ἐπιγαμβρ-εύω G1918
to marry a brother's widow (levirate marriage)
A verb meaning to marry one's brother's widow, fulfilling the levirate duty prescribed in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. Matthew 22:24 quotes the Sadducees citing Mosaic law: 'If a man dies childless, his brother shall marry (ἐπιγαμβρεύσει) the widow.' This technical term refers specifically to this kinship obligation designed to preserve family lineage and property. The Sadducees use this law to construct a hypothetical puzzle about resurrection.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The Sadducees invoke levirate marriage to challenge resurrection doctrine. The Spanish and French glosses reference marriage to the sister-in-law, while the German preserves the Greek term. This specialized verb captures a specific legal institution: the surviving brother's duty to produce offspring for his deceased brother's name. The Sadducees' riddle of seven brothers who all marry the same woman aims to make resurrection seem absurd. 1×
AR["يَتَزَوَّجُ"]·ben["বিবাহ-করবে"]·DE["ἐπιγαμβρεύσει"]·EN["will-marry"]·FR["épouser"]·heb["יִשָּׂא"]·HI["विवाह-करे"]·ID["akan-menikahi"]·IT["epigambreusei"]·jav["badhé-ngrabèni"]·KO["결혼하리라"]·PT["casar-se-á"]·RU["вступит-в-брак"]·ES["casará-con-cuñada"]·SW["-"]·TR["evlenecek"]·urd["بیاہ-لے"]
Related Senses
H5971a 1. people, nation (1836×)H5973a 1. accompaniment, together with (956×)H0854 1. with (accompaniment) (665×)H1471a 1. nations, peoples (plural/collective) (466×)G3326 1. with (368×)H1285 1. covenant, pact, treaty (284×)G2453 1. Jewish person, Jew (194×)H4150 1. meeting (tent of meeting) (151×)G2992 1. people/nation (an ethnic or political community) (142×)G4862 1. (129×)G1484 1. Gentiles, non-Jewish nations (128×)H1471a 2. nation, people-group (singular) (98×)H3162b 1. together (97×)H1616 1. sojourner, resident alien (92×)H0567 1. Amorite (people group) (87×)H3064 1. Jew, Jewish person (81×)H3669a 1. Canaanite (ethnic designation) (70×)G1122 1. scribe / expert in the Law (63×)H2114a 1. stranger, foreigner (person) (54×)H5608b 1. scribe, royal secretary (48×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἐπιγαμβρ-εύω, become son-in-law, LXX+6th c.AD+ __2. become father-in-law, LXX __II. ἐ. γυναῖκα take a woman to wife as her husband's next of kin, LXX+NT __III. middle, intermarry with, LXX