Difference between revisions of "Levirate marriage"
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'''Levirate marriage''' is [[marriage]] with a [[brother]]'s [[widow]].<ref>"Levirate marriage," from ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=293&letter=L]</ref> Under [[Old Testament]] law, it was obligatory if brothers lived together and one of them died without issue, in which case the firstborn would legally be an heir of the deceased, unless the surviving brother underwent a ceremony to avoid the duty.<ref>Deuteronomy 25:5-10 [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/popup.pl?book=Deu&chapter=25&verse=5&version=kjv#5]</ref> | '''Levirate marriage''' is [[marriage]] with a [[brother]]'s [[widow]].<ref>"Levirate marriage," from ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=293&letter=L]</ref> Under [[Old Testament]] law, it was obligatory if brothers lived together and one of them died without issue, in which case the firstborn would legally be an heir of the deceased, unless the surviving brother underwent a ceremony to avoid the duty.<ref>Deuteronomy 25:5-10 [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/popup.pl?book=Deu&chapter=25&verse=5&version=kjv#5]</ref> | ||
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| + | When [[Judah]]'s first son [[Er]] died, leaving no heir by [[Tamar]], Judah's second son [[Onan]] was married to her but "spilled his seed" rather than impregnate her. (Genesis 38:8-9) | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
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Revision as of 13:24, March 18, 2008
Levirate marriage is marriage with a brother's widow.[1] Under Old Testament law, it was obligatory if brothers lived together and one of them died without issue, in which case the firstborn would legally be an heir of the deceased, unless the surviving brother underwent a ceremony to avoid the duty.[2]
When Judah's first son Er died, leaving no heir by Tamar, Judah's second son Onan was married to her but "spilled his seed" rather than impregnate her. (Genesis 38:8-9)