Miscegenation
Summary
Intermarriage between Israelites and foreign peoples, strictly prohibited by Mosaic law to preserve Israel's religious purity.
☩Patriarchal Concern
Abraham made his servant swear not to take a wife for Isaac from the Canaanites: 'Thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell' (Genesis 24:3). Isaac likewise charged Jacob: 'Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan' (Genesis 28:1). This concern predated the Mosaic law.
☩Mosaic Prohibition
The Law explicitly forbade intermarriage with Canaanite nations: 'Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods' (Deuteronomy 7:3-4; Exodus 34:12-16). Joshua reiterated this warning (Joshua 23:12-13).
☩Reason for Prohibition
The concern was religious, not racial: 'They will turn away thy son from following me' (Deuteronomy 7:4; Exodus 34:16; Joshua 23:12-13). Foreign wives would introduce idolatry. This proved tragically true with Solomon, whose foreign wives 'turned away his heart after other gods' (1 Kings 11:4), and with Israel generally (Judges 3:5-8; Numbers 25:1-8).
☩Consequences of Violation
Esau's marriages to Hittite women 'were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah' (Genesis 26:34-35). Israel's intermarriage led to idolatry (Judges 3:6-7). The plague following Moabite seduction killed 24,000 (Numbers 25:1, 6-8). After the exile, Ezra required the divorce of foreign wives (Ezra 9-10), and Nehemiah vigorously opposed mixed marriages (Nehemiah 13:23-27).
☩New Testament Principle
While ethnic barriers are removed in Christ (Galatians 3:28), the principle of spiritual compatibility remains. Paul counsels believers to marry 'only in the Lord' (1 Corinthians 7:39) and warns against being 'unequally yoked together with unbelievers' (2 Corinthians 6:14). The early church prohibited marriage between Christians and pagans.
Related Verses11 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Mixed Marriages," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VI (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).