Wikipedia's first sentence called it “documentation of a contract between a jewish man and a jewish woman in which god is involved”. Today it says “documentation of a contract between a jewish man and a jewish woman”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2025 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2025
Jewish wedding (1903) by Jozef Israëls Jewish marriage certificate , dated 1740 ( Brooklyn Museum ) Marriage in Judaism is the documentation of a contract between a Jewish man and a Jewish woman. Because marriage under Jewish law is essentially a private contractual agreement between a man and a woman, it does not require the presence of a rabbi or any other religious official. It is common, however, for rabbis to officiate and there are rules governing the process of betrothal and consecration. Non-Orthodox developments have brought changes in who may marry whom. Intermarriage is often discouraged, though opinions vary. In Judaism, a marriage can end either because of a divorce document given by the man to his wife, or by the death of either party. Certain details, primarily as protections for the wife, were added in Talmudic times. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Schechter, Solomon ; Greenstone, Julius H. In Singer, Isidore ; et al.
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 1295567160.
The opening as it stood in 2005
Judaism considers marriage to be the ideal state of existence; a man without a wife, or a woman without a husband, are considered incomplete.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 15913775.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Judaism traditionally considers marriage to be the ideal state of personal existence; a man without a wife, or a woman without a husband, is considered incomplete.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 364893911.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
A Jewish wedding ( Jozef Israëls , 1903) Jewish marriage certificate, dated 1740 ( Brooklyn Museum ) The Jewish Bride ( Rembrandt , 1662–6) In traditional Judaism , marriage is viewed as a contractual bond commanded by God in which a man and a woman come together to create a relationship in which God is directly involved.( Deut. 24:1 ) Though procreation is not the sole purpose, a Jewish marriage is traditionally expected to fulfill the commandment to have children.( Gen. 1:28 ) In this view, marriage is understood to mean that the husband and wife are merging into a single soul, which is why a man is considered "incomplete" if he is not married, as his soul is only one part of a larger whole that remains to be unified.However, some Jewish denominations such as Reconstructionist, Reform and Conservative Judaism recognize same-sex marriage and deemphasize procreation, focusing on marriage as a bond between a couple.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668684729.
The opening as it stood in 2020 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
A Jewish wedding ( Jozef Israëls , 1903) Jewish marriage certificate, dated 1740 ( Brooklyn Museum ) The Jewish Bride ( Rembrandt , 1662–6) The Jewish view on marriage, historically, provided Biblically mandated rights to the wife which were accepted by the husband.A marriage was ended either because of a divorce document given by the man to his wife, or by the death of either party.Certain details, primarily as protections for the wife, were added in Talmudic times.Non-Orthodox developments have brought changes in who may marry whom.Intermarriage is not encouraged.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 954791556.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Perspectives of Judaism regarding marriage A Jewish wedding (1903) by Jozef Israëls Jewish marriage certificate, dated 1740 ( Brooklyn Museum ) Marriage in Judaism is the documentation of a contract between a Jewish man and a Jewish woman in which God is involved.In Judaism, a marriage can end either because of a divorce document given by the man to his wife, or by the death of either party. Certain details, primarily as protections for the wife, were added in Talmudic times. Non-Orthodox developments have brought changes in who may marry whom. Intermarriage is often discouraged, though opinions vary.This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Schechter, Solomon ; Greenstone, Julius H.In Singer, Isidore ; et al.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1175494047.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “documentation of a contract between a jewish man and a jewish woman in which god is involved”. Today it says “documentation of a contract between a jewish man and a jewish woman”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since October 7, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
documentation of a contract between a jewish man and a jewish woman in which god is involved
Now
documentation of a contract between a jewish man and a jewish woman
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
