Race and Ethnicity: God’s Word for Our World Sample

INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE

The marriage celebrated in the Song of Solomon appears to have been a match between two members of different ethnic groups. The groom, presumably Solomon, is described as “white and ruddy” (Song 5:10), while the bride is “dark” like the black tents of Kedar (Song 1:5).

Marriages across ethnic and racial lines were not uncommon in the ancient world (for example, Num. 12:1; Ruth 1:4; 1 Kin. 11:1), and the Bible never condemns or prohibits interracial unions. The ancient Israelites were forbidden to marry Canaanites, Ammonites, or Moabites (Deut. 7:1–4; 23:3), but these prohibitions were not based on ethnicity but on religious, moral, and political considerations.

God created all the diverse peoples of the earth. Differences in background and appearance that can be hard for some people to accept are a creation of God Himself. And His love extends to all, so it is unsurprising that His Word includes a celebration of marriage between two people of different ethnicities.