Page 1 of 7 Original Research Levirate marriage amongst the Hebrews and widow’s inheritance amongst the Yoruba: A comparative investigation Authors: In ancient Israel, even though widowhood was not something people were praying for, when 1 Samson O. Olanisebe it came, the people involved were protected by the legal and customary structures already in Olusegun A. Oladosu1 place. One of those structures in the Old Testament is the institution of the levirate marriage Affiliations: where the right and the possession due to a widow without a son for her late husband could be 1Department of Religious protected and appropriated. A similar custom was also found amongst the pre-colonial Yoruba Studies, Obafemi Awolowo people through the widow’s inheritance which guarantees the welfare of the widow after the University, Nigeria demise of her husband. However, these structures have been dismantled by Christianity, Correspondence to: thereby exposing the majority of present-day widows to untold hardship. This article, Samson Olanisebe therefore, through historical, descriptive and comparative methods, examines the customs of Email: the levirate marriage and widow’s inheritance in the two cultures, ascertains how effective
[email protected] they were in addressing the welfare and protection of the rights and privileges of widows and recommends how the church can better see to the welfare of the widows in the society. Postal address: Department of Religious Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 220005, Introduction Nigeria The widows in present-day Nigeria are amongst the groups of people that have not been Dates: adequately catered for, both at the family and societal levels.