Leviticus 20:21
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
21 If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is severe defilement and he has disgraced his brother;(A) they shall be childless.
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Leviticus 20:21
New International Version
21 “‘If a man marries his brother’s wife,(A) it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.(B)
Deuteronomy 25:5-10
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Levirate Marriage. 5 (A)When brothers live together[a] and one of them dies without a son, the widow of the deceased shall not marry anyone outside the family; but her husband’s brother shall come to her, marrying her and performing the duty of a brother-in-law.(B) 6 The firstborn son she bears shall continue the name of the deceased brother, that his name may not be blotted out from Israel. 7 But if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife, she shall go up to the elders at the gate and say, “My brother-in-law refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel and does not intend to perform his duty toward me.” 8 Thereupon the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” 9 [b]his sister-in-law, in the presence of the elders, shall go up to him and strip his sandal from his foot and spit in his face, declaring, “This is how one should be treated who will not build up his brother’s family!” 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, “the house of the man stripped of his sandal.”
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- 25:5 When brothers live together: when relatives of the same clan, though married, hold their property in common. It was only in this case that the present law was to be observed, since one of its purposes was to keep the property of the deceased within the same clan. Such a marriage of a widow with her brother-in-law is known as a “levirate” marriage from the Latin word levir, meaning “a husband’s brother.”
- 25:9–10 The penalty decreed for a man who refuses to comply with this law of family loyalty is public disgrace; the widow is to spit in his face. Some commentators connect this symbolic act with the ceremony mentioned in Ru 4:7, 8.
Deuteronomy 25:5-10
New International Version
5 If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her.(A) 6 The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.(B)
7 However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife,(C) she shall go to the elders at the town gate(D) and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me.”(E) 8 Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” 9 his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals,(F) spit in his face(G) and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” 10 That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.
Matthew 14:3-4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
The Death of John the Baptist. 3 (A)Now Herod had arrested John, bound [him], and put him in prison on account of Herodias,[a] the wife of his brother Philip, 4 (B)for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
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- 14:3 Herodias was not the wife of Herod’s half-brother Philip but of another half-brother, Herod Boethus. The union was prohibited by Lv 18:16; 20:21. According to Josephus (Antiquities 18:116–19), Herod imprisoned and then executed John because he feared that the Baptist’s influence over the people might enable him to lead a rebellion.
Matthew 14:3-4
New International Version
3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison(A) because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,(B) 4 for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.”(C)
Mark 6:18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
18 John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”(A)
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Mark 6:18
New International Version
18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”(A)
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