The female partner in a marriage relationship. The origin of this God-ordained institution is traced back in the Bible to the Garden of Eden. Scripture stresses that marriage is a God-ordained institution, within which the husband should love and care for his wife, just as the wife should obey, honour and care for her husband. A good wife is portrayed as a great blessing, but a bad wife influences her husband for evil. In the OT, Israel is sometimes portrayed as God's wife; in the NT, the church is described as Christ's bride.