Deuteronomy 7:3

3 And you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughter to their son; and you shall not take his daughter for your 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.


FOOTNOTES:

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

Deuteronomy 7:3 In-Context

1 "When Yahweh your God brings you into the land that you [are] about to enter {into it} to take possession of it, and he drives out many nations {before you}, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations mightier and more numerous than you,
2 and Yahweh your God will give them {over to you} and you defeat them, you must {utterly destroy them}; you shall not make a covenant with them, and you shall not show mercy [to them].
3 And you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughter to their son; and you shall not take his daughter for your son.
4 For their sons and daughters will cause your son to turn away {from following me}, and [so] they will serve other gods, and {the anger of Yahweh would be kindled} against you, and he would quickly destroy you.
5 But this is what you must do to them: you shall break down their altars, and their stone pillars you shall smash, and their Asherah poles you shall hew down, and you shall burn their idols with fire.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Grammatically singular pronominal suffixes here can also be rendered "their"
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