the Old Testament? Is my family living
the design of God in the Old Testament? Is marriage design only between male and female In
the Old Testament? Does God design same sex marriage or union in the beginning? Why a
monogamous marriage? Why in other faiths polygamous marriage is allowed? Is marriage
design to meet the human need for companionship? Why there are single people? Are male
and female created equal in marriage? Does an animal a suitable partner and companion of
man? Start the module by answering the first column of the Anticipation Reaction Guide
(ARG).
Instruction: Respond to each statement twice. Once before the lesson and again after reading
the discussion of the lesson
 Write I believe if you agree with the statement
 Write I don’t believe if you disagree with the statement
Response Before Statement Response After the
the Lesson Lesson

1. Marriage as a companionship requires that it

must be a primary relationship. This means a
man must leave his father and mother in
order to cleave to his wife to establish a one
flesh relationship.
2. Marriage as companionship requires that it must
be a permanent relationship. This means that the
marriage relationship must be built primarily on
commitment, not on feelings of romantic love.
3. Marriage as companionship requires that it
must be an exclusive relationship. This
means that when you get married, you give
up close friendships with women other than
your wife. You give up your freedom to go out
with the guys whenever you choose.
4. Marriage as companionship requires that it
must be an intimate relationship. This means
that it is design for sexual union which is built
in the foundation of a primary, permanent,
exclusive relationship that is growing in trust,
openness, and oneness.
5. In the context of the Old Testament, the
woman was the possession of the man and if
divorced would not be able to remarry.
ACTIVITY 2: Anticipation Reaction Guide (ARG) (Minimum of two (2) paragraph answer to each question)

1. What are your ideas when you think about the family in the Old Testament?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
2. Is my family living the design of God in the Old Testament?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. Does God design same sex marriage or union in the beginning?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. Why a monogamous marriage?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________
5. Is marriage design to meet the human need for companionship?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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 Objectio

Modern society is challenging the very fiber of the institution of marriage. Some believe that it is
not design for/between a man and woman only. They argued that it is their right to meet their
needs that is to have companion in life. They believe that the sole purpose of marriage is not for
prolonging one’s species but to meet the need of human for companionship. Thus, in the two
videos it shows to us of what really true love is and why do we love?

What True Love Really Is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw-_iPIcGIU

Why do we love? A philosophical inquiry - Skye C. Cleary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJSiUm6jvI0

Activity 3. Engage yourself… Watch the videos while you reflect and answer the questions
below. Please see the link in the module.
1. Marriage is one event that comes ordinarily in the life of men and women and yet it
demands that those who embrace it should have an adequate knowledge of this state
of life. What does this knowledge include? Why?
2. How would you explain the perception that marriage is a secular reality but linked
with the sacred?
3. Why can we not consider marriage as merely a private affair between husband and
wife?
 Analysis/Sed
Contra

1. From the Old Testament

a. Marriage in Creation

Early in Genesis, the book of beginnings, we find God’s design for marriage (Gen. 2:18-25). This text
describing the original context of marriage which is the basis for almost everything else the Bible says about
marriage. It explains God’s reason for designing marriage and also gives us many principles which, if applied,
will enable us to build solid, satisfying marriages which honor God. The text teaches us that:

God designed marriage to meet our need for companionship

and to provide an illustration of our relationship with Him.

1. God designed marriage to meet the human need for companionship.

When we read Genesis 1 & 2, the words of 2:18 hit abruptly: “It is not good for the man to be alone.”
Throughout chapter one, God surveys His work and pronounces it good (1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). This is the
first time God says that something in His creation is not good: “It is not good for the man to be alone.”
Think about it: Here’s a sinless man, in perfect fellowship with God, in a perfect environment. What
more could you want? Isn’t that enough? Not according to God! God’s evaluation was that the man needed a
human companion to correspond to him.
Sometimes super-spiritual people say that if you’re lonely, there must be something wrong with your
spiritual life. But God acknowledges our need not only for fellowship with Him, but also with a life partner.
This is not to say that every person needs to be married. Everyone spends many years of life as a single person.
God has called some to remain single (1 Cor. 7:7-9). Nor is it to say that marriage will meet all our needs for
companionship. Married people need friends of the same sex. But it is to say that a main reason God designed
marriage was to meet the human need for companionship.

A. GOD DESIGNED MARRIAGE.

That means that He knows best how it should operate. His Word gives us the principles we need for
satisfying marriages. Since God designed marriage, it takes three to make a good marriage: God, the man, and
the woman. For a Christian to marry an unbeliever is not only to disobey God, it is to enter marriage lacking a
crucial ingredient. Marriage has been described as a triangle with God at the top: the closer each partner moves
to God, the closer they move toward each other. The further each moves from God, the further they move from
each other. As soon as Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they experienced alienation from each other and Adam
began blaming Eve for his problems (3:7, 12). Broken marriages always involve at least one partner moving
away from God. So the starting place in having a marriage according to God’s design is genuine conversion and
a daily walk with God.
God says that He will make Adam “a helper (partner) suitable for him” (2:18). The Hebrew word is not
demeaning. It is often used of God’s help for those in distress and for military assistance. It points to the fact
that the husband needs and even depends on his wife’s support and help. But we also need to remember Paul’s
words that “man was not created for woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake” (1 Cor. 11:9). That verse
alone destroys the feminist view that there are no distinctions based on gender. The fact that God created the
woman as a helper points to her subordinate role to her husband, even before the fall.
But at the same time, there is no basis for the view that men are superior to women. God made the
woman to be a helper “suitable for” (lit. = “corresponding to”) the man. The picture is that the woman is the
missing part of the man. Just as a jigsaw puzzle is incomplete if half the pieces are missing, so a man is
incomplete without his wife. God designed it so that the man needs the woman and the woman needs the man
(see 1 Cor. 11:11). Both are equal persons and yet have distinct roles to fulfill.
God made Adam out of the dust (2:7). Why didn’t He make Eve out of the dust? Why did He make her
from Adam’s rib (2:21-22)? It is believe that God did it to show Adam that his wife was a part of him, equal
with him, not a lower creation. A man is to cherish his wife as his own flesh (Eph. 5:28-29). As has often been
observed, she was not taken from Adam’s head to rule over him, nor from his feet, that he should put her down,
but she was taken from his side that he would protect her and keep her close to his heart.
Why didn’t God create Adam and Eve simultaneously? Before God created Eve he put Adam through
the exercise of naming the animals (2:19-20). Some critics allege that these verses are out of context. There is
no basis for that assertion. But why this strange exercise of naming the animals right here? God had a lesson to
teach Adam. By naming all the animals, Adam discovered that for every animal there were both male and
female. After a few dozen cases--male and female aardvarks, and finally, male and female zebras--Adam got to
the end of the list and wondered, “Where’s mine?” The forlorn note reads, “but for Adam there was not found a
helper suitable for him” (2:20).
God first made Adam feel the need for a wife. A dog may be man’s best friend, but it could not satisfy
Adam’s need for companionship. Only a woman could. God sometimes makes us endure loneliness so that
when the need is met, we appreciate it more. I felt the need to get married at 20. The Lord made me wait until
just before my 27th birthday. By then I really felt the need. But I also deeply appreciate my wife. I remember
how lonely I felt all those years. God prepares us to receive His gifts and then provides for our needs. We need
to thank God for the partner He has given us and express our appreciation to that partner. God designed
marriage, including your marriage.
This account of the first marriage also plainly teaches that God designed marriage to include sex. Many
Christians have ungodly notions about sex. Some think that sex was the original sin. I read of one pastor and his
wife who announced to their congregation that they would be adopting their first son. One dear old lady told the
pastor, “That’s how every pastor and his wife should have children.” She thought that abstinence was more
spiritual!
The text describes concerning the creation of Eve, in the first place, it says that God fashioned a woman
from the man’s rib. “Fashioned” is literally, “built.” The verb pictures God as a sculptor, carefully and
deliberately shaping the woman into a creature who would meet Adam’s need. Since she was built by God, you
could safely say that she was well-built! She was a real beauty. Verse 22 implies that Adam didn’t wake up and
find Eve lying beside him. Rather, God brought her to him. Picture Adam waking up and wondering what the
funny feeling in his side was. He’s counting his ribs when he hears God say, “Adam, you forgot to name one
creature.” Adam looks up to see Eve, not in a wedding dress, but naked! Wow!
We know she was a knockout because of Adam’s response (2:23). These are the first recorded words of
the first man. They were not quite as mild as the various translations indicate. A more literal rendering of the
original Hebrew is: “YAHOO!” The phrase “this is now” is literally, “Here, now!” or “This one! At last!” Keil
and Delitzsch, two German scholars from the last century, translate it, “This time!” and say that it is “expressive
of joyous astonishment” (Commentary on the Old Testament [Eerdmans], 1:90). Jamieson, Fausset, Brown,
another commentary from Victorian times, say it is emphatic: “Now at last!” Or, “This is the very thing that hits
the mark; this reaches what was desired” (A Commentary Critical, Experimental, and Practical [Eerdmans],
1:46). Remember, Adam had been looking through all the animals for one corresponding to him and had come
up empty. When God brought Eve to him, he shouted, “Eureka!”
Next, Adam promptly finished his work of naming the creatures. He recognized that Eve was a part of
him and named her accordingly: “She shall be called Woman [Heb., Ishshah] because she was taken out of Man
[Heb., Ish].” God brought her to Adam as His exquisitely crafted gift, perfect for Adam’s deepest need.
These verses teach us something important about God: He is not opposed to our enjoyment of sex within
marriage. He designed it and gave it to Adam and Eve. Satan tries to malign the goodness of God by making us
think that God is trying to take our fun away by restricting sex to marriage. But God knows that it creates major
problems when we violate His design for His gift. We need to regard marriage and sex in marriage as God’s
good gift, designed for our pleasure, to meet our deepest needs for human companionship. In the context of
marriage, we can thankfully enjoy what God has given.

A. God designed Marriage to meet our need for companionship

Verse 24 of Geneses 1 is Moses speaking, not Adam (who didn’t have a father and mother to leave). It is
Moses’ commentary on these events. “For this reason” means, “Because of the way God designed marriage
from the start, because the woman is bone of man’s bone and flesh of his flesh, these things hold true.” He
shows that to fulfill our need for companionship, marriage must be a primary, permanent, exclusive, and
intimate relationship.
(1) Companionship requires that marriage be a primary relationship. God did not create a father and
mother for Adam, nor a child, but a wife. A man must leave father and mother in order to cleave to his wife to
establish a one flesh relationship. This means that the marriage relationship is primary, not the parent-child
relationship. The parent child relationship must be altered before the marriage relationship can be established.
The cord must be cut. This doesn’t mean abandoning parents or cutting off contact with them. But it does mean
that a person needs enough emotional maturity to break away from dependence upon his parents to enter
marriage. And parents need to raise their children with a view to releasing them.
It also means that if a couple builds their marriage around their children, or as more frequently happens,
the husband builds his life around his job while the wife builds her life around the children, they are heading for
serious problems when it’s time for the nest to empty. It is not helping the children, either. The best way to be a
good parent to your children is to be a good husband to their mother or a good wife to their father.
(2) Companionship requires that marriage be a permanent relationship. This follows from it being the
primary relationship. Your children are with you in the home a few years; your partner is with you for life.
“Cleave” means to cling to, to hold to, as bone to skin. It means to be glued to something--so when you get
married, you’re stuck! After Jesus quoted this verse, He added, “What therefore God has joined together, let no
man separate” (Matt. 19:6).
This means that the marriage relationship must be built primarily on commitment, not on feelings of
romantic love. Romantic love is important, but the foundation of marriage is a commitment of the will. It is a
covenant before God (Mal. 2:14; Prov. 2:17). Commitment is what will hold a couple together through the
difficulties that invariably come. A Christian couple should never use the threat of divorce as leverage in a
conflict.
(3) Companionship requires that marriage be an exclusive relationship. The text says, “To his wife,” not
“wives.” Monogamy is God’s design: One man, one woman for life. Although God tolerated polygamy in Old
Testament times, it was not His original intention. God easily could have created many wives for Adam, but He
did not. One man, one woman, for life--that’s God’s design.
This means that when you get married, you give up close friendships with women other than your wife.
You give up your freedom to go out with the guys whenever you choose. You have a new relationship with
your wife; she is now your first priority in terms of human relationships. If you can’t handle that, you aren’t
mature enough for the demands of marriage.
(4) Companionship requires that marriage be an intimate relationship. “And they shall become one
flesh.” One flesh emphasizes the sexual union (1 Cor. 6:16). But the sexual union is always more than just
physical. There is relational and emotional oneness as well. Most sexual problems in marriage stem from a
failure of total person intimacy. Sexual harmony must be built on the foundation of a primary, permanent,
exclusive relationship that is growing in trust, openness, and oneness. God made us that way.
If you remove sex from the context of a primary, permanent, exclusive commitment, you will experience
a superficial sense of closeness. Paul says that even when a man has sex with a prostitute, he becomes one flesh
with her (1 Cor. 6:16). But apart from the lifelong commitment of marriage, sex will never bring the satisfaction
 God designed it to give.
Sin always hinders intimacy, even in marriage. As soon as Adam and Eve sinned, they recognized their
nakedness and began to hide themselves, not only from God, but also from one another. While as fallen sinners
we can never experience what Adam and Eve knew with one another before the fall, to the extent that we deal
with our sin before God and one another and grow in holiness, we will grow in personal intimacy. It takes
constant work! Good marriages aren’t the result of luck in finding the right partner. They’re the result of
couples who work daily at walking openly and humbly before God and with each other.
But God didn’t design marriage just so that we could be happy and have our needs met. He designed
marriage to be a testimony for Him. Godly marriages bear witness of what it means to know God.

a. Marriage as practiced

In the ancient societies, marriage was the norm. A man selected a wife (or had one selected for him)
from within his own tribe, usually at around the age of 13. The woman was then betrothed to him and in the
eyes of society would be legally married. Upon consummation he would pay the bride-price to her family which
compensated them for the loss of her labour. There was no religious ceremony at betrothal or any other time,
although there would usually be a feast when the husband received the wife and consummated the marriage.
The husband ruled over the wife and his will was binding on the whole family. She was essentially
considered to be his property, and there was not necessarily any requirement for consent from the woman for
this arrangement.
There are many different types of marriage described in the Old Testament but they all seem to follow
this pattern of ownership of the woman by the man. Polygamous marriages were frequently described and were
common for those men rich enough to afford them. Concubines were permitted and were essentially sexual
partners of a lower status than wives. Female prisoners of war were taken and would be made wives of the
soldiers that had conquered their lands, and female slaves could be made wives at any time. Deuteronomy states
that a woman who has been raped must be married to the attacker, so one path to marriage would be for a man
to sexually attack a woman that appealed to him and then later paying 50 shekels to her father.
This then is the type and conception of marriage in the Old Testament, and it has to be seen against a
culture which had no conception of women being of equal status to men. The woman was the possession of the
man and if divorced would not be able to remarry – unlike the man who could of course purchase as many
brides as he wanted or could afford.

Read and Watch: To deepen your understanding and find meaning on what is the concept of marriage in the
Old Testament, please read all articles and watch all videos that will guide you in this module. Take note what
you understand. Go to the link provided below, read, watch and understand what is the Christian vision of
family and marriage in Catholicism, particularly in the Old Testament
Video Materials
Covenants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ferLIsvlmI
The Covenant Of MARRIAGE | The TRUTH THAT YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=R9UfyBHl4O4

Activity 4: Write below what you understand from your reading and watching about marriage in the Old
Testament
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Respondio
TRANSFER: Transfer Task

Now that you are done with this module. Try to capture and analyze the scenario.
Understanding marriage and our family in God’s design is not an easy task. Our family should
be place where we find permanence, exclusivity, intimacy and love. You are required to
design a video clip that show the original concept of marriage in the Old Testament. You are
to present this proposal to the Bishop, the Rector of UST, and the VP for Religious Education of
UST for approval and imprimatur. Your presentation will be evaluated by group of Theology
professors designated by the Director of CREED. The evaluation will be based on creativity,
persuasiveness, and coherence to the teachings the Church. You have to post it in your
facebook timeline and share it as many as you can.
(Maximum of five minutes’ video presentation)
Rubrics for your Performance Task

Skills Below Standard Just Meets the Adequately Meets Exemplary

(70-74%) Standard Standard (91-99%)
(75-80%) (81-90%)

Creativity The video does not The video only an The video The video totally
demonstrate the attempt to demonstrates the demonstrates the
socio-cultural, demonstrate the socio-cultural, socio-cultural,
political, economic socio-cultural, political, economic political, economic
realities and needs political, economic realities and needs realities and needs
of the student, realities and needs of the student, of the student,
family, others and of the student, family, others and family, others and
the society as a family, others and the society as a the society as a
whole. the society as a whole. whole.
whole.
Persuasiveness The video does not The video only an The video The video absolutely
persuade or capture attempt to persuade demonstrates persuasive in
the socio-cultural, the socio-cultural, persuasively the demonstrating the
political, economic political, economic socio-cultural, socio-cultural,
 realities and needs realities and needs political, economic political, economic
of the student, of the student, realities and needs realities and needs
family, others and family, others and of the student, of the student,
the society as a the society as a family, others and family, others and
whole. whole. the society as a the society as a
whole. whole.
scope The scope of the The scope of the The scope of the The scope of the
video is not video only attempts video video is totally
comprehensive for to the socio-cultural, comprehensively comprehensive to
the socio-cultural, political, economic respond to the the socio-cultural,
political, economic realities and needs socio-cultural, political, economic
realities and needs of the student, political, economic realities and needs
of the student, family, others and realities and needs of the student,
family, others and the society as a of the student, family, others and
the society as a whole. It is not family, others and the society as a
whole. It is not coherent to the the society as a whole. It is not
coherent to the social teachings of whole. It is not coherent to the
social teachings of the Church. coherent to the social teachings of
the Church. social teachings of the Church.
the Church.
Instruction: In your own words explain why the family is important in a society.
Your Title
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FORMAT:
12 TIMES NEW ROMAN
 Closure

Learning Skills Easy, I get Well, more

examples
OMG, I
It still need
please help

1. 1. I can discern what is the

meaning of family as a domestic
church
2. I can uphold the value of the sanctity
of marriage and family life of human
relationships.
CLOSING PRAYER
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit. Amen.

May God the Father bless us.

May God the Son heal us.
May God the Holy Spirit enlighten us, and give
us
eyes To see with, ears to hear with,
hands to do the work of God with, feet to walk
with,
a mouth to preach the word of salvation with,
and the angel of peace to watch over us and
lead us at last, by our Lord’s gift, for the
Kingdom.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit. Amen..
References:
Catechism for Filipino Catholics (1997). Manila: ECCEE Word & Life Publications.
Catechism for the Catholic Church
Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church (2011). San Francisco: Ignatius Press
Do Catechism of the Catholic Church
Faith Seeking Understanding
Ott, L. (1974). Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. Tan Books and Pub, Inc. USA.