Levirate Marriage and the Family[ ]than Tamar, whose primary motivation seems to be producing a child.
It is Boaz who claims that the acquisition of Ruth along with her hus-
band’s family’s estate reflects the need to perpetuate Mahlon’s name.
Boaz declares that he is acquiring Ruth “so as to perpetuate the name
of the deceased upon his estate, that the name of the deceased may not
disappear from among his kinsmen and... his home town.”^32
As in Genesis , there is reluctance on the part of the preferred man
to fulfill his responsibilities to the deceased. Elimelech’s closest relative
i s w i l l i ng to re de em E l i mele ch’s proper t y, but he i s u nw i l l i ng to do s o i f he
must also marry Ruth.^33 His objection is phrased as concern for his own
property; he says, “I cannot redeem it... lest I impair my own estate.”^34
In the mind of the relative, marriage to Ruth, which “perpetuate[s] the
name of the deceased upon his estate,” somehow threatens the redeem-
er’s own inheritance;^35 he might expend his own capital or energy on an
estate that will eventually be inherited by a child “belonging” to some-
one else. Boaz is willing to marry Ruth, perhaps because of his previous
dealings with her and his esteem for her. The child born of this union is
recognized not only as Ruth’s son but also as Naomi’s redeemer; bereft
of her sons, she again has a descendant.
The Bible thus offers two stories in which a union with a relative’s
widow plays an important role.^36 Both stories underscore the reluctance
of men to enter into such unions. W hile acknowledging that reluctance,
the Bible in no way condones it. In each case, the Bible offers support
for the union, suggesting that the fears of men regarding this custom
are groundless. Onan does not wish to provide a child for his brother.
Tamar’s sons, while conceived to fulfill the demands of levirate mar-
riage, are always identified as Judah’s, suggesting that the fear voiced by
Onan need not be realized. The unwilling redeemer of Ruth is reluc-
ta nt to ma r r y Rut h lest he ma r h is ow n i n her ita nce. A s i f i n response, t he
townspeople who witness Boaz’s declaration of intent call out, “Pros-
per in Ephrathah and perpetuate your name in Bethlehem.”^37 Boaz’s act
in no way compromises his stature. Like Judah, he is recognized as the
father of the child born through an irregular union. Furthermore, it is
the men who refuse to do their duty to the dead who endure the fate to
which they would have condemned others: childlessness or the loss of
name in Israel. When Onan is mentioned after Genesis , the reader is
reminded that he has no descendants.^38 As for the redeemer of Ruth ,