Levirate Marriage

⁵ “When brothers reside together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her, taking her in marriage and performing the duty of a husband’s brother to her,^(A)

²⁸ and asked him a question: “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no children, the man^[a] shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.^(A)

¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man^[a] shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.^(A)

²⁴ “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies childless, his brother shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.’^(A)

⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her; raise up offspring for your brother.”^{(A) 9} But since Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, he spilled his semen on the ground whenever he went in to his brother’s wife, so that he would not give offspring to his brother.^(B)

¹² Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, ¹³ would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.”^(A)

⁵ Then Boaz said, “The day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also acquiring Ruth^[a] the Moabite, the widow of the dead man, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance.”^(A)

⁹ He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant; spread your cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin.”^[a](A)