Topical Bible: Marriage: The Jews: Forbidden to Contract With Idolaters

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In the biblical context, marriage is a sacred covenant designed by God, and for the Jewish people, it was governed by specific laws and guidelines. One of the critical stipulations was the prohibition against marrying idolaters, which is rooted in the desire to maintain religious purity and devotion to Yahweh.

The foundation for this prohibition is found in the Torah, where God explicitly commands the Israelites not to intermarry with the surrounding nations. In Deuteronomy 7:3-4 , the instruction is clear: "Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you."

This command is reiterated in Exodus 34:15-16 , where God warns against making covenants with the inhabitants of the land, lest they lead the Israelites into idolatry: "Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, lest they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to them, and invite you, and you eat their sacrifices. And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves with their gods and cause your sons to do the same."

The prohibition against marrying idolaters was not merely a cultural preference but a divine mandate intended to protect the spiritual integrity of the Israelite community. The concern was that intermarriage with idolaters would lead to syncretism, diluting the worship of Yahweh with pagan practices and ultimately leading the people away from their covenant relationship with God.

The historical books of the Old Testament provide examples of the consequences of ignoring this command. In the book of Nehemiah, the issue of intermarriage with foreign women is addressed as a significant problem that needed rectification. Nehemiah 13:23-27 recounts how Nehemiah confronted the people for marrying women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab, reminding them of Solomon's downfall due to similar actions: "Did not Solomon king of Israel sin because of such women? Among the many nations, there was no king like him, and he was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, yet foreign women drew him into sin."

The prophets also spoke against intermarriage with idolaters. Malachi 2:11 condemns Judah for marrying the daughter of a foreign god, highlighting the spiritual unfaithfulness that such unions represented: "Judah has acted treacherously, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD, which He loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god."

The New Testament continues to uphold the principle of spiritual compatibility in marriage, though the context shifts from ethnic identity to faith in Christ. In 2 Corinthians 6:14 , Paul advises believers, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?"

Throughout the biblical narrative, the prohibition against marrying idolaters underscores the importance of maintaining a community devoted to God, free from the influences of idolatry and false worship. This principle served to preserve the distinct identity and faith of the Jewish people as they lived among nations with differing religious practices.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Deuteronomy 7:3,4
Neither shall you make marriages with them; your daughter you shall not give to his son, nor his daughter shall you take to your son.
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Joshua 23:12
Else if you do in any wise go back, and join to the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in to them, and they to you:
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Ezra 9:11,12
Which you have commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, The land, to which you go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.
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Library

Whether There was any Reasonable Cause for the Ceremonial ...
... by avarice into idolatry to which the Jews were inclined. ... They were also forbidden
to marry a "harlot" or "one ... seem to be tarnished by such a marriage: and for ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether there was any reasonable.htm

A Sermon on Isaiah xxvi. By John Knox.
... Henry Darnley (king of Scotland by his marriage with queen ... it was so understood by
a great number of the Jews. ... with the king's meat, which was forbidden to the ...
/.../knox/the pulpit of the reformation nos 1 2 and 3 /a sermon on isaiah xxvi.htm

The Westminster Confession of Faith. AD 1647.
... by the subtilty and temptation of Satan, sinned in eating the forbidden fruit ... lamb,
and other types and ordinances delivered to the people of the Jews, all fore ...
/.../the westminster confession of faith.htm

CHAP. II. 4-25 (2-23).
... a very long one"in which that forbidden worship flourished ... latter ceased on Sinai,
where the marriage took place ... of those vast solitudes which the Jews had to ...
/.../hengstenberg/christology of the old testament/chap ii 25-apr 2-23.htm