[ ]Paternity and Continuityassigned to the deceased, the levir would have found himself raising
children whom he regarded as usurpers of his rights to his brother’s es-
tate. Those children would not enjoy the legal protection afforded by a
father. If the deceased had left a large estate, a guardian — perhaps the
children’s mother — could see to their economic needs. If the estate
was small, they would be dependent on the goodwill of the levir and his
sense of obligation to his brother. Studies suggest that a levir’s goodwill
can be hoped for but not guaranteed, even in societies in which a great
deal of emphasis is placed on the extended family. Shifting paternity
f rom t he deceased to t he lev i r may have been at t ract ive, i n pa r t, because
it offered women and their children in a male-dominated society the
protection and support provided by a husband and father. Once again,
t he good of t he liv ing is a l lowed to supersede t he benefit to t he deceased
of assigning paternity of the children of levirate to him.
Levirate and Alternative Strategies of Continuity
Levirate is what Jack Goody calls a strategy of continuity, a vehicle that
maximizes a man’s ability to leave (male) descendants who can inherit
his property and preserve his name and lineage. Goody also uses the
term “strategy of heirship,” particularly in terms of response to the
“problem” that arises when a man has no sons to inherit his property.^29
In such a situation, levirate is one of a number of vehicles that a society
may offer to individuals to help them resolve their problem.
The Hebrew Bible portrays childlessness, or more accurately the lack
of male children, as a personal tragedy for women. Rachel, Hannah,
and the Shunamite who hosts the prophet Elisha all experience their
barrenness as painful. For men, the problem is not only personal but
economic. Abraham, promised a great reward by God, responds to his
childlessness by asking, “God, what can You give me, seeing that I shall
die childless.... Since You have granted me no offspring, my steward
will be my heir.”^30 Abraham sees no point in amassing wealth if he has
no one to leave it to but a servant to whom he has no kinship ties. The
Hebrew Bible assumes a system featuring lineal or vertical rather than
lateral inheritance; while the estate of a childless man will devolve on
his brothers, the preferred heir is a son. Strategies of heirship in such a
society will focus on obtaining a son or a son substitute.^31
I have asserted that the rabbis’ formulation of levirate essentially