Concubinage, in a Scriptural sense, means the state of cohabiting lawfully with a wife of second rank, who enjoyed no other conjugal right but that of cohabitation, and whom the husband could repudiate, and send away with a small present (). In like manner, he could, by means of presents, exclude his children by her from the heritage (). Such concubines had Nahor (), Abraham (), Jacob (), Eliphas (), Gideon (), Saul (), David (;; ), Solomon (), Caleb (), Manasseh (), Rehoboam (), Abiah (), and Belshazzar (). To judge from the conjugal histories of Abraham and Jacob (Genesis 16, 30), the immediate cause of concubinage was the barrenness of the lawful wife, who in that case introduced her maid-servant, of her own accord, to her husband, for the sake of having children. Accordingly we do not read that Isaac, son of Abraham, had any concubine, Rebekah, his wife, not being barren. In process of time, however, concubinage appears to have degenerated into a regular custom among the Jews, and the institutions of Moses were directed to prevent excess and abuse in that respect, by wholesome laws and regulations (; ). It would seem that the unfaithfulness of a concubine was not regarded as an act of real adultery (). When a son had intercourse with the concubine of his father, a sort of family punishment, we are informed, was inflicted on him (; ).
In the Talmud, the Rabbins differ as to what constitutes concubinage; some regarding as its distinguishing feature the absence of the betrothing ceremonies, and of the portion of property allotted to a woman by special engagement, and to which she was entitled on the marriage day, after the decease of the husband, or in case of repudiation; others, again, the absence of the latter alone.
The Roman law calls concubinage an allowed custom. When this expression occurs in the constitutions of the Christian emperors, it signifies what we now sometimes call a marriage of conscience. The concubinage tolerated among the Romans, in the time of the Republic and of the heathen emperors, was that between persons not capable of contracting legal marriage. Inheritances might descend to children that sprung from such a tolerated cohabitance. Concubinage between such persons they looked on as a kind of marriage, and even allowed it several privileges; but then it was confined to a single person, and was of perpetual obligation, as much as marriage itself. Concubinage is also used to signify a marriage with a woman of inferior condition, to whom the husband does not convey his rank. Dajos (Paratilla) observes, that the ancient laws allowed a man to espouse, under the title of concubine, certain persons who were esteemed unequal to him, on account of the want of some qualities requisite to sustain the full honor of marriage; and he adds, that though such concubinage was beneath marriage both as to dignity and civil rights, yet was concubine a reputable title, and very different from that of 'mistress' among us. The connection was considered so lawful that the concubine might be accused of adultery in the same manner as a wife.
This kind of concubinage is still in use in some countries, particularly in Germany, under the title of halb-ehe (half-marriage), or left-hand marriage, in allusion to the manner of its being contracted, namely, by the man giving the woman his left hand instead of the right. This is a real marriage, though without the usual solemnity, and the parties are both bound to each other forever, though the female cannot bear the husband's name and title.
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John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
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