Page:The ancient interpretation of Leviticus XVIII. 18 - Marriage with a deceased wife's sister is lawful.djvu/51

 children." It is certain that in the Law of Moses many important things altogether depend upon inference as, for instance, the lawfulness of marrying a widow. The only place in the law of Moses whereby this marriage is permitted is the prohibition to a High Priest to marry a widow (Lev. xxi. ]3, 14), whence it is legitimately inferred that for other priests and other men such marriage is lawful. So from Lev. xxi. 7, which forbids the ordinary priests to marry a harlot or a profane person, it is inferred that other persons might do so. From the prohibition, Numb. xxxv. 32, "Ye shall take no satisfaction (Hebrew, ransom) for the life of a murderer," it may be inferred that there are other cases in which ransom is lawful, and this is confirmed by Ex. xxi. 30. From Ex. xxi. 29 — "But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to the owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death" — it is inferred that, if the owner did keep him in, but the gored person had gone and exposed himself to the fury of the ox, then the owner was not to be put to death. And it may be said generally, when a prohibition is given with a limitation, that where the limitation ceases the prohibition ceases, especially when the limitation is with regard to time. Thus it is said in the case of the Nazarite, "All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine-tree. All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head. All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father or his mother, for his brother or for his sister, when they die." And hence it is inferred, that when the days of his separation were fulfilled, he might eat of the fruit of the vine, he might shave his head, he might mourn for his nearest relations,