Deuteronomy 7:3

3 `And thou dost not join in marriage with them; thy daughter thou dost not give to his son, and his daughter thou dost not take to thy son,

Deuteronomy 7:3 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 7:3

Neither shalt thou make marriages with them
Unless they became proselytes, as Rahab, who was married by Salmon, and so those of other nations, as Ruth the Moabitess, and so any captive taken in war; otherwise it was not lawful, bad consequences have followed upon it, which it is the design of this law to prevent; that is, being snared and drawn aside into idolatry, which was the case of Solomon:

thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt
thou take unto thy son;
for, according to the Targum of Jonathan, whosoever marries with them, it is as if he married with their idols: and this law, according to the Jewish writers ^F3, is binding with respect to other nations besides the seven; and whosoever marries any Heathen, of whatsoever nation, is to be beaten.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 Maimon. Hilchot lssure Biah, c. 12. sect. 1.

Deuteronomy 7:3 In-Context

1 `When Jehovah thy God doth bring thee in unto the land whither thou art going in to possess it, and He hath cast out many nations from thy presence, the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, seven nations more numerous and mighty than thou,

2 and Jehovah thy God hath given them before thee, and thou hast smitten them -- thou dost utterly devote them -- thou dost not make with them a covenant, nor dost thou favour them.

3 `And thou dost not join in marriage with them; thy daughter thou dost not give to his son, and his daughter thou dost not take to thy son,

4 for he doth turn aside thy son from after Me, and they have served other gods, and the anger of Jehovah hath burned against you, and hath destroyed thee hastily.

5 `But thus thou dost to them: their altars ye break down, and their standing pillars ye shiver, and their shrines ye cut down, and their graven images ye burn with fire;