וְהָיָ֞ה אִם־לֹ֧א חָפַ֣צְתָּ בָּ֗הּ וְשִׁלַּחְתָּהּ֙ לְנַפְשָׁ֔הּ וּמָכֹ֥ר לֹא־תִמְכְּרֶ֖נָּה בַּכָּ֑סֶף לֹא־תִתְעַמֵּ֣ר בָּ֔הּ תַּ֖חַת אֲשֶׁ֥ר עִנִּיתָֽהּ׃ (ס)
И если ты не получишь от нее удовольствия, то отпустишь ее, куда она пожелает; но ты не будешь продавать ее вообще за деньги, ты не будешь иметь дело с ней как с рабом, потому что ты смирил ее.
Jerusalem Talmud Yevamot
MISHNAH: The High Priest shall not marry a widow, whether a widow from betrothal or a widow from marriage71The prohibition of the widow is in Deut. 21:14. Since qiddushin are the marriage in criminal law, they can be dissolved only by a bill of divorce which makes the recipient a divorcee. Consequently, if the groom dies between betrothal and marriage, she becomes a widow.. He shall not marry an adult; Rebbi Eleazar and Rebbi Simeon enable the adult72Lev. 21:13 is interpreted to mean “he shall take a woman with an intact hymen.” It is held that an adult, older than 12.5 years, has a softened hymen so that the act of deflowering might not be recognizable.. He shall not marry one injured73Her hymen injured. by a piece of wood. If he gave qiddushin and afterwards was elected High Priest, he shall marry her74Since qiddushin are the acquisition understood by the root לקח in the verses, she has already been acquired when he was appointed and verses 13–14 do not apply to him.; it happened that Joshua ben Gamla had given qiddushin to Martha bat Boetos75The richest woman of her time, from a priestly family. According to the Babli, 61a, she bought her husband’s the appointment from king Agrippa I for 3 qab, about 6.5 liter, of gold denars. In Midraš Ekha Rabbati 1(50), her name is Miriam bat Boethos. Elsewhere in the Babli (Giṭṭin 56a, Ketubot 104a), her name is that of a legendary superrich woman.
A different story appears in Jesephus Antiquities xv, 320 ff., where king Herod dismisses the incumbent High Priest from office and replaces him with Simon ben Boethos, because he wants to marry Simon’s daughter (the granddaughter of a Boethos).
In addition to the similarities of names and subject, the sources also agree about the prevailing corruption. The note that the High Priest was appointed, not elected by his fellow priests, is an intended slur. when the king appointed him as High Priest and he married her. If a woman was waiting for her Cohen levir when he was elected High Priest, even though he “bespoke” her, he may not marry her76“Bespeaking” is only rabbinical. Since he has the possibility to fulfill all biblical requirements by ḥalîṣah, he may not marry the widow.. If the brother of a High Priest died, he performs ḥalîṣah but not levirate.
A different story appears in Jesephus Antiquities xv, 320 ff., where king Herod dismisses the incumbent High Priest from office and replaces him with Simon ben Boethos, because he wants to marry Simon’s daughter (the granddaughter of a Boethos).
In addition to the similarities of names and subject, the sources also agree about the prevailing corruption. The note that the High Priest was appointed, not elected by his fellow priests, is an intended slur. when the king appointed him as High Priest and he married her. If a woman was waiting for her Cohen levir when he was elected High Priest, even though he “bespoke” her, he may not marry her76“Bespeaking” is only rabbinical. Since he has the possibility to fulfill all biblical requirements by ḥalîṣah, he may not marry the widow.. If the brother of a High Priest died, he performs ḥalîṣah but not levirate.