How close is too close?

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Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
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#41
Huh Joseph marries an Egyptian wife...the Pharoah just gives him one, and he has two sons, Mannaseh and Ephraim.


So many of the Hebrews are actually half Egyptian.
And of course Ishmael is half Egyptian because of Hagar being his mother.
 

Jesus_Leads

Active member
Aug 15, 2021
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#42
I was reading the book of Genesis (just reading the Bible all over again!) and am up to the part where Abraham wants to find a wife for his heir, Isaac. He tells his servant Eliziar to go find him one and stipulates she cannot be a Canaanite girl, she HAS to be someone from their family. So Eliziar comes across Rebekah watering his camels, and chooses her as Isaac's bride (Isaac doesnt really have any say in this!)

Anyway it works out in the end and Rebekah agrees after shes somewhat bribed into being Isaacs wife with lots of gold jewellery etc. She is related to Abraham, as shes Abrahams brother Nahor's grand daughter....

I am wondering, does this make Isaac and Rebekah first cousins (once removed?) and ok...but isnt this a bit too CLOSE? I mean I like my cousins but I wouldnt dream of marrying them! How about your families...is there anyone in your extended family who have married each other? Is this weird, or normal?

What about the opposite, have your parents ever said YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED to marry someone from this particular group? And if you did or someone else in your family did, were they shunned?
We are talking about people who have no moral laws written for them. Also in Abraham's and Isaac's defence they haven't seen Rebecca and their family like forever untill she was brought to be married. I'm saying these so that you will feel this is normal because In our country marrying cousins isn't a thing though you won't believe but I just went for a cousins marriage yesterday. And after looking at some brother assaulting their sister and daughters fooling arround their father this is something far better.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
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#43
I dont see my cousins that often on my dads side but my the ones on my mothers side are fairly close just living up the road. But they are mostly younger than my dads side cousins.

I have met them all though its not like I wouldnt recognise them and I would doubt that there would be marriages between cousins in my family because everyone would be like what?!

Though I suppose in other families they never see their cousins at all. Though actually I think that one of my cousins had gotten too close to each other and my other cousin called them out on it (they were like flirting, or being touchy feely) and there was a bit of a family drama over that. It can make people uncomfortable, though as they are teens/twenties they didnt think there was anything wrong with it. hmm

That being said though, not to air dirty laundry or anything, though the dad of that cousin actually did cheat on his wife, and died. And THAT was a big family drama because half of the family refused to speak to that family when the aunt first married because she had gotten pregnant before marrying.

while my family isnt christian there are some moral laws that everyone sort of abides by although its kind of not that clear what they are...and nothing much can be done anyway because if anyone violates them they have to deal with the consequences (not speaking to each other, disapproval etc)
 

TheLearner

Well-known member
Jan 14, 2019
8,197
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Brighton, MI
#44
I was reading the book of Genesis (just reading the Bible all over again!) and am up to the part where Abraham wants to find a wife for his heir, Isaac. He tells his servant Eliziar to go find him one and stipulates she cannot be a Canaanite girl, she HAS to be someone from their family. So Eliziar comes across Rebekah watering his camels, and chooses her as Isaac's bride (Isaac doesnt really have any say in this!)

Anyway it works out in the end and Rebekah agrees after shes somewhat bribed into being Isaacs wife with lots of gold jewellery etc. She is related to Abraham, as shes Abrahams brother Nahor's grand daughter....

I am wondering, does this make Isaac and Rebekah first cousins (once removed?) and ok...but isnt this a bit too CLOSE? I mean I like my cousins but I wouldnt dream of marrying them! How about your families...is there anyone in your extended family who have married each other? Is this weird, or normal?

What about the opposite, have your parents ever said YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED to marry someone from this particular group? And if you did or someone else in your family did, were they shunned?
1637720269945.jpeg
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
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#47
The images imply that if you are caught speeding, you will be blown away. It is military humor friend.
oh ok!
sorry never been in military
you could post library jokes though I'll get those.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
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#49
I wonder if its more important WHERE or what time a child is born rather than whether or not his parents are related or not.

Because Jesus did have brothers and sisters but none of them were born in Bethlehem like he was. Plus Joseph and Mary would have been distantly related. Im kind of skipping ahead in the Bible here although Ive just finished reading Genesis and now onto Exodus, and its a few generations later when everyone is not all closely related anymore.

Though in Exodus the important ritual to know someone is a child of Abraham is that they need to be circumcised. (and you cant know this because men dont really go round parading the fact that they are circumcised or not) I mean...wives know, but do men in general go round boasting they are circumcised?

I dont recall so. Its not really spoken of. No passages in books ever describe this when it comes to the big love scene either lol. No men I ever went out with ever told me 'just so you know, Im circumcised'
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
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#50
Am up to the part where Moses wife Zipporah circumcises their son , then throws the foreskin at Moses feet, and says hes a bloody husband to her.

The drama never stops in the Bible.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
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#51
In some ways I think it was more difficult to stop the Isrealites mating with people not of their own kind because of where they lived.

The land of canaan was right in the middle of like...three continents and was a crossroads. It was in the fertile crescent and everyone wanted a piece of it.

If God had told the Israelites to exodus to an isolated tropical island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean ...well maybe He wouldnt have had a hard time keeping His family together. Or maybe Madagascar?
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
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#52
on a side note maybe it was better that they lived in the land of Canaan than an isolated tropical island. Tahiti might have worked out but then look what happened to Easter Island.

The heathens on both islands didnt really have the 'thou shalt not kill' in their rules and so when times got tough cannibalism and human sacrifice were common. They might have got so inbred that they welcomed any sailor ashore having slept with or known practically everyone on the island.

But now Tahiti has the unfortunate position of being a nuclear testing site, so...so much for paradise.

anyway. I shouldnt really judge the Israelites and God for trying to be a perfect and holy nation, because Lord knows no others were.
 
Sep 15, 2019
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#53
Though in Exodus the important ritual to know someone is a child of Abraham is that they need to be circumcised. (and you cant know this because men dont really go round parading the fact that they are circumcised or not) I mean...wives know, but do men in general go round boasting they are circumcised?
In bible times, people tended rather to insult those who were not - e.g. King David - "Who is this dirty, uncircumcised philistine?" It was generally expected that unless a man otherwise noted or he identified as being one of the aforementioned philistines, he was.

I dont recall so. Its not really spoken of. No passages in books ever describe this when it comes to the big love scene either lol. No men I ever went out with ever told me 'just so you know, Im circumcised'
Lol. Unless a girl I dated asked me directly, I wouldn't have dreamed of stating something like this outright to her - it could totally be taken the wrong way as some sort of advance, or at best, too much information. I just presumed the girl would assume if curious, based on my background. Being "part Jewish" might be a more delicate way to hint at it.