Age Differences in Biblical Relationships 📖💑
Biblical Silence on Age Differences
If you do a Bible search for the phrase age differences in relationships, you will find exactly 0 results. In fact, a person’s age is rarely mentioned in Scripture, and this holds true for married couples in the Bible. We just don’t know of couples’ age differences in the Bible.
Abraham and Sarah: A Notable Exception
Abraham and Sarah are the exception; we do know the age difference between those two. When God promised Abraham that he and Sarah would be the start of many nations,
“Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?’” (Genesis 17:17)
Based on Abraham’s mirthful questions, he and Sarah were ten years apart—not a huge age difference, but noteworthy. There are no other couples in the Bible where both individuals’ ages are given.
Boaz and Ruth: Tradition vs. Scripture
It is often assumed that Boaz was significantly older than Ruth. This is based on a passage in Ruth 3. When Ruth asks Boaz to be her kinsman-redeemer, Boaz replies,
“The Lord bless you, my daughter. . . . You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor” (verse 10).
The implication is that Ruth, rather than seeking a husband among those closer to her own age, either in Moab or in Israel, sought to follow Jewish custom and place herself under the protection of the more mature Boaz. The Jewish Mishnah sets Boaz’s age at 80 and Ruth’s at 40 (Ruth Rabbah 7:4; Ruth Zuta 4:13), but that’s pure speculation, since the Bible does not reveal the age difference between the two.
Joseph and Mary: A Common Misconception
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