Spouse

The word "spouse" in the biblical canon refers exclusively to the wife or bride in the texts where it appears. In the Song of Solomon it occurs repeatedly as the bridegroom's term of address for his beloved (Song 4:8–12; 5:1), and in Hosea 4:13–14 it refers to the wives and daughters of the Israelites who played the harlot. The term carries the connotation of covenantal partnership, since marriage in the biblical world was a formal covenant relationship (Mal. 2:14).

In the broader biblical theology of marriage, the relationship between husband and wife is used repeatedly as a figure for the covenant between God and Israel (Isa. 54:5; Jer. 3:14; Hos. 2:19–20) and between Christ and the church (Eph. 5:22–33; Rev. 21:2). The faithfulness of a spouse is thus not merely a social or moral norm but a reflection of the covenant faithfulness of God himself.