Biblical Hebrew Forum

["George Athas" <gathas AT globalfreeway.com.au>]

Shoshanna,

I think Liz was responding not to your statement, but to my statement that 
any woman,
whether previously married or not, who was eligible for marriage, was a 
BETULAH. That is,
women who were married, but had not given birth to children and yet whose 
husbands had
died, went back to their paternal household and became "virgins" again -- 
that is, they
could remarry. That is essentially what Naomi urges Ruth and Orpah to do. 
Naomi, however,
who has given birth, cannot return to her paternal house for remarriage. She 
can no longer
be a "virgin" -- that is, a single woman eligible for marriage -- she is now 
a widow.
"Widow" refers to a woman whose relatives have died so that she is no longer 
attached to
any household. Hence, the need to defend the orphan and the widow -- those 
who had no
social protection in the ancient world.

Joel 1:8 is the classic example of a married woman whose husband is dead 
being called a
BETULAH.


Best regards,

GEORGE ATHAS
(Sydney, Australia)
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