Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many. – Isaiah 51:2
It might come as a shock to us in our current times to read how common marriage between relatives was in the Old Testament. Today’s world views such things as taboo, and for good reason. So when we open Genesis and read about cousins marrying, and even an uncle taking a niece as a wife, it sounds disturbing. But it’s worth remembering that we’re stepping into a very different world.
According to the biblical story, in the earliest days there simply weren’t many people. If families were going to continue at all, sons and daughters had to marry within the extended family. There were no distant towns full of strangers to choose from. The human family was small and population had to grow somehow. What seems unthinkable to us now was, at that time, part of survival.
When we read about Abraham and Sarah, we learn that she was his half-sister. Later, Isaac marries Rebekah, who was his cousin. Jacob marries his cousins as well. The text doesn’t take a pause to scold them… it simply tells the story and moves forward. And that tells us something about the times they lived in.
Beyond the need for population growth, there were other reasons this practice continued even after the world was more populated.
Families in the ancient world were not small units like ours. They were clans. Their safety, their livelihood, their future, and their worship were all tied to their extended family. Land stayed within the tribe and inheritance mattered deeply. Marrying within the family protected what had been handed down, keeping fields, flocks, and wells from passing into the hands of outsiders.
Of course, there was also the matter of faith! Abraham’s family had been set apart by God. They were learning, albeit slowly, to worship the Lord alone. So marrying within the clan helped preserve that identity. We might remember Abraham sending his servant back to his own people to find a wife for Isaac, rather than allowing him to marry among the Canaanites. That decision was about guarding the covenant line and preserving a people who would walk with the Lord.
And there’s something else we shouldn’t overlook. In those days, people did not think of marriage primarily as an individual choice driven by romance. Marriage joined households, strengthening bonds already in place. If a niece married her uncle, or cousins married one another, that union tightened the fabric of the family. Within that familiar environment, trust was already established and people’s character was known. That shared history offered enormous stability.
Later, when the Law was given through Moses, clear boundaries were set in Leviticus about which relationships were forbidden. Undoubtedly by that time Israel was no longer a tiny wandering clan – they were becoming a nation. The Lord, in His wisdom, drew lines that would shape their holiness and health. What had once been necessary for survival was no longer needed.
So as we read these passages today, we should resist the urge to judge ancient people by our own modern standards. Scripture is honest about human history, and shows us how God worked through real families in real cultures. The same Bible that records close-kin marriages also records the establishing of laws that restrict them later on. God was guiding His people step by step.
So when you come across these stories in Genesis and feel that initial surprise, let it remind you that the Bible is rooted in history. It tells of a small beginning, of a fragile family through whom God would bring blessing to the entire world. The Lord met people where they were. He formed a nation from one household. And through that long and sometimes complicated family line, He carried forward His promise.
Former Blackout Artist 