The Ketubah Continued:
The earliest ketubah found dates from circa 440 B.C. Found in Egypt and written on papyrus, this Aramaic document records the amount of the settlement the groom paid to the father of the bride. The ketubah names the wife as beneficiary in the case of the husband’s death. Concubines were wives who did not have such an agreement. Prior to the ketubah, marriages were an informal process such as today's cohabitation practices. However, the formalization of oral arrangements took on a new dimension as family structures changed. The rabbinical segment of Israelite society saw a need develop for a written marriage contract as the covenantal relationship once binding two together began to require protection for one of the parties.
The ketubah text was first formalized about three hundred years later, in the 1st century B.C., by the Sanhedrin (the presiding Judaic legislative body at the time); it’s authorship is attributed mainly to Rabbi Simeon Ben Shetach.
A common misconception about the ketubah is that it in some way indicates that a man has purchased his wife, that it is some sort of transfer of property akin to a deed on a piece of land because the word kichah is used. This is not at all accurate - according to Jewish law there is no such relation of ownership between a husband and wife. The ketubah outlines the financial conditions that the groom must satisfy if the couple is to be permitted to undergo the wedding ceremony and become legally married. One section of the ketubah indicates “willing acceptance.” Neither the groom nor the bride sign the ketubah. The witnesses who sign the ketubah are asserting that the bride has accepted, willingly, and consents to this marriage contract.
The document changes historically from a framework of gift-giving to a contractual arrangement. The purpose of the ketubah for the Jew is protection of the woman and it functions as a prenuptial contract. Conversely, today the purpose of the ketubah for the non-Jew is a statement of love with promissory pledges which state vows of love.
The tradition of using marriage contracts has been practiced by non-Jews and is not singularly a Jewish practice. Marriage contracts were used by other cultures outside of the Jewish people as the Hammurabi Code reflects. However, this practice ceased and became isolated to the Jewish religion. During the medieval period ketubahs continued to be used by Jewish communities throughout Muslim territories that did not adhere to Christian beliefs and practices. Today the use of the ketubah has found a resurgence among evangelicals who closely identify with the Jewish faith.
All of these changes have not affected how the ketubah is enforced. The ketubah is handled by a specific court system known as Halacha (or religious) court called a bet din, which translated means “house of judgment”. In the United States the secular government has allowed religious courts to oversee the adjudication of Jewish religious marital laws until 1999 when a case in New York was heard in the secular court system. Law journal articles are beginning to address some of the court findings in the cases brought to them. One of the primary bases for a bet din is that the ketubah does not contain the signatures of the parties involved, the husband and wife. Therefore, according to U.S. Law, the contract is not recognized by some states and should be enforced by Halacha courts. The enforceability of the ketubah however goes beyond its acceptance as a legal document and extends into the divisive nature of the separation between state and religion. Non-Jewish couples are signing their ketubah which could constitute a contractual agreement.
In conclusion, the ketubah is an ancient marriage contract which has changed in its purpose and language over the course of history based on external and internal factors. Scholars have collectively acquired archaeological evidence and drawn analyses within their own fields in relation to the sociological and political attributes that have affected this practice. It wasn't until the Talmudic period (70-500 A.D.) that the Mishnah was written and Jewish marriage laws, called Ishut, were established in writing. Halakhic courts have oversight of this document.