'they shall sing among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.'"

It deserves notice, that at the marriage in Cana there is no mention of "the friends of the

bridegroom," or, as we would call them, the groomsmen. This was in strict accordance

with Jewish custom, for groomsmen were customary in Judaea, but not in Galilee (Cheth.

25 a). This also casts light upon the locality where John 3:29 was spoken, in which "the

friend of the bridegroom" is mentioned. But this expression is quite different from that of

"children of the bridechamber," which occurs in Matthew 9:15, where the scene is once

more laid in Galilee. The term "children of the bridechamber" is simply a translation of

the Rabbinical "bene Chuppah," and means the guests invited to the bridal. In Judaea

there were at every marriage two groomsmen or "friends of the bridegroom" --one for

the bridegroom, the other for his bride. Before marriage, they acted as a kind of

intermediaries between the couple; at the wedding they offered gifts, waited upon the

bride and bridegroom, and attended them to the bridal chamber, being also, as it were,

the guarantors of the bride's virgin chastity. Hence, when St. Paul tells the Corinthians

(2 Cor 11:2): "I am jealous over you with godly jealousy; for I have espoused you to one

husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ," he speaks, as it were, in

the character of groomsman or "bridegroom's friend," who had acted as such at the

spiritual union of Christ with the Corinthian Church. And we know that it was specially

the duty of the "friend of the bridegroom" so to present to him his bride. Similarly it was

his also, after marriage, to maintain proper terms between the couple, and more

particularly to defend the good fame of the bride against all imputations. It may interest

some to know that his custom also was traced up to highest authority. Thus, in the

spiritual union of Israel with their God, Moses is spoken of as "the friend of the

bridegroom" who leads out the bride (Exo 19:17); while Jehovah, as the bridegroom,

meets His Church at Sinai (Psa 68:7; Pirke di R. El. 41). Nay, in some mystic writings God

is described as acting "the friend of the bridegroom," when our first parents met in Eden.

There is a touch of poetry in the application of Ezekiel 28:13 to that scene, when angels

led the choir, and decked and watched the bridal-bed (Ab. de R. Nathan iv. and xii.).

According to another ancient Rabbinical commentary (Ber. R. viii), God Almighty

Himself took the cup of blessing and spoke the benediction, while Michael and Gabriel

acted the "bridegroom's frie nds" to our first parents when they wedded in Paradise.

With such a "benediction," preceded by a brief formula, with which the bride was

handed over to her husband (Tobit vii. 13), the wedding festivities commenced. And so

the pair were led towards the bridal chamber (Cheder) and the bridal bed (Chuppah). The

bride went with her hair unloosed. Ordinarily, it was most strictly enjoined upon women

to have their head and hair carefully covered. This may throw some light upon the

difficult passage, 1 Corinthians 11:1-10. We must bear in mind that the apostle there

argues with Jews, and that on their own ground, convincing them by a reference to their

own views, customs, and legends of the propriety of the practice which he enjoins. From

that point of view the propriety of a woman having her head "covered" could not be

called in question. The opposite would, to a Jew, have indicated immodesty. Indeed, it

was the custom in the case of a woman accused of adultery to have her hair "shorn or

shaven," at the same time using this formula: "Because thou hast departed from the

manner of the daughters of Israel, who go with their head covered;...therefore that has

befallen thee which thou hast chosen." This so far explains verses 5 and 6. The

expression "power," as applied in verse 10 to the head of woman, seems to refer to this

covering, indicating, as it did, that she was under the power of her husband, while the

very difficult addition, "because of the angels," may either allude to the presence of the

angels and to the well-known Jewish view (based, no doubt, on truth) that those angels

may be grieved or offended by our conduct, and bear the sad tidings before the throne

of God, or it may possibly refer to the very ancient Jewish belief, that the evil spirits

gained power over a woman who went with her head bare.

The custom of a bridal veil--either for the bride alone, or spread over the couple --was

of ancient date. It was interdicted for a time by the Rabbis after the destruction of

Jerusalem. Still more ancient was the wearing of crowns (Cant 3:11; Isa 61:10; Eze 16:12),