Women Beautify themselves Before War

War is a part of human history and will continue to be so in the future. So when people are in such circumstances, they have to live its reality, whether it is pleasing to them or not. One consequence of war has been that the women have beautified themselves before war begins;

John McClintock said:

Women who followed their father and husbands to the war put on their finest dresses and ornaments previous to an engagement, in the hope of finding favor in the eyes of their captors in case of a defeat.

(John McClintock, James Strong, “Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature” [Harper & Brothers, 1894], p. 782)

Matthew B. Schwartz said:

Women have always followed armies to do the soldiers’ laundry, to nurse the sick and wounded, and to serve as prostitutes They would often dress in such a way as to attract the soldiers who won the battle . The Bible recognizes the realities of the battle situation in its rules on how to treat female captives, though commentators disagree on some of the details.

The biblical Israelite went to battle as a messenger of God. Yet he could also, of course, be caught up in the raging tide of blood and violence. The Western mind associates prowess, whether military or athletic, with sexual success.

The pretty girls crowd around the hero who scores the winning touchdown, not around the players of the losing team. And it is certainly true in war: the winning hero “attracts” the women.

(Matthew B. Schwartz, Kalman J. Kaplan, “The Fruit of Her Hands: The Psychology of Biblical Women” [Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2007] , pp. 146-147)

This shows us that even if women do not want to lose their husband, a consequence of war is that they may possibly lose him. And if they are going to lose him, they will require safety and prefer to find a rich ‘owner’ from the opposition in order to be safe and secure later on after the war.

This further shows that the women – no matter from what background or time in history – are prepared for the pyschological and physical consequences which will take place after war. They hope for the best, so they prepare for it beforehand. And it is a reality of life they know they have to get used to, they have no other option. This is the evil consequence of war which is an inevitable part of human history.