Brother's Wife

BROTHER'S WIFE

(yebhemeth = "a sister-in-law," "brother's wife" (Deuteronomy 25:7, 9); 'ishshah = "a woman," "wife"; `esheth 'ach = "brother's wife" (Genesis 38:8, 9 Leviticus 18:16; Leviticus 20:21); he gune tou adelphou = "the brother's wife" (Mark 6:18)): A brother's wife occupies a unique position in Hebrew custom and law, by virtue of the institution of the Levirate. The widow had no hereditary rights in her husband's property, but was considered a part of the estate, and the surviving brother of the deceased was considered the natural heir. The right to inherit the widow soon became a duty to marry her if the deceased had left no sons, and in case there was no brother-in-law, the duty of marriage devolved on the father-in-law or the agnate who inherited, whoever this might be. The first son of the Levirate marriage was regarded as the son of the deceased. This institution is found chiefly among people who hold to ancestral worship (Indians, Persians, Afghans, etc.), from which circumstances Benzinger (New Sch-Herz, IV, 276) derives the explanation of this institution in Israel. The Levirate marriage undoubtedly existed as a custom before the Israelite settlement in Canaan, but after this received special significance because of the succession to the property of the first son of the marriage, since he was reckoned to the deceased, inherited from his putative, not from his real father, thus preventing the disintegration of property and its acquirement by strangers, at the same time perpetuating the family to which it belonged. While the law limited the matrimonial duty to the brother and permitted him to decline to marry the widow, such a course was attended by public disgrace (Deuteronomy 25:5). By the law of Numbers 27:8, daughters were given the right to inherit, in order that the family estate might be preserved, and the Levirate became limited to cases where the deceased had left no children at all.

Frank E. Hirsch

1918. epigambreuo -- to marry
... Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: epigambreuo Phonetic Spelling: (ep-ee-gam-
bryoo'-o) Short Definition: I marry a deceased brother's wife Definition: I ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1918.htm - 6k2994. yebemeth -- sister-in-law
... Word Origin from the same as yabam Definition sister-in-law NASB Word Usage brother's
wife (2), sister-in-law (2), wife (1). brother's wife, sister in law. ...
/hebrew/2994.htm - 6k

The Martyrdom of John
... Philip's wife: for he had married her.18. For John had said unto Herod,
It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.19. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture d/the martyrdom of john.htm

Herod
... his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her. For John said unto Herod,
It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/chadwick/the gospel of st mark/chapter 6 14-29 herod.htm

Herod and the Baptist.
... Some, then, suppose that, when Philip died leaving a daughter, Herodias, Herod married
his brother's wife, though the law permitted marriage only when there ...
/.../origen/origens commentary on the gospel of matthew/21 herod and the baptist.htm

Whether the Degrees of Affinity Extend in the Same Way as the ...
... law certain degrees of consanguinity were forbidden, in which degrees affinity was
not an impediment to marriage: as instanced in a brother's wife whom a man ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether the degrees of affinity.htm

The King's Courts
... men were speaking secretly everywhere, and uttered the memorable sentence which
could not be forgiven: "It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.". ...
//christianbookshelf.org/meyer/john the baptist/x the kings courts.htm

Thou Shalt not Covet Thy Neighbor's House. Thou Shalt not Covet ...
... That sort of thing undoubtedly prevailed much under the Law, as also we read in
the (Gospel of King Herod that he took his brother's wife while he was yet ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/luther/the large catechism/thou shalt not covet thy.htm

From Patriarchal, Tertullian Comes to Legal, Precedents.
... Since, moreover, even in Leviticus there is a caution, "Whoever shall have taken
(his) brother's wife, (it) is uncleanness"turpitude; without children shall ...
/.../tertullian/on monogamy/chapter vii from patriarchal tertullian comes.htm

Herod Antipas Supposes Jesus to be John.
... the hospitality which he received by carrying off the wife of his host.] 18 For
John said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lxii herod antipas supposes jesus.htm

Moses, Allowing Divorce, and Christ Prohibiting It, Explained John ...
... This he said in order the more severely to load Herod with guilt, who had taken
his brother's wife, after she had been loosed from her husband not less by ...
/.../the five books against marcion/chapter xxxiv moses allowing divorce and.htm

How Archelaus Upon a Second Accusation, was Banished to vienna.
... been the wife of his brother Alexander, which Alexander had three children by her,
while it was a thing detestable among the Jews to marry the brother's wife. ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 13 how archelaus upon.htm

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