M.ARRIA.GE, LEVIRATE levir-r10, the marriage of a childless widow to her hus band's brother or nearest of kin, according to an cient Israelitish law.
Judah, Jacob's son by Leah, had married a Canaanitish woman (Gen. xxxviii:2). His first born son was Er (ver. 3). Judah took a wife for him (ver. 6). Er soon after died (ver. 7), and Judah said to Onan, 'Go in unto thy brother's wife, Tamar, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother."Onan knew that the offspring would not be his.' All these circumstances be speak a pre-established and well-known law, and he evaded the purpose of it, and thereby, it is said, incurred the wrath of God (ver. to). It seems from the same account, to have been well understood, that upon his death the duty de volved upon the next surviving brother. No change is recorded in this law till just before the entrance of Israel into Canaan (B. C. 1451), at which time Moses modified it by new regulations to this effect:=If brethren dwell together (i. c. in the same locality), and one of them die, and leave no child, the wife of the dead must not marry out of the family, but her husband's brother or his next kinsman must take her to wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother, and the firstborn of this union shall succeed in the name of his deceased father, that his name may be extant in Israel;' not literally bear his name, for Ruth allowed her son by Boaz to be called Obed, and not Mahlon, the name of her first husband (Ruth iv:17, yet see Josephus, Antia., iv. 8, 23). In case the man declined the
office, the woman was to bring him before the elders, loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in, or, as some render it, before his face, by way of contempt (Dent. xxv:9, to; Josephus un derstands in the face, Antiq. v. 9. 4), and shall say, `So shall it be done unto the man that will not build up his brother's house; and his name shall be called in .Israel, the house of him that bath his shoe loosed.' It does not appear that the original law was binding on the brother, if already married; and we may well believe that Moses, who wished to mitigate it. allowed of that exception. The instance of Ruth, who married Boaz, her husband's relation, exhibits the prac tice of the law under the Judges. Boaz was neither the father of, nor the nearest relation to, Elimelech, father-in-law to Ruth. the wife of Mahlon, and yet lie married her after the refusal of him who was the nearest relation (Ruth ii :2o; iii, iv).