Jump to: Smith's • ISBE • Easton's • Webster's • Concordance • Thesaurus • Greek • Hebrew • Library • Subtopics • Terms Topical Encyclopedia In the biblical context, the role and identity of a wife are deeply rooted in the creation narrative and the covenantal relationships established by God. The concept of a wife is introduced in the Book of Genesis, where God creates Eve as a companion for Adam. Genesis 2:18 states, "The LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'" This foundational passage establishes the wife as a divinely ordained partner, designed to complement and support her husband.Marriage as a Covenant Marriage is depicted as a sacred covenant between a man and a woman, instituted by God. In Malachi 2:14 , the prophet speaks of marriage as a covenant: "Yet you ask, 'Why?' Because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant." This covenantal view underscores the seriousness and sanctity of the marital relationship. Roles and Responsibilities The New Testament further elaborates on the roles and responsibilities of a wife within the marriage. Ephesians 5:22-24 instructs, "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." This passage highlights the principle of submission, which is often understood as a voluntary and respectful yielding to the husband's leadership, reflecting the relationship between Christ and the Church. However, this submission is balanced by the husband's call to love his wife sacrificially, as Christ loved the Church (Ephesians 5:25). The mutual respect and love between husband and wife are central to the biblical vision of marriage. Proverbs 31: The Virtuous Wife Proverbs 31 provides a detailed portrait of a virtuous wife, emphasizing her industriousness, wisdom, and fear of the Lord. Proverbs 31:10-12 states, "A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he lacks nothing of value. She brings him good and not harm all the days of her life." This passage celebrates the wife's role in managing her household, supporting her husband, and contributing to the well-being of her family. Challenges and Redemption The Bible also acknowledges the challenges and complexities within marriage. In 1 Peter 3:1-2 , wives are encouraged to be a witness to their husbands through their conduct: "Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands so that, even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives when they see your pure and reverent demeanor." This highlights the transformative power of a wife's faith and character. Throughout Scripture, the role of a wife is portrayed as integral to God's design for family and society. The biblical narrative affirms the dignity, value, and essential contribution of wives within the covenant of marriage, reflecting God's purpose and order. Smith's Bible Dictionary Wife[MARRIAGE] Easton's Bible Dictionary The ordinance of marriage was sanctioned in Paradise (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6). Monogamy was the original law under which man lived, but polygamy early commenced (Genesis 4:19), and continued to prevail all down through Jewish history. The law of Moses regulated but did not prohibit polygamy. A man might have a plurality of wives, but a wife could have only one husband. A wife's legal rights (Exodus 21:10) and her duties (Proverbs 31:10-31; 1 Timothy 5:14) are specified. She could be divorced in special cases (Deuteronomy 22:13-21), but could not divorce her husband. Divorce was restricted by our Lord to the single case of adultery (Matthew 19:3-9). The duties of husbands and wives in their relations to each other are distinctly set forth in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 7:2-5; Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18, 19; 1 Peter 3:1-7). Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary 1. (n.) A woman; an adult female; -- now used in literature only in certain compounds and phrases, as alewife, fishwife, goodwife, and the like.2. (n.) The lawful consort of a man; a woman who is united to a man in wedlock; a woman who has a husband; a married woman; -- correlative of husband. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia BROTHER'S WIFE(yebhemeth = "a sister-in-law," "brother's wife" (Deuteronomy 25:7, 9); 'ishshah = "a woman," "wife"; `esheth 'ach = "brother's wife" (Genesis 38:8, 9 Leviticus 18:16; Leviticus 20:21); he gune tou adelphou = "the brother's wife" (Mark 6:18)): A brother's wife occupies a unique position in Hebrew custom and law, by virtue of the institution of the Levirate. The widow had no hereditary rights in her husband's property, but was considered a part of the estate, and the surviving brother of the deceased was considered the natural heir. The right to inherit the widow soon became a duty to marry her if the deceased had left no sons, and in case there was no brother-in-law, the duty of marriage devolved on the father-in-law or the agnate who inherited, whoever this might be. The first son of the Levirate marriage was regarded as the son of the deceased. This institution is found chiefly among people who hold to ancestral worship (Indians, Persians, Afghans, etc.), from which circumstances Benzinger (New Sch-Herz, IV, 276) derives the explanation of this institution in Israel. The Levirate marriage undoubtedly existed as a custom before the Israelite settlement in Canaan, but after this received special significance because of the succession to the property of the first son of the marriage, since he was reckoned to the deceased, inherited from his putative, not from his real father, thus preventing the disintegration of property and its acquirement by strangers, at the same time perpetuating the family to which it belonged. While the law limited the matrimonial duty to the brother and permitted him to decline to marry the widow, such a course was attended by public disgrace (Deuteronomy 25:5). By the law of Numbers 27:8, daughters were given the right to inherit, in order that the family estate might be preserved, and the Levirate became limited to cases where the deceased had left no children at all. STRANGE WIFE "Strange" as contrasted with "an Israelite." Such wives are spoken of in the King James Version Ezra 10:2, 11 (the English Revised Version "strange women," the American Standard Revised Version "foreign women"; see STRANGER AND SOJOURNER; in the parallel 1 Esdras 8:68-9:37, the King James Version uses "strange wives" and "strange women" indifferently, and the Revised Version (British and American) here follows the King James Version) as "wives of the people of the land," in taking whom the men of Israel are said to have "trespassed against their God." Accordingly such wives were "put away." WIFE wif. WIFE, BROTHER'S See MARRIAGE; RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY. Greek 4564. Sarra -- Sarah, the wife of Abraham ... Sarah, the wife of Abraham. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: Sarra Phonetic Spelling: (sar'-hrah) Short Definition: Sarah Definition: Sarah, wife ... //strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4564.htm - 6k 4478. Rhachel -- Rachel, the wife of Jacob 5362. philandros -- loving men, (of a wife) loving her husband 4479. Rhebekka -- Rebecca, the wife of Isaac 4251. Priska -- Prisca, a Christian and the wife of Aquila 1135. gune -- a woman 1918. epigambreuo -- to marry 4801. suzeugnumi -- to yoke together 3994. penthera -- a mother-in-law 3565. numphe -- a bride, a young woman Strong's Hebrew 802. ishshah -- woman, wife, female... 801, 802. ishshah. 803 . woman, wife, female. Transliteration: ishshah Phonetic Spelling: (ish-shaw') Short Definition: wife. Word ... /hebrew/802.htm - 6k 472. Elisheba -- "God is an oath," the wife of Aaron 6989. Qeturah -- a wife of Abraham 3812. Leah -- "weary," a wife of Jacob 1315. Basemath -- "perfume," a wife of Esau (or perhaps two wives ... 37. Abital -- "my father is (the) dew," a wife of David 4119. mohar -- purchase price (of a wife) 621. Asenath -- perhaps "belonging to Neith," the wife of Joseph 7354. Rachel -- a wife of Jacob 8297. Saray -- a wife of Abram Library To His Wife Whether it was Lawful for a Divorced Wife to have Another Husband? Whether Husband and Wife are Equal in the Marriage Act? Whether Wife-Murder is an Impediment to Marriage? The Harmony of Husband and Wife. To Monna Agnese who was the Wife of Messer Orso Malavolti Whether it was Lawful to Divorce a Wife under the Mosaic Law? How the Wife of a Prefect Slew Herself for Chastity's Sake. Whether it is Allowable for a Menstruous Wife to Ask for the ... Whether Inseparableness of the Wife is of Natural Law? Thesaurus Wife (437 Occurrences)... The law of Moses regulated but did not prohibit polygamy. A man might have a plurality of wives, but a wife could have only one husband. ... BROTHER'S WIFE. ... /w/wife.htm - 42k Wife's (21 Occurrences) Servant-wife (12 Occurrences) Covenant-wife (1 Occurrence) Mid-wife (1 Occurrence) Bashemath (6 Occurrences) Basemath (7 Occurrences) Ab'igail (16 Occurrences) Abim'elech (58 Occurrences) Abihail (6 Occurrences) Resources What does it mean to be a godly wife? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does the Bible say about being a Christian wife? | GotQuestions.org What can we learn from the account of Potiphar's wife? | GotQuestions.org Wife: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus Concordance Wife (437 Occurrences)Matthew 1:6 Matthew 1:20 Matthew 1:24 Matthew 5:27 Matthew 5:31 Matthew 5:32 Matthew 14:3 Matthew 18:25 Matthew 19:3 Matthew 19:5 Matthew 19:7 Matthew 19:9 Matthew 19:10 Matthew 19:29 Matthew 22:24 Matthew 22:25 Matthew 22:28 Matthew 27:19 Mark 1:30 Mark 6:17 Mark 6:18 Mark 7:22 Mark 10:2 Mark 10:4 Mark 10:7 Mark 10:11 Mark 10:29 Mark 12:19 Mark 12:20 Mark 12:23 Luke 1:5 Luke 1:13 Luke 1:18 Luke 1:24 Luke 2:5 Luke 3:19 Luke 4:38 Luke 8:3 Luke 14:20 Luke 14:26 Luke 16:18 Luke 17:32 Luke 18:20 Luke 18:29 Luke 20:28 Luke 20:29 Luke 20:30 Luke 20:33 John 19:25 Acts 5:1 Acts 5:2 Acts 5:7 Acts 18:2 Acts 24:24 Romans 2:22 Romans 7:2 1 Corinthians 5:1 1 Corinthians 7:2 1 Corinthians 7:3 1 Corinthians 7:4 1 Corinthians 7:10 1 Corinthians 7:11 1 Corinthians 7:12 1 Corinthians 7:14 1 Corinthians 7:16 1 Corinthians 7:27 1 Corinthians 7:33 1 Corinthians 7:34 1 Corinthians 7:39 1 Corinthians 9:5 Ephesians 5:23 Ephesians 5:28 Ephesians 5:31 Ephesians 5:33 1 Thessalonians 4:4 1 Timothy 2:14 1 Timothy 3:2 1 Timothy 3:12 1 Timothy 5:9 Titus 1:6 Revelation 19:7 Revelation 21:9 Genesis 2:24 Genesis 2:25 Genesis 3:8 Genesis 3:17 Genesis 3:20 Genesis 3:21 Genesis 4:1 Genesis 4:17 Genesis 4:25 Genesis 6:2 Genesis 6:18 Genesis 7:7 Genesis 7:13 Genesis 8:15 Genesis 8:16 Genesis 8:18 Genesis 11:29 Genesis 11:31 Subtopics Wife: Called: Desire of the Eyes Wife: Idolatrous, Solomon's Wives Wife: The Judgment Denounced Against Eve Wife: Unclassified Scriptures Relating To Related Terms |
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