Marriage in the Ancient Near East

A non-Israelite woman a potential slave has been tapped as wife and is being given the appropriate privileges of a wife. But if he does marry her he can't change his mind later and sell her as a slave. Once he consummates the union she is wife not slave and all the rights there of are accorded. The beautiful POW has no family to negotiate the bride gift on her behalf. She has no mother to preserve the blood-stained wedding bed garment for future use. And so the burden for negotiation in this law falls upon our Israelite soldier. He's free to marry but he is not free to enslave or to abuse.