📖 Biblical Definition
The brideprice (mohar) was the groom's payment demonstrating the value he placed on his bride. Jacob labored fourteen years for Rachel (Genesis 29:18-20). David paid a brideprice for Michal (1 Samuel 18:25). The Mosaic law required a brideprice (Exodus 22:16-17). Theologically, the brideprice points to Christ's purchase of His Bride — the Church — with His own blood: "You were bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:20). The cross is the brideprice of the Lamb, paid to redeem His Bride from slavery to sin.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Not a single entry. DOWRY is defined as the property which a woman brings to her husband in marriage.
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DOW'RY, n. The property which a woman brings to her husband in marriage. Also, the reward paid for a wife. Note: Webster distinguished between the dowry (bride's contribution) and the reward paid for a wife (brideprice). The biblical mohar is the latter — the groom's payment demonstrating his valuation of the bride.
📖 Key Scripture
• 1 Corinthians 6:20 — "You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."
• 1 Peter 1:18-19 — "You were ransomed... with the precious blood of Christ."
• Genesis 29:20 — "Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed but a few days because of the love he had for her."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
The brideprice is dismissed as patriarchal commerce while its theological significance — Christ's purchase of His Bride — is lost.
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Modern Western culture dismisses the brideprice as a primitive custom that reduced women to property. But this misreads the biblical practice entirely. The mohar demonstrated the value and honor placed on the bride — it was a sacrifice by the groom that showed his commitment. The theological reality it points to is staggering: Christ paid for His Bride not with silver or gold but with His own blood. When the brideprice is dismissed, the typology is lost, and with it the understanding that the Church has been purchased at infinite cost and belongs entirely to her Bridegroom.
Usage
• "The cross is the brideprice of the Lamb — Christ paid for His Bride not with gold or silver but with His own precious blood."
• "Jacob labored fourteen years for Rachel because of the love he had for her — a shadow of the price Christ paid for His Church."