Levirate Marriage and the Family in Ancient Judaism

Levirate Marriage and the Family

[  ]

that privileges inheritance by individuals who share a common male
ancestor, but allows for the transfer of property out of the patrilineage.
The eighth chapter of Mishnah Baba Batra considers the laws of inheri-
tance. It explores the relations between parties who may inherit from or
bequeath property to each other:

a. There are those who inherit and bequeath [to and from each

other], those who inherit but do not bequeath, those who

bequeath but do not inherit, and those who neither inherit nor

bequeath.

b. These inherit and bequeath: A father [may inherit from and

bequeath to] his sons, and sons [may inherit from and bequeath

to] their father, and brothers with the same father [may inherit

from and bequeath to each other].

c. A man [may inherit] from his mother and from his wife, and

sons of [a man’s] sister may inherit [from their mother’s brother],

but [these men] do not bequeath [to their mother, wife or

maternal uncle].

d. A woman [may bequeath] to her sons or her husband, and

brothers of a mother [with sons may bequeath property to those

sons, their nephews], but they do not inherit [from their sons,

husband, or sister’s sons].

e. Brothers with the same mother [but different fathers] neither

inherit [from] nor bequeath [to each other].^98

The order of inheritance is thus: “If a man dies without leaving a

son, you shall transfer his property to his daughter” (Num. 27:8).

A son takes precedence over a daughter and all of the son’s issue

takes precedence over a daughter. A daughter takes precedence

over the brothers [of her father] and all of the daughter’s issue

takes precedence over the brothers. Brothers [of the deceased]

take precedence over brothers of the father [of the deceased] and

all of the brothers’ issue takes precedence over brothers of the

father.... And the father takes precedence over all of his issue.^99

On the basis of Mishnah Baba Batra :, the order of inheritance is as fol-
lows: () sons; () daughters; () father; () brothers; () sisters; () father’s
father; () father’s brothers; and () father’s sisters^100 (see figure ). A nat-