Page:The ancient interpretation of Leviticus XVIII. 18 - Marriage with a deceased wife's sister is lawful.djvu/65

 this sense it sometimes has "bone" added to it, as Gen. xxix. 14, Laban said to Jacob, "Surely thou art my bone and my flesh." So Judges ix. 2, Abimelech said to his mother's brethren, and to all the family (mishpachah) of the house of his mother's father, "Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh." So in 2 Sam. v. 1, and 1 Chron. xi. 1, All the tribes of Israel said to David, "Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh." And David himself says to the elders of Judah, "Ye are my bones and my flesh;" and to Amasa, "Art thou not of my bone and my flesh?" These are all the passages in which basar, flesh, is used in this secondary sense, and in all these it signifies blood—or family-relationship, even distant—that relationship which existed between David and all the tribes of Israel, as being descended from Abraham, or that near relationship that existed between Joseph and Judah as being brothers, sons of the same father—but in every case blood-relationship only.

Thirdly,—From this use of the words taken separately, it would not be difficult to infer the meaning of the two taken together. But inference is unnecessary, as they actually occur together, and are explained in Lev. xxv. 47—49. There we read, "If a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family: after that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him; either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him (literally, of the flesh of his flesh, sheer of his basar of his family (mishpachah) may redeem him." Here the two words occur together, as in Lev. xviii. 6, and are explained by mishpachah, family, i.e the two words, "flesh of flesh" taken together, signify, persons descended from a common stock, that is, blood-relations. In Lev. xviii. 6, therefore, they must be taken