Formal adoption is particularly well documented in Mesopotamian and Greco-Roman law. Biblical narratives also portray children being raised within households other than those of their biological parents.
Customs & Culture
Adoption and Heirship
Adoption and the appointment of heirs provided legal means of incorporating a person into a household and granting family status and inheritance rights.
Primary Scripture
Historical and Cultural Background
Biblical Examples
Moses is raised as Pharaoh's daughter's son, Mordecai raises Esther, and Paul uses adoption as a major image for believers' relationship to God.
Biblical Significance
Paul's adoption language communicates granted family status, inheritance, and belonging rather than merely affection for an outsider.
Related Images
Common Misconceptions
Not every biblical fostering relationship can be proven to follow the technical Roman adoption procedure, and Paul's metaphor should not be reduced to one legal document.
Historical Setting and Evidence
Culture: Ancient Near Eastern, Mesopotamian, Greek/Hellenistic, Roman
Period: Patriarchal Period, Exodus and Wilderness, Babylonian Exile, Persian Period, Hellenistic Period, Hasmonean Period, Roman / Second Temple Period, Apostolic / Early Church Period
Evidence: Well Attested
Interpretive Importance: Major
Adoption is extensively documented in surrounding ancient cultures and explicitly used as a legal metaphor by Paul.
Scripture References
Related Information
Sources
Romans 8; Galatians 4; Ephesians 1