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for the present the prohibition of this marriage found in the eighteenth verse of the chapter, we contend, that by a fair and just construction of the Levitical law, it is forbidden. To prove this, the following rules of interpretation are laid down as correct and true.

I. This law is to be interpreted in conformity with its and  character.

Had it been delivered as a temporary and civil law, designed only for the government of the Hebrew commonwealth, it ought to receive a corresponding interpretation. But as it is a permanent, ecclesiastical law, designed for the Church in all ages, it must be interpreted accordingly.