[ ]Mapping the Family(hoten), “mother-in-law” (hotenet or hamot), “son-in-law” (hatan), and
“d aug hter-i n-law ” (kalla).^29 T he relat ionsh ip bet ween i n-laws of t he sa me
generation can also be indicated with single words; a brother-in-law and
sister-in-law are described as a yavam and yevama;^30 the three-letter root
of the word, y-b-m, is used in discussions of levirate, the union between
brother-in-law and sister-in-law. These terms are employed primarily
when the issue under consideration is levirate marriage, but the terms
occasionally refer to a sister-in-law when levirate may not be an issue.^31
In Mishnah Yevamot :, we lea r n t hat severa l fema le relat ives of a wom-
an’s husband cannot serve as witnesses to the husband’s death (such tes-
timony would free the woman to remarry); among these women is “her
sister-in-law” (yevimta). Although this could be viewed as a situation in
which levirate might come into play — such testimony would render the
woman subject to levirate if her husband had died without children —
levirate need not be a factor here. The rule, together with similar group-
ings in Mishnah Gittin : and Sotah :, suggests the assumption of
animosity between a wife and her husband’s closest female relatives.
Animosity or distrust between a woman and the wife of her husband’s
brot her may be rooted in concer ns t hat t he deat h of one of t he men cou ld
result in the women becoming the co-wives of the surviving brother.
Most other familial relationships are indicated through compound
terms. These terms are created by combining two or more of the words
used to describe basic family relationships. Thus a grandfather may be
descr ibed as “t he fat her of one’s fat her” or “t he fat her of one’s mot her;” a
grandson may referred to as “the son of one’s son,”^32 and a granddaughter
is ca l led “t he daug hter of one’s son” or “t he daug hter of one’s daug hter.”^33
A cousin may be “the son of one’s uncle” or “the son of the brother of
one’s father.” The use of compound terms acknowledges that family ties
are built on the primary relationships between parents and children and
among siblings; individuals are connected to extended family members
through their common ancestors or connections. W hile the Hebrew
Bible does use the terms dod and doda to describe an uncle and aunt (an
u nc le’s w i fe),^34 it also employs parallel compound terms, for example,
“the brother of the father” or “the wife of the brother of the father.”^35
Cousins are always referred to by compound terms.
Rabbinic literature retains the terms used in the Hebrew Bible to de-
s c r ib e f a m i l y r el at ion s h ips. T her e a r e fe w v a r i at ion s b et w e en t he k i n s h ip