Topic
Husband's Brother
8 passages cited, from 1 classic reference work.
These works date from 1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Genesis 38:1–30ISBE
And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her. And…
- Leviticus 18:16ISBE
Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness.
- Leviticus 18:18ISBE
Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.
- Deuteronomy 25:5–10ISBE
¶ If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto…
- Ruth 1:11–13ISBE
And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should…
- Ruth 4:1ISBE
Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.
- Matthew 22:23–28ISBE
¶ The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us…
- Matthew 22:24ISBE
Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 8 references
(yabham, "brother-in-law"; epigambreuo; Late Latin levir): He was required (De 25:5-10; Mt 22:24) "to perform the duty of a husband's brother" (yibbemah); that is, if his brother, living with him on the paternal estate, died without male issue, he should take the widow to wife, and "raise up seed unto his brother," the firstborn of the new marriage inheriting the deceased brother's estate. Refusal of the duty was possible, but entailed public ceremonial disgrace and lasting reproach. This provision for a specific case modified the general law which forbade the marriage of a sister-in-law (Le 18:16,18). It was a patriarchal custom (Ge 38; Judah and Tamar), and is alluded to in Ru 1:11-13. A related custom is found in Ru 4:1, Boaz playing; however, the part, not of levir ("brother-in-law"), but of go`el ("redeemer"). It was at least theoretically in force in our Lord's time (Mt 22:23-28; the question of the Sadducees concerning the resurrection). For the origin and object of this custom see FAMILY; MARRIAGE.
Philip Wendell Crannell
Texts: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.