Halakhah su Deuteronomio 7:3

The most obvious source of this ban is Deuteronomy 7:3: "Neither shalt thou enter into marriage with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For he will turn away thy son from following Me, that they may serve other gods." However, the source which appears to be the most evident is not necessarily the most correct. The exegetical problem attendant upon this apparently explicit reference is whether the prohibition encompasses only the "Seven Nations" who at that time inhabited Erez Yisra'el, or whether it includes all gentile nations as well. This verse is immediately preceded by an introductory sentence in which the Torah states, "When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and shall cast out many nations before thee … seven nations greater and mightier than thou." The prohibition occurs within a specific historic context, viz., entry into the promised land and conquest of the seven indigenous nations who inhabited Erez Yisra'el. These seven nations are specifically enumerated in this verse. It is in this context that the Torah admonishes, "Neither shalt thou enter into marriage with them."

If a Jew engages in sexual relations with a female idolater, derech ishut (that is, for the purpose of marriage), or a Jewess engages in sexual relations with a male idolater, that Jew or Jewess is given lashes on a Biblical level. As it is written (Deuteronomy 7:3): "You shall not marry them." (There are those who disagree with this ruling). However, if he engages in sexual relations derech zenut (that is, for licentiousness), casually, he is culpable only on a Rabbinic level for idolatry and for engaging in relations with a prostitute and he is given makat mardut (that is, lashes on a Rabbinic level). And, if he sets her aside for licentious activity, he is culpable on a Rabbinic level for having sexual relations with a nida (that is, menstruant), having sexual relations with a shifcha, (that is, slavewoman), idolatry, and having sexual relations with a prostitute. And, if he is a Kohen (that is, a priest), even if he engages in sexual relations casually, he receives lashes on a Biblical level, as it is written (Leviticus 21:7) ["(A kohen) may not marry a prostitute..."]

Another authority, Avnei Milu'im, Even ha-Ezer 16:1, adduces yet another proof in establishing a biblical commandment prohibiting a Jewess from cohabiting with a non-Jew. According to Avnei Milu'im, the primary reference of the verse "For he will turn away thy son from following Me" (Deuteronomy 7:3) is to a Jewess who consorts with a non-Jew and applies only secondarily to a Jew who cohabits with a gentile woman. In the latter case, argues this authority, a child born of the liaison is a gentile and cannot properly be spoken of as "thy son," since Jewish law recognizes no relationship between a Jewish father and his non-Jewish progeny. However, since the child of a Jewish mother is a Jew even if the father is a non-Jew, a filial relationship does exist in Jewish law between the child and the mother. Accordingly, concludes Avnei Milu'im, in speaking of intermarriage as being forbidden "For he will turn away thy son from following Me" the verse must be addressed primarily to Jewish women. Hence, this verse serves to establish the existence of a biblical prohibition against cohabitation between a Jewess and a gentile.

A view similar to that of Maharsha is formulated in greater detail by Rit Algazi in his commentary on Bekhorot 47a. Rit Algazi explains that a child born of a union between a Jewish mother and a gentile father bears genealogical elements of both Jewishness and non-Jewishness. For this reason, the Gemara, according to the analysis of Tosafot, Bekhorot 47a, speaks of such a child as being "tainted," even though the child is legitimate. He is "tainted," states Rit Algazi, because of the presence of a non-Jewish element which, under certain circumstances, may become dominant. The talmudic statement attesting to the Jewish status of the progeny of a "gentile who consorts with a Jewish daughter" is understood by Rit Algazi as referring to a child born of a casual act of fornication. In such circumstances, it is to be anticipated that a child born of the liaison will remain in the custody of the mother and be raised by her as a Jew. If, however, the father rears the child as a gentile, as is to be anticipated when the parents have established a permanent relationship, the child is retroactively accorded the status of a non-Jew. The verse, "Your daughter you shall not give to his son…. For he will turn away your son from Me and they will serve other gods" (Deuteronomy 7:3-4), which serves as the basis of the talmudic dictum, "Your [grand] son born of an Israelite woman is your son" (Kiddushin 68b) is explained by Rit Algazi as meaning that the child is considered to be a grandson in terms of identity as a Jew only if he is not "turned away" by his gentile father. Scripture, according to this interpretation, admonishes that if the child is reared by a non-Jewish father he will not be accorded the status of a Jew and, hence, will not be deemed to be a grandson.

And let it not be difficult to you [that], if so that we do not say like the words of the translator (Onkelos) - from which verse do we learn the negative commandment of marrying a maidservant? And lest you say, from that which it is written (Deuteronomy 7:3), "Do not get married with them" - that is not [correct], as behold, it is explained in the Gemara that this is coming [specifically] for the seven [Canaanite] nations, and about them is it written. And [it is speaking about] specifically in their conversion; as in their gentileness, the expression, "marriage," is not applicable - and as we will write with God's help in its place, in the Order of Ve'etchanan (Sefer HaChinukh 427). But it is possible to say that we learn the prohibition of a maidservant as included in the prohibition of all the nations that are not Israelites, that it is prohibited to cling to them. And [it is] like the Sages expounded (Kiddushin 68b) from that which is written (Deuteronomy 7:4), "For they will remove your son from after Me" - to include all who remove. And likewise, a Canaanite maidservant is included in those who remove, since she is not a full Israelite; as behold, there are some commandments about which she is not obligated. And those are the ones in the section of the Torah in which it is explicitly written, "Speak to the Children of Israel" (e. g. Leviticus 18:2), to exclude anyone who is not from the Children of Israel, as it is explained in the Gemara in a few places. And with this, they are included in those that remove.

To not marry with idolaters: That we should not marry with the nations - and Rambam, may his memory be blessed, wrote (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Forbidden Intercourse 12:1), "Not with the seven nations and with the other nations" - as it is stated (Deuteronomy 7:3), "You shall not marry with them." And the matter of marriages is that he give his daughter to [the idolater's] son or his son to his daughter, and as the verse elucidates, "you shall not give your daughter to his son, and his daughter you shall not take for your son." And all the more so one who mates with them [himself], as he himself is included in this prohibition. And we say in Tractate Avodah Zarah 36b [that it is] by way of marriages that the Torah forbade. But even though this verse of "You shall not marry them" is written specifically about the seven nations and in their being converts - and so is it understood by our Rabbis, who said in the Gemara (Yevamot 76a), "In their being converts, they have marriages, in their being gentiles, they do not have marriages" - in that which the Scripture restates [that which is already understood], "you shall not give your daughter to his son, and his daughter you shall not take for your son," it [comes to] include the seven nations and all of the other nations even in their being gentiles. But the seven nations are forbidden even in their being converts because they were the main [source] of idolatry and its first foundation, whereas the other nations are permitted by conversion. But one who has sexual relations on occasion, such as a man who has sexual relations privately with his harlot - this is only a rabbinic prohibition, and it is the prohibition of nashgaz (the Hebrew initials of the four types of women included: menstruant, maidservant, gentile, harlot) mentioned in Avodah Zarah 76a.