FAQ: Is Marrying Sisters Prohibited?

[nathan]

No man is to approach any close relative to have sexual intercourse with her. I am the LORD.

You must not take a woman in marriage and then marry her sister as a rival wife while she is still alive, to have sexual intercourse with her.

Do the two passages above strictly prohibit a man marrying his wife's sister, or are there exceptions? How might they apply in the New Covenant?

Here's the short answer:

You will find two opposing views. Most of the disagreement comes about over the word "vex" in the passage.

(1) The brothers that say it is ok to marry sisters say that as long as you are not causing strife or doing it to "vex" a woman that is already your wife by marrying her sister, then you are ok.

(2) The brothers that say it is NOT ok say that the very act of adding a sister is the "vex".

That is just about it in a nutshell.

It seems that there are sisters who are so close that separating them by making them marry different men who may then move to opposite ends of the country or world is painful to them. It would be mean.

Other girls are just plain rivals, and haven't worked it out in however many years they've been alive. Forcing them to live more or less together for the rest of their lives would be equally mean.

God isn't mean. He cares about His daughters' happiness and wants us men to do the same. Sounds simple and sensible, right?

That seems to support the first view. However, if you are convinced that the second view is the correct one, by all means refrain from marrying sisters. No-one is likely to fault you.

However, what would you do if you and your brother married sisters, your brother died childless, and your wife's sister, your brother's widow, invoked the Levirite? Just a little thought exercise.

BiblicalFamilies has no problem with anyone who holds to either view. We likely would have a problem if you married your wife's sister, and she was totally against it!

Related FAQ Topics:

Related Discussions:
Marrying Wife's Sister Prohibited?
(This has been discussed at length in previous posts/threads. We'll try to link to them here as they are found.)