[Avodah] besulos

[Jonathan Baker]

From: Zev Sero <zev at sero.name>
 
> > and appeared to others merely as uncle and niece
 
> <head-desk> COUSINS!  They were first cousins, as the pasuk plainly

They were cousins, idetical cousins...

> says.   WHY is this idea that they were uncle and niece so prevalent?

See article by RAZZ here: http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/purim/ziv.html

Also Michael Pitkowsky here: http://tinyurl.com/2z6kmk

Summary:
- It's an old idea, it appears in Josephus, Targum Rishon and the Vulgate.
- Eliezer Segal suggests it may originate in 2nd-Temple polemics in favor of
    uncle-niece marriage.

--
        name: jon baker              web: http://www.panix.com/~jjbaker
     address: jjbaker at panix.com     blog: http://thanbook.blogspot.com