Levirate Marriage and the Family[ ]nificant.^1 Still, the intersection between levirate and other aspects of
family law in Judaism can best be considered by first study ing the docu-
ment that is the earliest source of Jewish law.
This chapter begins with an analysis of four biblical passages: Deu-
teronomy : – , Genesis , Leviticus : and :, and Ruth – .
Two of these passages, Deuteronomy : – and Genesis , discuss
levirate marriage, one in a legal context and the other in the course of a
narrative. The incest laws in Leviticus may inform later rabbinic restric-
tions on levirate marriage. While I disagree with scholars who claim
that the marriage between Ruth and Boaz is a levirate union, I believe
the issues raised in Ruth are germane to rabbinic concerns about levi-
rate marriage.
There are many theories about the dating of biblical books and the
traditions found within them.^2 Dat ing is releva nt in a discussion about a
biblical law insofar as it allows scholars to hypothesize about the evolu-
tion of law in ancient Israel. As we shall see, scholars disagree about the
history of levirate marriage in ancient Israel and see each or some of the
biblical passages just mentioned as representative of different stages in
the law’s development. Although I will discuss some of these theories, I
am aware that for the rabbis of Late Antiquity, the Bible was a seamless
whole. Rather than trace inconsistencies between biblical passages to
different authors or historical periods, the rabbis sought to harmonize
the texts. Thus while establishing the chronology of biblical texts and
their relationship to each other is a valid and useful endeavor, it is not
my goal here. Instead, I will analyze the texts, seeking nuances that will
help clarify the rabbis’ understanding of levirate marriage, an under-
standing that they seek to ground in the Bible.
Levirate Marriage in Legal Texts: Deuteronomy 25:5 –10
The law regarding levirate marriage is found in Deuteronomy , be-
tween the directive “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is threshing”
and the directive to cut off the hand of a woman who seizes a man by
his genitals to save her husband.^3 The law is outlined in six verses and
simultaneously argues for the importance of levirate marriage and ac-
knowledges that such a marriage may, in at least some cases, never be
realized: