A renowned author and lawyer has triggered reactions after urging men not to pay bride prices for women who are not virgins, backing it with the scripture.
Bride price is only paid for virgins; pay no pride price for non-virgins – Lawyer says, quoting the bible
According to Reno Omokri, former Presidential aide to Goodluck Jonathan, both the holy bible and African tradition frown on bride price being paid for non-virgins.
He took to Twitter on November 7, 2020, to make the controversial claim, and it has since been receiving a lot of reactions, with some people agreeing with him, while others also disagree.
Backing his assertion with Exodus chapter 22, from its verse 16 down to 17, Reno Omokri said the Bible did not recognise non-virgins as women who deserve bride price and that he said is what prevails in deeply rooted traditional African societies.
“What I am going to say will shock people. Scripturally, Bride Price is ONLY paid for virgins. Don’t argue with me. Argue with God. See Exodus 22:16-17. By virtue of Scripture (and also in traditional African society), you pay no Bride Price for non-virgins,” Reno Omokri.
The Exodus chapter 22 verse 16 to 17 which he refers to reads: “If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride-price for virgins.”
Bride price is only paid for virgins; pay no pride price for non-virgins – Lawyer says, quoting the bible Bride price is only paid for virgins; pay no pride price for non-virgins – Lawyer says, quoting the bible Pulse Ghana
Reno is on record to have recently advised young men to ignore high bride prices and head to the nearest registry to get married if brides’ families want to frustrate them.
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“If she refuses, perhaps she is not the one”, he advised.
“If you want to marry and the girl’s family gives you a long list of things to provide before you can marry, just go to the nearest marriage registry and marry inexpensively. If she refuses, perhaps she is not the one. Marry according to your pocket.”
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Read the below verses. Exodus 22:16-17 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride-price for virgins.
Without any qualification whatsoever, the guilty man must pay the virgin “the dowry of virgins.” The amount is not specified here, but in Deuteronomy 22:29 we are given the amount, fifty shekels of silver, a very large amount in those days. This dowry is to be paid whether or not he marries the girl.
A portion of that bride price would then be given to the bride by her father as a dowry. The bride price paid by Jesus was the cross, leaving our dowry the gift of eternal life.
Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
The bride and her family generally pay for the church, synagogue, or house of worship, along with the sexton, organist, and other vendors specific to the ceremony. The groom and his family pay for the marriage license and officiant fee.
Saul seeks to use another daughter to engage David in a losing battle against the Philistines and offers Michal as a potential spouse. This time, Saul understands that David is unable to pay an expensive bride price, and names the price as only one hundred Philistine foreskins.
Despite its prevalence in the Hebrew Bible, some scholars do not believe that polygyny was commonly practiced in the biblical era because it required a significant amount of wealth.
Typically, the bride price is suggested to be paid to the parents of the bride in exchange for the future labour inputs of their daughter and her unborn children, as the bride moves away from her parents to cohabit and work on the husband's estate and not the other way around.
From a Christian standpoint, yes and no. First of all, we don't all lose our virginity willingly - some people have that taken from them by rape or molestation. Secondly, marriage, to God, is not a marriage certificate. It's the spiritual and personal commitment to share a life.
According to these traditions, Muslim men that die waging jihad against the enemies of Islam will be rewarded by Allah in heaven (jannah) as martyrs (shuhada) and receive seventy-two virgins to enjoy in blissful ecstasy.
The assumption is that sexual renunciation is particularly associated with symbolizing the purity of Christ – in conception, birth, life, death, and resurrection. As such, the theology of virginity is entwined with Christology, theological anthropology, and eschatology.
The word dowry is used 4 times in the King James version of the Bible and it is the translation of two Hebrew words mōhar, "dowry, purchase money" (Genesis 34:12; Exodus 22:17; 1 Samuel 18:25) and zebed, "dowry" (Genesis 30:20) and zebed, "dowry" (Genesis 30:20).
The bride price is an official custom that expresses the love a husband has for his wife. For the parents of the wife, the bride price symbolizes a reward and an honour. ' Without payment of the bride price, marriages are not recognized.
Researchers have also suggested that the bride price — a tradition which is about 3000 years older than the dowry — would have been in use typically in primitive, often somewhat egalitarian tribal and nomad cultures.
The topic of money can be touchy, and no one wants to inadvertently offend. Traditionally, the breakdown of expenses was very clear: The bride's family paid for the groom's ring, engagement party, the wedding and reception, a brunch the next day, and a belated reception (if there was one).
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