The first son she bears to him will be considered the son of the dead brother, so that his name will not be forgotten in Israel.
Parallel translations
- WEB It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed in the name of his brother who is dead, that his name not be blotted out of Israel.
- KJV And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.
- BSB The first son she bears will carry on the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.
- NKJV And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
- NASB It shall then be that the firstborn to whom she gives birth shall assume the name of his father’s deceased brother, so that his name will not be wiped out from Israel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The firstborn of the levirate union carries on the dead brother's name so it is not blotted out of Israel. Preserving a man's name and heritage was a sacred concern.
Overview
The child of the marriage was legally reckoned to the deceased, keeping his name and inheritance alive in the covenant community. This shows how seriously Israel regarded family lineage and the perpetuation of one's place among God's people. It points forward to the gospel hope that in Christ no believer's name is ever blotted out, but is written eternally in the Lamb's book of life (Revelation 3:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ps 109:13Let his posterity be cut off. In the generation following let their name be blotted out.
- Ps 9:5You have rebuked the nations. You have destroyed the wicked. You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
- Deut 21:19then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, and to the gate of his place.
- Ruth 4:1–7Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat down there. Behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by. He said to him, “Come over here, friend, and sit down!” He turned aside, and sat down.
- Deut 9:14Leave me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under the sky; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.”
- Deut 29:20Yahweh will not pardon him, but then Yahweh’s anger and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book will fall on him, and Yahweh will blot out his name from under the sky.
- Ruth 4:10–12Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, I have purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers, and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses today.”
- Gen 28:8–10Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan didn’t please Isaac, his father.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 25:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.