In a traditional Jewish wedding contract, a ketubah records the husband’s obligations to the wife.
The ketubah is a written Jewish marriage document that sets out financial and personal responsibilities within the marriage. It traditionally protects the wife by specifying the husband’s obligations, including provisions connected with support and divorce or widowhood. The document is normally read or acknowledged during the wedding ceremony and signed by witnesses.
The ketubah developed in rabbinic Judaism as a legal protection for married women. Although historical wording follows established formulas, modern ketubot may also include egalitarian language, personal commitments, artistic decoration, or translations into local languages.
A ketubah is not the same object as the chuppah, the wedding canopy. Nor is it a religious prayer book. It is a legal document whose exact wording and use vary among Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and other Jewish communities.