the eschatological restoration of Israel. In the future age of salvation, the twelve tribes and the nations will not only be gathered to the restored Jerusalem, but God will wed himself to Israel in an everlasting nuptial covenant, in a wedding celebrated—as are all weddings—with a great banquet. This nuptial dimension of the Old Testament background helps explain another strange part of Jesus’ parable of the Royal Wedding Feast. Some commentators have been puzzled by the severity of the punishment