Two brides take up most of the symbolic attention in the Bible. The bride of the Old Testament is Israel; the bride of the New Testament is the church, the bride of Christ. With the possible exception of the bride who takes the spotlight in Song of Solomon 4, the idea of a bride in the Old Testament was a daughter “paid for” by a bride-price and then wooed by her husband. Even in the case of Ruth, a widow, the proposal of marriage involved a cost: in this case, Boaz taking on responsibility not only for Ruth but also for