[ ]Levirate from the Hebrew Bible Through the Mishnahsociety, levirate might represent the sense of duty of the deceased’s fam-
ily to his childless widow or the desire to retain a woman acquired with
family funds (in the event a bride-price was paid) for another member
of the family. A man might accept levirate as his obligation to his de-
ceased brother. In the compound family, the older generation had con-
siderable authority;^47 if the parents of the deceased were still alive, they
could pressure a surviving son and the widow to enter into a levirate
union. Genesis and Ruth suggest that parents and in-laws might
influence decisions regarding levirate or marriage. A widow, having left
her natal family upon marriage, might look on her husband’s family as
hers and wish to remain with them, accepting a levirate union as a way
to reestablish her role as wife and potential mother within her husband’s
family. Since a widow did not inherit any part of her husband’s estate,
levirate also provided support for a childless widow.^48 Levirate, then, is
a reasonable strategy for ensuring a man’s continuity and for providing
for widows, as well as allowing a family to retain a woman who might
contribute to the household economy.
Joseph Blenkinsopp argues that the rise of the monarchy led to a
weakening of the family in ancient Israel. He points out the focus on
centralized worship in Deuteronomy, together with the censure of lo-
cal shrines, some of which may have served families or clans. He also
notes that some of the laws in Deuteronomy limit the power of the head
of household in dealing with members of his household and discourage
ancestor worship. Blenkinsopp claims that the state may have had an
interest in strengthening the nuclear, monogamous family while weak-
ening the extended family, presumably to better empower the state.^49
If Blenkinsopp is correct, these measures may have had some im-
pact on levirate. Scholars tend to portray the family in ancient Israel as
a unit built around a monogamous couple and their offspring.^50 While
polygyny was legal, it was probably an option only for the wealthy and
for royalty, who used multiple marriages to cement political alliances.^51
Biblical narratives suggest that polygyny might have also been em-
ployed when the first wife was barren, but there are no indications that
the practice was widespread.
While individual instances of levirate marriage need not lead to
polygyny — the levir might be a single man when his brother dies —
polygyny is a common feature of a marriage system that advocates le-