Quote:
Originally Posted by CKG
If Elisabeth was of the lineage of Aaron (Luke 1:5) and Mary was of the lineage of David, then how are they cousins (Luke 1:36)?
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Aloha CKG,
Mary's mother could have been a
sister to Elizabeth's mother.
After the revolt of the ten tribes (under Jeroboam), a large portion of the
Levites abandoned their cities in Israel ("for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the LORD"), and
dwelt in Judah, [
2 Chronicles 11:13-14; 13:9-11]. After the captivity,
numbers of them returned from beyond the Euphrates
to Judea,
[Nehemiah 11:15-19; 12:24-31].
So, the possibility of a man from the tribe of Levi marrying a woman from the tribe of Judah was not only quite possible, but given the close proximity of the tribes, it may have been quite common.