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concubine

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concubine


  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Concubine  \Con"cu*bine\,  n.  [F.,  fr  L.  concubina;  con-  +  cubare 
  to  lie  down  concumbere  to  lie  together,  akin  to  E.  cubit.] 
  1.  A  woman  who  cohabits  with  a  man  without  being  his  wife;  a 
  paramour. 
 
  Note:  Concubine  has  been  sometimes  but  rarely,  used  of  a 
  male  paramour  as  well  as  of  a  female.  --Trench. 
 
  2.  A  wife  of  inferior  condition;  a  lawful  wife,  but  not 
  united  to  the  man  by  the  usual  ceremonies,  and  of  inferior 
  condition.  Such  were  Hagar  and  Keturah,  the  concubines  of 
  Abraham;  and  such  concubines  were  allowed  by  the  Roman 
  laws.  Their  children  were  not  heirs  of  their  father. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  concubine 
  n  :  a  woman  who  cohabits  with  an  important  man  [syn:  {courtesan}, 
  {doxy},  {odalisque},  {paramour}] 
 
  From  Easton's  1897  Bible  Dictionary  [easton]: 
 
  Concubine 
  in  the  Bible  denotes  a  female  conjugally  united  to  a  man,  but  in 
  a  relation  inferior  to  that  of  a  wife.  Among  the  early  Jews, 
  from  various  causes,  the  difference  between  a  wife  and  a 
  concubine  was  less  marked  than  it  would  be  amongst  us  The 
  concubine  was  a  wife  of  secondary  rank.  There  are  various  laws 
  recorded  providing  for  their  protection  (Ex.  21:7;  Deut. 
  21:10-14),  and  setting  limits  to  the  relation  they  sustained  to 
  the  household  to  which  they  belonged  (Gen.  21:14;  25:6).  They 
  had  no  authority  in  the  family,  nor  could  they  share  in  the 
  household  government. 
 
  The  immediate  cause  of  concubinage  might  be  gathered  from  the 
  conjugal  histories  of  Abraham  and  Jacob  (Gen.  16;30).  But  in 
  process  of  time  the  custom  of  concubinage  degenerated,  and  laws 
  were  made  to  restrain  and  regulate  it  (Ex.  21:7-9). 
 
  Christianity  has  restored  the  sacred  institution  of  marriage 
  to  its  original  character,  and  concubinage  is  ranked  with  the 
  sins  of  fornication  and  adultery  (Matt.  19:5-9;  1  Cor.  7:2). 
 




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