Ezra's Holy Seed: Marriage and Othering in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament

Direct references to the biological inferiority of individuals or groups of people have almost completely disappeared from mainstream public discourse. In an era where hierarchies of power cannot be justified by appealing to the inherent inferiority of any race, gender, or sexual orientation, power must be dispensed and withheld through more genteel forms of discourse. The concept of Othering is commonly employed in the humanities and social sciences as a forceful but subtle substitute. Othering refers to a discursive process of separating We from Other as a means of constructing hierarchies of power. Although scholars from a variety of disciplines have explored these forms, this article offers a fresh perspective on the Othering process by analyzing the relationship between marriage and the construction of exclusive communities. Specifically, we cite the Old Testament book of Ezra, where we find an unusually narrow definition of a Jew. There, the We and the Other are defined not by genealogy or kinship but by the experience of exile in Babylon. The insiders, the We, had been to Babylon, the Others had not. The term “Holy Seed” is used for this group, which in Ezra’s view comprises Jews. Even if a woman married a Jew and had children by him, she was not considered part of the We, and must be expelled. Ultimately, we use the relationship between Othering and marriage in the book of Ezra to inform other contemporary forms of Othering that operate in our current historical moment.