The Mishnah, a book of legal rules compiled by Jewish sages in the second century Roman Palestine, depicts a society in which the adult Israelite male is the central character. He is the possessor of wives, children, land and other property. The Mishnah's socioeconomic system is rooted within the realm of private property and therefore considers people and things from the perspective of their relationship to the owner specifically the place of women in that system. .
A woman's biological and economical functions have essential value in society and the Mishnah makes use of this. Women's importance in the Mishnaic world is highlighted by the fact that the sages chose to name on of its six sections, the Division of Women. It would be interesting to note that the absence of a Division of Men reflects the fact that in patriarchies, men make rules about women, but women do not make rules about men. In matters that involve her sexuality, one can find the Mishnah treating the wife as her husband's property. An example can be found in Kidushin 1:1 by which the Mishnah maintains strict control of women activities, especially their sexual and reproductive role in the social economy. .
In the verse, a wife may be acquired in three ways and she acquires her autonomy in two ways. She may be acquired by money, by a deed, or by intercourse. By money the school of Shammai holds by a dinar while Hillel holds by a perutah. She acquires her autonomy by a bill of divorce or by the death of her husband. A levirate widow is acquired by intercourse with her late husband's brother and acquires her autonomy by halitzah or by the death of the husband's brother. .
The procedure for acquiring a wife treats marriage as the formal sale and purchase of a woman's sexual function. This can be described as commercial transactions in which a man pays for the bride's virginity just as for any other object of value. The opening statement, "A wife may be acquired in three way .
