JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

family
whether the daughter of the father or the mother, granddaughter
– whether the daughter of a son or of a daughter, daughter
of the wife of one’s father (bat-eshet av), the father’s sister, the
mother’s sister, the father’s brother and his wife – the aunt (dodah),
the son’s wife (kallah) – in biblical terms, the “bride” in
relation to the parents of her husband, and the brother’s wife
(eshet a). It was forbidden to take a woman and her daughter
(Lev. 18:17; stated conversely, a woman and her mother, Lev.
20:14) or granddaughter; likewise a man was prohibited from
taking his wife’s sister (called ẓarah, a “rival”) while his wife
was still alive (Lev. 18:18; contrast Jacob’s marriage to Leah
and Rachel).
FUNCTIONS OF FAMILY MEMBERS. The respective functions
and status of these persons are reflected in scattered passages.
The father was the head of the family unit and owner of its
property (Num. 26:54–55). He was the chief authority and, as
such, is portrayed as commanding (Gen. 50:16; Jer. 35:6–10;
Prov. 6:20) and rebuking (Gen. 37:10; Num. 12:14). Ideally
he was expected to be benevolent, to show love to his family
(Gen. 25:28; 37:4; 44:20) and also pity (Ps. 103:13). The patriarchal
blessing (Gen. 27) evidently carried legal force with
regard to the distribution of the patrimony and other attendant
privileges.
The mother, if she were the senior wife of a harem or
the sole wife of a monogamous marriage, occupied a place of
honor and authority in spite of her subordination to her husband
(see below). At his death she might become the actual,
and probably the legal, head of the household (II Kings 8:1–6)
if there were no sons of responsible age. As a widow, she was
especially vulnerable to oppression; concern for her welfare
was deemed a measure of good government and wholesome
society (e.g., Deut. 24:17). The influence of famous mothers in
epic tradition, e.g., Sarah (Gen. 21:12) and the wife of Manoah
(Judg. 13:23), is illustrative of the significance attached to their
role. Not all of their power was exercised openly; often the
motherly stratagem is deemed worthy of special notice in the
epic tradition, e.g., the stratagems of Rebekah (Gen. 27:5–17),
Leah (Gen. 30:16), and Rachel (Gen. 31:34). The mother naturally
displayed care and love (Gen. 25:28; Isa. 49:15; 66:13;
Prov. 4:3).
The role of the queen mother (gevirah) stands out in several
instances (e.g., I Kings 2:19; 15:13; cf. II Chron. 15:16). The
almost uniform practice of naming the mother of the newly
crowned Judahite king (e.g., I Kings 14:21) may be a reflection
of her special status, but not necessarily. The biblical narrative
was evidently concerned with keeping track of the royal
heirs by this means, perhaps in order to stress the particular
family or region whose daughter had gained the distinction of
having her son rise to the throne (cf. II Kings 21:19 and 23:36
where the Galilean origin of the kings’ mothers is indicated).
It is not certain that in every case the son of the chief wife
gained the succession.
The greatest misfortune that could befall a woman was
childlessness (Gen. 30:23; I Sam. 1). Children were a blessing
from the Almighty (Ps. 127:3–5); they assured the continuance
of the family name (Num. 27:4, 8; 36:8b). The mother was
more directly involved in the early training of the children
than was the father (Prov. 1:8). When the children grew older,
the father assumed responsibility for instructing the son (Gen.
18:19; Ex. 12:26–27; 13:8, 14, 15; Deut. 6:7), while the mother
evidently kept charge of the daughter until marriage (Micah
7:6). Children were exhorted to honor both parents (Ex. 20:12;
Deut. 5:16), and the inclusion of this command in the Decalogue
probably accounts for the threatened death penalty to
offenders (Ex. 21:15; Lev. 20:9; Deut. 27:16). The decline in respect
for parents was symptomatic of the dissolution of society
(Ezek. 22:7; Micah 7:6; Prov. 20:20). The demonstration of
this respect was primarily through obedience (Gen. 28:7; Lev.
19:3; Deut. 21:18–21; Prov. 1:8; 30:17). Parental control included
the right to sell daughters in marriage, although there were
limitations on selling her into slavery (Ex. 21:7–11; cf. 22:15–16;
Neh. 5:5), and an absolute ban on selling her for prostitution
(Lev. 19:29). The father could annul his daughter’s vows (Num.
30:4–6), and damages were paid to him for a wrong done to
her (Ex. 22:15–16; Deut. 22:28–29). A daughter who was widowed
or divorced might return to her father’s household (Gen.
38:11, Lev. 22:13; Ruth 1:15).
The terms “brother” (aḥ) and “sister” (aḥot) applied both
to offspring of the same father and mother (Gen. 4:2) as well
as to offspring who had only one common parent, either a
father (Gen. 20:12) or mother (Gen. 43:7; Lev. 18:9; 20:17).
Attempts have been made to find traces of a fratriarchal system
in the most ancient Israelite traditions; e.g., in Laban’s
role (Gen. 24) as head of the family when his sister Rebekah
was sent to marry Isaac. Laban’s role, however, can be explained
without recourse to fratriarchy; Laban, as the direct
descendant of Nahor (Gen. 24:15, 29; 29:5), certainly was
slated to become head of the family after his own father’s
demise. Another biblical incident, the concern of Jacob’s
sons after the humiliation of their sister, whom they called
their “daughter” (Gen. 34:17), can also be understood in this
way.
Brotherly solidarity is frequently stressed (e.g., Prov.
17:17), and harmony among brothers was held up as an ideal
(Ps. 133:1). Brothers were obligated to avenge each other’s
murder (II Sam. 3:27) as part of their duty as go’el (“defender”
or “redeemer”; Num. 35:19–28; Deut. 19:6; Josh. 20:3; II Sam.
14:11). Another aspect of this responsibility was the requirement
that one ransom a brother who had been taken captive
or had gone into servitude as the result of financial adversity
(Lev. 25:48; Ps. 49:8; cf. Neh. 5:8).
The term “brother” is often extended to more distant relatives,
e.g., nephews (e.g., Gen. 13:8; 14:14), fellow tribesmen
(Lev. 21:10), and others (Deut. 2:4, 8; 23:8).
Other members of the immediate family were the paternal
uncle (dod; e.g., Lev. 10:4; 20:20) and the paternal aunt
(dodah; the father’s sister, Ex. 6:20; and the wife of the father’s
brother, Lev. 18:14; 20:20); also cousins (male, ben-dod, Lev.
25:49; Num. 36:11; female, bat-dod, Esth. 2:7).
692 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6