EBD: Husband
SMITH: HUSBAND
ISBE: HUSBAND
BAKER: Husband
BRIDGEWAY: HUSBAND
Husband
Husband [nave]
HUSBAND.Gen. 2:23, 24 Matt. 19:5; Mark 10:7. Num. 5:11-31; Deut. 22:13-21; Deut. 24:5; Prov. 5:15-19; Eccl. 9:9; Mal. 2:14-16; 1 Cor. 7:3, 5; 1 Cor. 7:14, 16, 33; 1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:22-33; Col. 3:18, 19; 1 Tim. 5:8; 1 Pet. 3:7
Faithful
Instances of: Isaac, Gen. 24:67; Joseph, Matt. 1:19.
Unreasonable and Oppressive
Ahasuerus, Esth. 1:10-22.
Figurative
Isa. 54:5, 6; Jer. 3:14; 31:32; Hos. 2:19, 20.
Husband [ebd]
i.e., the "house-band," connecting and keeping together the whole family. A man when betrothed was esteemed from that time a husband (Matt. 1:16, 20; Luke 2:5). A recently married man was exempt from going to war for "one year" (Deut. 20:7; 24:5).
HUSBAND [smith]
[HUSBAND [isbe]
HUSBAND - huz'-band ('ish; aner): In the Hebrew household the husband and father was the chief personage of an institution which was regarded as more than a social organism, inasmuch as the family in primitive Semitic society had a distinctively religious character and significance. It was through it that the cult of the household and tribal deities was practiced and perpetuated. The house-father, by virtue of being the family head, was priest of the household, and as such, responsible for the religious life of the family and the maintenance of the family altar. As priest he offered sacrifices to the family gods, as at first, before the centralization of worship, he did to Yahweh as the tribal or national Deity. We see this reflected in the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and in the Book of Job. This goes far to explain such records as we have in Gen 31:53; 32:9, and the exceptional reverence that was paid the paternal sepulchers (1 Sam 20:6). Abraham was regarded as being the father of a nation. It was customary, it would seem, to assign a "father" to every known tribe and nation (Gen 10). So the family came to play an important and constructive part in Hebrew thought and life, forming the base upon which the social structure was built, merging gradually into the wider organism of the clan or tribe, and vitally affecting at last the political and religious life of the nation itself.The husband from the first had supreme authority over his wife, or wives, and children. In his own domain his rule was well-nigh absolute. The wife, or wives, looked up to him as their lord (Gen 18:12). He was chief (compare Arabic sheik), and to dishonor him was a crime to be punished by death (Ex 21:15,17). He was permitted to divorce his wife with little reason, and divorces were all too common (Dt 22:13,19,28,29; Isa 50:1; Jer 3:8; 5:8; Mal 2:16, etc.). The wife seems to have had no redress if wronged by him. Absolute faithfulness, though required of the wife, was apparently not expected or exacted of the husband, so long as he did not violate the rights of another husband. In general among Eastern people women were lightly esteemed, as in the Japhetic nations they came to be. Plato counted a state "disorganized" "where slaves are disobedient to their masters, and wives are on equality with their husbands." "Is there a human being," asks Socrates, "with whom you talk less than with your wife?" But from the first, among the Hebrews the ideal husband trained his household in the way they should go religiously, as well as instructed them in the traditions of the family, the tribe, and the nation (Gen 18:19; Ex 12:26; 13:8; Dt 6:7, etc.). It was due to this, in part at least, that, in spite of the discords and evils incident to polygamy, the Hebrew household was nursery of virtue and piety to an unusual degree, and became a genuine anticipation of the ideal realized later in the Christian home (1 Cor 7:2 ff; Eph 5:25; 1 Pet 3:7).
Used figuratively of the relation (1) between Yahweh and His people (Isa 54:5; Jer 3:14; Hos 2:19 f); (2) between Christ and His church (Mt 9:15; 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:25; Rev 19:7; 21:2).
George B. Eager
Husband [baker]
[N] [E] [S]See Marriage
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[N] indicates this entry was also found in Nave's Topical Bible
[E] indicates this entry was also found in Easton's Bible Dictionary
[S] indicates this entry was also found in Smith's Bible Dictionary
HUSBAND [bridgeway]
God created man and woman as equal in status and worth, as joint bearers of the image of God (Gen 1:27). God also desired that man and woman live together in harmony, and with this in view he made them as the counterparts of each other. As husband and wife they were partners in a marriage relation where each was equipped to complement the other. Within this equality of status there was a difference of functions (Gen 2:21-25).The need for regulations
Since the husband was given the role of originator of offspring, he bore the ultimate responsibility for the family (1 Cor 11:3,8-9; see also FAMILY; WIFE). But when sin entered the world, the husband was tempted to misuse his position and treat his wife as if she were his slave rather than his equal (Gen 3:16).
On account of this, the law of Moses introduced regulations that guaranteed the rights of the wife and protected her from exploitation by her husband. If a husband accused his wife of unfaithfulness, his accusation was not accepted without careful examination (Num 5:11-31). If an accusation was found to be false, the husband was punished (Deut 22:13-19). Husbands were in the habit of divorcing their wives for the most insignificant reasons, until Moses introduced a law to protect the wives (Deut 24:1-4; see DIVORCE).
If a man took one of his female slaves and made her a wife or concubine, he had to give her the full rights of a wife. He could not make her a slave again if he later grew tired of her (Exod 21:7-11; see CONCUBINE). When a man wished to marry a woman taken captive in war, he had to give her special consideration and care because of the new way of life she was being introduced to. If later she did not please him, he could not make her a slave again, but had to allow her to go free (Deut 21:10-14).
The Christian way
Teaching given to Christians in the New Testament has helped to restore the rights of the wife so that she might enjoy the equality with her husband that God intended from the beginning (Gal 3:28; 1 Peter 3:7). Both husband and wife have rights, but they also have obligations to each other. One cannot do without the other (1 Cor 7:3-4; 11:11-12; cf. Acts 18:2-3,26).
In their different roles, the wife must accept the husband’s ultimate headship, and the husband must sacrifice himself for the sake of the wife. The husband has no authority to force his wife to follow some course of action merely because it pleases him. On the contrary he must treat her with special consideration and give her respect (Eph 5:23-25; Col 3:19; 1 Peter 3:7). The self-sacrificing love that the husband should exercise towards the wife is the same as that which Christ has exercised towards the church (Eph 5:25-31; see also MARRIAGE).
