Bastard
“Polluted, of mixed or spurious origin”
Summary
A person of illegitimate birth excluded from the congregation of the Lord to the tenth generation under Mosaic law.
☩Definition and Exclusion
The Hebrew word mamzer, translated 'bastard,' appears in Deuteronomy where such persons were excluded from the congregation of the Lord even to the tenth generation. The term likely refers specifically to offspring of incestuous unions or marriages within prohibited degrees of affinity, rather than simply any child born out of wedlock. Some scholars suggest it refers to children born from unions with foreign temple prostitutes dedicated to pagan deities like Astarte.
☩Biblical Examples
Jephthah provides an example of one treated as illegitimate, being the son of a harlot and expelled by his half-brothers, deprived of his inheritance. Other figures sometimes associated with illegitimacy include Ishmael (though born of concubinage which was lawful), and Moab and Ammon (born of Lot's incestuous unions).
☩Figurative Use
Zechariah prophesied that 'a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod,' meaning a mixed or alien population would inhabit the Philistine capital. The writer of Hebrews uses the term figuratively, arguing that those whom God does not discipline are 'bastards, and not sons,' lacking the status of legitimate children who receive fatherly correction.
Related Verses5 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Bastard," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Bastard," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.John Kitto, "Bastard," in A Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, vol. I (Mark H. Newman, 1845).