Matthew 22:24; What does this say to you about Judeo-Christianity?

Greetings,

"...Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother." Matt. 22:24, KJV

I was reading this verse this morning. I'm not an agnostic anymore but I am not a Christian, and I was curious what others might think about Matt. 22:24. Does it sound weird to anyone else that a prophet of God allegedly said that if a married man without children dies, his brother is to marry his widow?

What if anything does this verse say to you about Judeo-Christianity?

Peace & Love,
nunnies

 

It hails back to the time when people were illiterate and they had to trust the priest for entertainment. And also back then owning a book - any book, but especially The book was a sign of status even if the book was rife with stupid trivia and meant to rob anyone of their peace of mind.

It still works as a pride piece of fiction always displayed and quoted back and forth like a game of jai halai. That educated people still ask moronic questions like this proves beyond doubt that some works of fiction actually drain intelligence and baffle people with bulllshit instead of dazzling them with brilliance.

But the Bible works best as a sledgehammer for crushing god given human ability for reason and more specifically if wastes people's time instead of setting on a course where a person could find an actually meaningful life in a profession, say, saving lives.

 

principally that customs change and evolve, and that it is not the purpose of belief to judge their doing so. that the purpose of belief and the judgement of morality, is NOT to tell anyone what to go to bed with, where, when or how often.

that those who use christianity, or any belief, as an excuse to condemn lgbt, or any consentual personal relationship, are blowing smoke out their ass.

 

I stick to the Belief that realizable choice for community living has walls, doors, and barriers built around to the distinct realization of the choice achieving autonomy for and against the Others.

 

ignore Chodpa, he's just a disgruntled Buddhist and almost never has anything positive or of value to add to a conversation.

Jesus was speaking about/within the Judaic law at the time.

You really need to stop plucking things out of context otherwise you are always going to be confused.
You need to go back to verse 14 and read through chapter 23 verse 36 in order to get the full context.

You will also never understand if you keep applying modern values to the old testament.
The Hebrew culture was very patriarchal. Maybe understanding that would help you understand these type of things as well.

 

It means the bible was written in a time when widows were unable to support their family and their late husband's family was expected to continue providing support.

 

Exactly, it is an economic fix not a spiritual one. The spiritual fix is you don't understand, there are no marriages in heaven.

 

That's right. This custom is known as Levirate marriage, or yibbum. It applied if a man died without having children. It's required of Jews in Deueronomy 25: 5-6. It was one way of assuring that a widow, who would otherwise have a hard time making it without a male provider and protector, would have somebody to provide and protect her in a society which was not too different from modern day Islam. The widow had the right to demand marriage and sex with the dead man's brother until she bore a son who would inherit the property that would have been the inheritance of her late husband had he lived. It assures that any children from the marriage to the brother-in-law would continue the dead brother's bloodline for purposes of inheritance, with the first born child being treated as that of the dead brother. The brother of the deceased not only inherited a wife, but also the duty to support the children to continue the decedent's bloodline. This is the basis for the story of Judah and Tamar. Judah, the deceased's father, said to his son Onan, brother of Tamar's late husband, "Sleep with your brother's wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother." (Gen. 38:8) But Onan shirked his duty by pulling out before ejaculation. So Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute and tricked the deceased's father, Judah, into having sex with her. The union produced twins which Judah had to acknowledge. One of these became the ancestor of King David.
In today's world, where romantic love is the ideal and women have more opportunities for independent economic survival, the custom might seem weird. But it wasn't uncommon in Middle Eastern and Central Asiatic cultures of the time. In the absence of Social Security and other protections for widows, it got the job done. I don't know what, if anything it says about "Judeo-Christianity". Today, probably not much.