Levirate Marriage and the Family[ ]the shaming ceremony described in Deuteronomy had been abandoned
in the post-exilic period when Ruth was written, given the attestation to
the halitza ceremony in the Second Temple period and beyond. Simi-
larly, the parameters of levirate marriage, specifically the practice of
limiting the levirate duty to the brothers of the deceased, are attested to
in the Second Temple period. It is difficult to imagine the law described
in Deuteronomy being abandoned or radically altered in the early Sec-
ond Temple period, only to be reintroduced within a generation or two.
Although we may not be able to establish a legal chronology with re-
gard to the law of levirate, there are indications that the practice of le-
virate marriage was already weakened by the time biblical texts such as
Deuteronomy and Genesis were composed. As I indicated earlier,
levirate marriage or widow-inheritance is often practiced even when
a man leaves children. The restriction of levirate marriage to a case in
wh ich t he deceased was ch i ld less may represent a l i m itat ion of t he prac-
t ice i n ea rly Israel. Rest r ict ions such as t hose i mpl ied by “W hen brot hers
dwell together” further limit the scope of the law. The willingness to al-
low a man to refuse a levirate union, with no justification and possibly
for purely selfish reasons, also suggests a weakened commitment to the
institution.
Was family structure in ancient Israel conducive to the institution
of levirate marriage? Could the weakening of the institution reflect the
weakening or absence of institutions that are usually part of a marriage
system t hat i ncludes lev i rate? T he a ncient Israel ite fa m i ly feat u res ma ny
of the characteristics common to cultures that employ lev irate. Early Is-
rael was an agrarian society.^42 Biblical texts and archeological evidence
support the claim that Israelite families were compound families, with
several generations living together.^43 Families were patrilineal and
patrilocal, with women leaving their families of origin upon marriage.
There are indications that the Israelites were endogamous, preferring
marriages within the extended family or clan. Such marriages are privi-
leged in the patriarchal narratives.^44 Endogamy is useful in patri local
societies because women from within the extended family are most
likely to adapt well to life with their husbands’ parents and siblings.^45
In such a society, individual identity is overshadowed by family iden-
tity. An individual sees himself first and foremost as a member of his
family and defines himself by his role(s) within the family.^46 In such a