“If the man does not wish to marry his brother’s widow, then his brother’s widow is to go up to the gate, to the leaders, and say, ‘My brother-in-law refuses to raise up for his brother a name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother for me.’  The leaders of […]

And we are continuing on with our discussion of Levirate marriage. The last time we met, I showed you how the institution of Levirate marriage was already an established custom during the times of the patriarchs via the example of Judah and Tamar. For some reason, that post really struck a nerve with a lot […]

Today I’m going to show you a perfect example from the Book of Genesis (chapter 38 to be specific) that demonstrates just how seriously the Lord takes Levirate marriage… …AND… …how this is NOT just some ancient superstitious custom that is no longer for today.   This example also demonstrates again how Levirate marriage was […]

We are continuing on with our discussion of Levirate marriage and how it was inextricably connected to ancient Hebrew beliefs about the afterlife. Actually, correction. The beliefs about the afterlife I’ve outlined so far were as a matter of fact pretty universal in nature and again the Lord in His Torah was piggybacking on a […]

In our discussion of Levirate marriage and ancient beliefs about the afterlife, today I want to talk about the meaning of the word “name” as it was understood in Biblical Israel. In Hebrew, “name” is SHEM. That’s right. When we say the term HASHEM, we are literally saying “The Name” implying “The One And Only Name Above All […]