This information has been approved by the Physicians Resource Council of Focus on the Family. In fact, marriage between first cousins is still allowed in some states in the U.S. As Mary and Johns mother Elizabeth were cousins. 1 Kings 11:1-2 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. I now discovered two ancestors that though being first cousins on their respective mother's sides, married. This was to avoid the degeneration of offspring. It’s also important to find out whether your marriage would be legal in the state where you reside. Albert Einstein The revered genius married his first cousin Elsa Lowenthal. Sarah was Abraham's half-sister. Regardless, Caren and Brian had a church wedding in Virginia, one of 25 states … The Bible does not forbid marriage between cousins. Both had sexual relations with Lot, "so both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father." This information has been approved by the Physicians Resource Council of Focus on the Family. The fact that “cousin marriage” was NOT forbidden in Leviticus 18:6-18 seems to give one liberty to do so, but there are other things to consider. How distant from the family line does a relative need to be in order to qualify as a potential spouse? It is also prohibited for Roman Catholics: Pope Gregory I banned the practice in the 6 They sent her away, probably for her own safety, to visit her respectable cousin Elizabeth. Numbers 36:6 - This [is] the thing which the LORD doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to … Edgar Allan Poe. Giuliani filed for an annulment in 1982 to end their marriage after 14 years. In the absence of any specific biblical guidance, we’d suggest that there are two pressing questions you and your cousin should be asking yourselves: 1) How might your plans affect your relationships with family, friends, and the larger community? H.G. Numbers 36:11. Then Rehoboam married Maacah the daughter of Absalom. Eleazar died having no sons, but only daughters; their kinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them. Regina was the daughter of his father’s first cousin, making her his second cousin once removed. Yes, in the Bible people married their cousins and there’s is no command against that. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish. There were many marriages between cousins in the Old Testament, including those of Isaac, Esau, and Jacob. DanielleR. Isaac married Rebekah, his first cousin once removed (Genesis 24:12–15). But the circumstances were very different. Leviticus 18:6 says, “None of you shall approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness” (NASB). 12 They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in their … Go track down your third or fourth cousin and go out for a cuisine that doesn’t match your heritage (just to avoid potentially awkward conservations about old family recipes). Does it matter if I pray vigorously or gently? Perhaps it’s worth adding that the United States is the only nation in the world with legal restrictions against first cousin unions. 8605 Explorer Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80920-1051, contact our Counseling department for a free consultation, Tough Love in Adult Relationships: What It Is, What It’s Not, and How to Use It, Grandparents Threatened to Either Support Transgender Grandchild or Be Cut Off, How to Find Counseling Support for Teen With Sexual Identity Issues. 18; 20 ). Does the Bible have anything to say about this? 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