A term referring to physical or spiritual kinship. Marriages were prohibited with one’s full or half sister (Lev 18). Yet “sister” is used for the beloved in (Song 4:9-11), perhaps referring to fictive kinship ties. Members of Jesus’s circle were “brother, sister, and mother” (Matt 12:50). The co-worker Phoebe was Paul’s metaphorical or figurative “sister” (Rom 16:1); young women in the churches of the pastoral Letters of the NT were also called “sisters” (1Tim 5:2).
Lev 18
Sexual Relations
1The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:2Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: I am the Lord your God.3You shall not do as they do in the lan ... View more
Song 4:9-11
9You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride,
you have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.10How sweet is your lov ... View more
Matt 12:50
50For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Rom 16:1
Personal Greetings
1I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae,
1Tim 5:2
2to older women as mothers, to younger women as sisters—with absolute purity.
