Examples of Bible characters who did not marry
When Jesus was confronted with the question of marriage and divorce, He said, “For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it (Matthew 19:12 NIV).” In the pages of the Bible, numerous figures stand out for their actions, beliefs, and legacies. Amidst these compelling narratives, some individuals did not marry for one reason or the other.
Examples of unmarried women in the Bible
Dinah
Now Dinah the daughter of Leah and Jacob, went out to a Hivite city to see the women of the land. But she was spotted by Prince Shechem the son of Hamor. He abducted her into his house and raped her. Then he decided to marry her. While Dinah was still in his house, he went with his father to talk to Jacob but he gave them no answer. Later, to avenge their sister, the two sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, organized an attack on Shechem and his city, destroying every male. And they took their sister away. The Bible went silent on Dinah after this event, but it is likely that Dinah, after that defilement, remained unmarried just like Tamar. (Genesis 34)
Jephthah’s Daughter
Jephthah made a vow to God that if God helps him to defeat the Ammonites, then whatever came out of his house to meet him on his return would be offered as a burnt offering to the Lord (Judges 11:30-31). When Jephthah returned from the defeat of the Ammonites to his house in Mizpah, it was his daughter, his only child, who came out first to meet him. As soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and was very grieved for many days. Though he hesitated, he finally had to offer his daughter to the Lord as a burnt offering. She never got married and was a virgin when she died. So it was made a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year (Judges 11:39-40).
Tamar
Tamar was the daughter of David and Princess Maacah. She was a beautiful virgin and sister of Absalom. One day, at her father’s command, she went to her half-brother Amnon’s house to cook some food for him for he was sick – actually, he had feigned sickness. When she took the food to Amnon in his bedroom, he seized her and raped her. And he was done, he threw her out of his house. Though his brother Absalom avenged her two years later by killing Amnon, the rape incident devastated her and left a lasting repercussion on her and she did not marry for the rest of her life.
Examples of unmarried men in the Bible
Elijah
During the idolatrous reign of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, Elijah, a revered prophet who, for the most part, had lived his life in seclusion, showed his face only to condemn the land of Israel to a drought that lasted for three and a half years. Elijah was a celebrate prophet, and he is known for his fearless proclamation of God’s word. Elijah chose to live like a eunuch, spending his lifetime in a desperate fight against the evil deeds of the house of Ahab, and attempting to turn the hearts of the people to the Lord. His days on earth ended when he was taken up to heaven by a chariot of fire in a whirlwind (1 Kings 17:1; 2 Kings 2:11).
Jeremiah
Prophet Jeremiah, from the tribe of Levi, was the son of Hilkiah. He started prophesying from the days of Josiah through to the fall of the Kingdom of Judah. God instructed Jeremiah not to marry (Jeremiah 16:2) because disaster was at hand and people, both young and old, would die en masse of deadly diseases (Jeremiah 16:2-4). Jeremiah heeded God’s voice and did not marry. Like Elijah, Jeremiah lived his life like a eunuch, fighting against the evil of his time, and he came under perpetual persecution. Jeremiah likely died in Egypt (Jeremiah 43:6-7).
Daniel
From the time of King Jehoiakim to King Zedekiah, the Babylonians invaded the Kingdom of Judah, captured, and deported Judeans in large numbers to Babylon. Daniel, a teenager, was one of them. In Babylon, it is believed that Daniel and other teens of noble or royal lineage were castrated and brought into King Nebuchadnezzar’s service. Hence, he was made a eunuch by man, and he remained unmarried for life. This belief is backed by Isaiah’s prophecy to King Hezekiah that some of his descendants would be taken away and would become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon (2 Kings 20:18; Isaiah 39:7). Daniel’s integrity and wisdom were unparalleled, and he quickly rose to prominence in the kingdom (Daniel 1:3-6, Daniel 1:17-21).
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
Like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were Judeans of royal lineage. They were part of the wave of people deported to Babylon during the Babylonian invasion of the Kingdom of Judah. They were also castrated to become eunuchs and trained to become wise men to serve King Nebuchadnezzar. They are remembered for defying Nebuchadnezzar’s order and not worshipping his golden idol (Daniel 1:6-7; Daniel 3:12-18).
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was the son of Zechariah the priest and Elizabeth. He was born six months before Jesus Christ, his cousin. According to the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1), John the Baptist was given the spirit of Elijah and was filled with the Holy Spirit even before he was born (Luke 1:15-17). Just like Elijah, he did not marry. John the Baptist’s unmarried status is intertwined with his role as the herald of Christ, for he gave himself to preparing the way for the Messiah. Like Jesus Christ, John the Baptist died young. He preceded Jesus in death at the age of 34 or 35 years old when Herod Antipas had him beheaded in prison (Mark 6:17-28).
Jesus Christ
“As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work,” says Jesus (John 9:4). Jesus Christ, the son of Joseph and Mary, was born during the reign of Augustus Caesar and King Herod the Great of Judea. As an adult, he prioritized his ministry, the work of God, above everything. Knowing that his life was short, he remained unmarried, committing himself to fulfilling his divine purpose—teaching, healing, and later offering himself to be crucified. He died at the age of 33 years on the cross during the time of Emperor Tiberius of Rome, Herod Antipas of Galilee, and Governor Pontius Pilate of Judea (Luke 3:1; Luke 23:1-46).
Ethiopian Eunuch
A eunuch is a castrated man and he remains unmarried for life. The Ethiopian eunuch was not different from other eunuchs. But he was an important officer, the treasurer of Queen Candace of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian eunuch was a devout Jew who traveled from Ethiopia, Africa, to Jerusalem, Israel, to perform his religious rites. His commitment to the reading of the Holy Scriptures led to an encounter with Philip, resulting in his conversion to Christianity (Acts 8:26-39).
Paul
Paul’s first appearance in the Bible was in Acts 7:58-Acts 8:1 during the stoning of Stephen, and he was a grown-up by then. His religious zeal made him channel all his attention to persecuting Christians. Along the line, by divine intervention, he converted to Christianity. As a Christian, God called him into missions, and his zeal to win souls made him travel around, spreading the Christian faith and converting many unbelievers, both Jews and Gentiles. His decision to remain single, as outlined in the New Testament, is an example of prioritizing God’s work. In some of his epistles, he promoted celibacy geared toward spiritual service and unwavering commitment to spreading the Word of God (1 Corinthians 7:32-34).
Other mentions
Anna
Prophetess Anna was married for seven years, but when her husband died, she remained unmarried for the rest of her life, dedicating her life to the service of God. When baby Jesus was brought to the temple of Jerusalem by Mary and Joseph, she was there and she prophesied about Him. At that time, she was 84 years old. (Luke 2:36-38)
Conclusion
Marriage is good and, from the beginning, God gave a lot of importance to it (Ge 2:24). However, there is a place for celibacy too in our walk with God. There is very little said about the fact that some of the prophets of old were not married and several of the twelve apostles were also not married. These men attached a lot of importance to their ministries and completed their divine task.