Marriage in the Bible: What Do the Texts Say?

by Jennifer Grace Bird

Marriage in the What Do the Texts Say? is an honest engagement with the relevant passages in the two primary Testaments of the Christian Bible. Rather than making the Bible confirm a specific stance on marriage, the author invites her readers to be honest about what these biblical stories, laws, commands, and sayings meant in their original contexts. In doing this, the author engages the conflicting messages about biblical marriage from such figures as Jesus, St. Paul, and St. Augustine. The first part of the book addresses four passages that many people believe defines “biblical marriage” as being intended for procreation, only between a man and a woman, anti-divorce, and holy or sacred. While these passages quoted out of context may be read to mean these things, when read in context the first two are not even talking about marriage, and the latter two assert that wives should be fearfully submissive to their husbands and show Jesus affirming a non-binary gender and non-hetero sex, among other things. The reader then gets a crash course on what marriages in the Bible actually look like, including additional content from Jesus and Paul that is anything but positive about marriage. The final section of the book highlights several of the themes in the Bible that are still alive and well, today, themes that have an impact on relational and social expectations of men and women, though most detrimentally for women. What might be most surprising are the insights in the final chapter, inviting people to take a fresh look at select moments for Jesus and Paul. Marriage in the Bible invites its reader to take these passages and their messages seriously, to consider the ways they influence beliefs and behaviors, and to decide if marriage as it is presented in the Bible is helpful and healthful for people today.

Genres: Religion, History, Feminism

260 pages, Hardcover

Published December 15, 2023

Reviews

[Cameron Burkholder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has got to be the most respectful book I've ever read that aims to deconstruct widely held Christian beliefs. Dr. Bird truly does have the heart of a teacher, and it's apparent that while the content of the book may be challenging for those holding steadfast to "biblical marriage", her ultimate goal is to facilitate greater understanding in her readers. I have a richer and more nuanced understanding of marriage in the Bible for having read this book.

[Mike Pomazal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I thought the book was an excellent examination of marriage in the bible. Dr. Bird presents strong scholarly cases for how these relationships were viewed in ancient Israel and how that differs from today. She also makes it engaging and fun, even when addressing challenging subject matter.

My only real criticism is that I wish she went into more detail around divorce. Since the concept of marriage was so different than how we view it today, I wish that she had gone into more detail around how they would have viewed divorce. I can make some assumptions from the context, but I really would have loved it have her spell it out a bit more.

[Simon Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Biblical marriage, what does it actually mean, and is it something we should look to emulate in today's world?

Bird's book unpicks the biblical texts, looking at what they actually say rather than what some want them to say to fit a modern narrative. She dives into the texts and shows that if we want to talk honestly about Biblical Marriage, we have to accept the good, the bad, and the worst of it rather than cherry-picking elements that fit preconceived biases.

A brilliant and challenging book

[Andrea Engle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This insightful book examines the principle of marriage in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament … Although I do not agree with all of Bird’s conclusions, I found that the questions she raises and the translation problems she addresses are pertinent for today’s community of faith … Refreshingly honest, but at times a bit shrill …

[Andrew Clay Pauley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very challenging. I think it is good to be honest about the sexual violence in the Bible--not just the patriarchs but the way God is portrayed as sexually abusing Israel as found in the prophets and other apocalyptic literature. I've read prior research that introduced me to this, so I have experience dealing with the uneasy feelings that result from this depiction. What I had not been exposed to was the idea that the disciple whom Jesus loved, in the Gospel of John, was a sexual male companion for Jesus. I'm not sure where to even begin in unpacking this idea and its implications. As a result, I'm not sure what I think about the book as a whole. I am very interested in seeing the notes and a full bibliography.

I listened to the audiobook. The author herself read it, and she did a very good job. The book was very accessible, and the way Dr. Bird read it made me feel like I was listening to a podcast. This is one of the best audiobooks I've listened to. She recorded some of the bibliography, and she made sure to record appendices and glossaries as well. I am of the opinion that most nonfiction books should either have a pdf of the biblography or record the bibliography. Maybe authors could start recording a bibliographic essay.

The book itself is well researched, and makes me want to dive deeper. I am definitely more disturbed than I thought I'd be, but I am open to new ideas and curious enough to seek out more research on the topic.