Does the Bible FORBID
Interracial Dating and Marriage?

Some churches have a policy forbidding interracial dating and marriage. Is this policy Biblical? Should we have such a policy in the church today? In this short article we will see that an anti-miscegenation policy cannot be supported by scripture.

We will also see that a policy to forbid interracial dating and marriage can cause great offense because it reflects racism rather than the truth of God's Word. As Christians we must strive to ensure that the Word of God is the foundation of our policy and doctrine and not the ideas, speculation, culture, or racism of men.

I remember how racism, in a church I once attended, offended my brother when he attended services for the first, last and only time. I was new to the church. I had just started attending. Filled with zeal and enthusiasm for the truth, I invited my brother to services so he could see for himself that we were a church that stuck to the Bible.

Unfortunately, at church services we heard a sermon where the preacher stated he felt Adam was white. This minister went on to confirm this belief in a book he wrote which stated it was evident that Adam and Eve were created white. God's chosen nation Israel was white, he also wrote, as was Jesus. He went on to conjecture that Eve, in her ovaries, also had "yellow" and "black" genes (allowing for the eventual creation of two other "races").

This man stated emphatically that Adam was white without any proof, but is much less emphatic in stating that the other races came from Adam. The skin color of Israel and of Jesus is inconsequential to the skin color of Adam. We cannot claim that Adam was white because Abraham was white, or because Jesus was white. To do so is to make the Bible say something it clearly does not say.

The Bible indicates that Adam was the color of lentils or reddish brown. According to the Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible, the name Adam means "reddish brown." The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT) shows that the name "Adam" comes from the root word, "adam" (aw-dam'), Strong's Concordance #119, meaning "red." The color of "adam" is further substantiated by Genesis 25:30, where a derivative of this word is used to describe the lentil soup or pottage that Esau desired. If you look for lentils in the store, you will find that there are two types of lentils—a reddish brown lentil and a yellow lentil. One encyclopedia stated concerning lentils:

"The fruit is a pod containing lens-shaped seeds, also called lentils, of which two varieties—small brown ones and larger yellow ones—are cultivated for table use"

According to Smith's Bible Dictionary, under the heading, "Lentils,"

"Red pottage is made of the red lentil."

This proves that Adam had a reddish brown complexion. Some translators have incorrectly substituted the word "ruddy" as a possible definition of the word "Adam." However, as we have seen, the word "adam" means "reddish brown." Lentils are not ruddy. No use of the word in the Bible supports "ruddy" as a definition of "adam." Every use of the word in the Bible is consistent with the color of lentils today— reddish brown.

This preacher's comments were not based on the scriptures and deeply offended many black people in the congregation, including my brother. Though I realized the comments about Adam's race were unfounded, I was willing to overlook this variance from the truth. Sadly, however, others including my brother, were not able to look beyond this issue.

I cite this incident simply to illustrate that the greatest necessity for the church is to stick to the truth. When we stick to exactly what the Bible says, we won't offend. God warns us to be careful in Luke 17:1 saying,

"Then He said to the disciples, 'It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.' " (Luke 17:1-2, NKJV)

Does the Bible Forbid Interracial or Interreligious Marriage?

God's message for his people is consistent from the beginning right to the end. God's way doesn't change back and forth. Let's notice now from the scripture that what God forbids in His Word is NOT the marrying of people of different skin colors or other characteristics, but interreligious marriage.

Let's begin with Exodus 34:10-16:

"And He said: "Behold, I make a covenant.  Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth . . . Observe what I command you this day.  Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.  Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst.

"But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods." (Exodus 34:10-16, NKJV)

Here we see God forbidding the Israelites from marrying people of the nations around them. The question we need to examine closely is WHY? Was the prohibition based on race (especially as used in the sense of skin color) or on religion?

From these verses we can clearly see that God's concern was that marrying outside the "church" (Israel was the Church of the Old Testament) would cause Israel to turn away from God. The command is similar to what we read in the New Testament in 2 Corinthians 6:14,

"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers." (2Corinthians 6:14, NKJV)

and 1Corinthians 7:39,

"A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. "

God gave the saints liberty to marry anyone in the Lord regardless of race or skin color. The issue was the same for the Church in the wilderness.

Notice similar instructions in the book of Deuteronomy:

"When the LORD your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites . . . you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them . . . Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son.

"For they will turn your sons AWAY from following Me, TO SERVE OTHER GODS; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly." (Deuteronomy 7:1-4, NKJV, emphasis added)

The problem here was clearly that marrying outside of Israel would cause them to turn away from the true worship of the true God. Other scriptures that illustrate this truth are Joshua 23:6-13 and Ezra 9:1-2, 10-14.

Now some would agree that the main issue had to do with religion, but would still hold on to the idea that race was also included. Let's now notice God's ruling on race, once religion is taken care of. The twelth chapter of the book of Exodus tells us that when Israel left Egypt, a mixed multitude went up with them. In Verse 43 of the chapter God explains that a stranger may not eat of the Passover. For a stranger to eat the Passover, he had to be circumcised (symbolic of spiritual conversion—see Romans 2:28-29). Once a stranger was circumcised, the Bible says:

"And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; AND HE SHALL BE AS A NATIVE OF THE LAND.  For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.  ONE LAW shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you." (Exodus 12:48-49, NKJV, emphasis added)

If a stranger becomes "as a native of the land" then it would no longer be wrong for this stranger to marry an Israelite, or for an Israelite to marry him/her. Thus we see that scripture forbids interreligious, NOT interracial marriage.

Another theory used to forbid Interracial Marriage

One theory used by some to forbid interracial marriage states that Noah's three sons married women of three different races in order to perpetuate the races after the flood. Therefore, as the argument goes, one must not cross these three major strains in marriage. The Bible, however, simply does not support this view. Rather, God's Word tells us we are all of one blood (Acts 17:26); we are all the descendants of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3 :20); and we are all the descendants of Noah. We are all, in a very real sense, all of one race (the human race or family). If we trace our roots back, why stop at the sons of Noah for the purpose of marriage. What scripture indicates that we should stop there? The absence of a scriptural command on this delineation makes it clear such a policy is unscriptural.

Notice Israel was plagued with committing whoredom with Midianites, who were descendants of Abraham (Genesis 25:14). Solomon was rebuked for marrying, among others, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites—all descendants of Shem (Genesis 19:36-38; Genesis 36). In both cases the problem was clearly that these strange wives led the Israelites AWAY from the true worship of the true God. The problem was INTERRELIGIOUS, not interracial, marriage.

It is interesting to note that Moses married a Midianite woman in Exodus 2:15-21 with no condemnation from God. The condemnation came from Miriam and Aaron and God was angry with them (Numbers 12:1-9). Nowhere in the Bible do we read of God correcting Moses for the wife he chose, even though her skin color was likely BLACK. Her skin color is proved by a comparative analysis of scripture which indicates that Jethro and Zipporah were black. Zipporah was identified as an Ethiopian woman in Numbers 12:1, Hebrew, "Cushite." Habakkuk 3:7 shows Cushan was an archaic term for the Midianites (see New Bible Dictionary p. 257). Jethro was also considered a Kenite in Judges 1:16. Zipporah was accepted by God because her religion was not wrong. Her father, Jethro, worshipped the true God (Exodus 18:10-27).

We see later that Boaz was the son of Rahab, the harlot, a Canaanite woman from Jericho. Rahab was accepted by God and allowed to marry an Israelite because she became a member of the "church"—she accepted the religion of Israel (Hebrews 11 :31). Boaz married Ruth, a Moabite. This was allowed because she accepted the true God. All of these historical facts show that Jesus' ancestry included GENTILES (Matthew 1:5; Luke 4:32).

One should also note that Solomon was the son of Bathsheba, "daughter of Sheba" (Genesis 10:7) a descendant of Cush (remember Solomon later met with the Queen of Sheba, 1Kings 10:1). Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, was also the former wife of Uriah the Hittite. Yet David was never criticized for marrying outside of his "race." His sin was the sin of adultery. The marriage was later blessed by God rather than condemned, and the offspring of the marriage was chosen by God to be the King of Israel, the wisest king of all time.

Misunderstood Scriptures

Some would say at this point, "what about the fact that Isaac and Jacob were instructed to marry their relatives (Genesis 24 3-4; 28:1)?" Since the Israelites, as previously seen, were commanded not to marry relatives who were not "circumcised" and therefore were not considered worshipping the true God, the issue was not race but religion.

Some assume Abraham's motive for wanting Isaac to marry among his relatives was a desire to maintain racial purity. This supposition cannot be proven in the scriptures. A more likely reason for Issac marrying one of his near relatives can be seen when we look at the example of Lot. Righteous Lot, Abraham's nephew, had children before Abraham did. Abraham learned from Lot's mistakes. When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot's sons-in-law would not leave the city, even though they were given the opportunity to do so. The problem was that they did not know nor worship the true God. They were not in the "Church" and were steeped in pagan religions.

Abraham must have contemplated the problem of finding a wife for his son that would not be too heavily influenced by pagan religion. Accordingly, he considered it wiser to choose a wife from his relatives where he knew the pagan influence was not very strong. One certainly cannot deduce or prove that Abraham's motive was race or racial purity. One should not use Abraham's decision in choosing a wife for his son as the basis for any church policy to forbid interracial marriage.

Another commonly misunderstood scripture is found in Genesis 6:9 where it says,

"This is the genealogy of Noah.  Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations.  Noah walked with God."

Some believe the phrase, "perfect in his generations," means Noah was racially pure (and white). This view is found in the Companion Bible. A close look at the Bible verses surrounding this statement shows conclusively that this view could not be correct.

Methuselah was 187 years old before he begat Lamech, and after that he lived another 782 years for a total of 969 years. When Lamech was 182 he begat Noah. Based on the scriptures (Genesis 5:25- 32), at the time of Noah's birth, Methusaleh was 369 years old. Genesis 7:11 shows that Noah was 600 years old when he entered the Ark). Thus, the flood came in the same year that Methusaleh died. Yet, Noah was building the Ark and preaching righteousness for 120 years before the flood came, during which time God says Noah was the only one perfect in his generations. How could Noah be racially pure and his grandfather be racially impure? Noah's father was also alive during this time; he died 5 years before the flood. If racial purity was God's concern, Lamech should have been considered perfect in his generations too.

Obviously, being perfect in your generations has NOTHING to do with race. Being just and perfect according to the scriptures refers to the keeping of God's commandments (Matthew 5:48; Psalm 119:172). NOWHERE in the Bible does God equate perfection with racial purity. If perfection had anything to do with racial purity, why didn't God keep Jesus' blood "pure?" As we have seen above, Jesus had GENTILE blood in his ancestry. Was Noah more pure than Jesus?

When we look at the usage of the word "perfect" in Genesis 6:9, Hebrew "tamiym," we find that the word refers to Noah's CHARACTER, his relationship with God, and the way he lived his life—according to God's commandments. Some desire to translate the Hebrew word "tamiym" with the English word "unblemished." But in Ephesians 5 we find Christ is currently washing the Church with his Word,

" . . .that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5:26-27, NKJV)

To be without blemish refers to righteousness, not racial purity.

The word "generations" can mean "among his contemporaries. " As one who lived 600 years before the flood, Noah evidently lived through several generations. Noah was righteous all that time. Notice how this verse is translated in the New American Standard translation,

"These are the records of the generations of Noah.  Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time;  Noah walked with God." (Genesis 6:9, NASB)

Salvation is always by grace, never by race.

After Noah's descendants began to repopulate the earth, God divided the nations (Genesis 10:32). Some have misused this verse to suggest that God divided the nations to keep the races separate. Why did God divide the nations?

The scriptural reason given is found in Genesis 11:1-8. Nimrod led an organized rebellion against God in the building of the tower of Babel. God scattered mankind abroad so that unified opposition to God, leading to worldwide destruction, would not occur until its appointed time (Acts 17:26-30).

Another scripture that is generally misused to support anti-miscegenation is Leviticus 19:19 which states:

". . . You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you."

This scripture says absolutely nothing about interracial marriage. It speaks about breeding livestock and sowing your field. When we read the entirety of Leviticus 18 and 19, we find that God is very specific and straight to the point in all of his instructions. God takes the time to make his intention abundantly clear. We should not read our own interpretation into this verse. Nowhere in the scriptures are we told to apply this verse to marriage. In fact, if we apply this verse to marriage, we will actually break other scriptures including the verse above Leviticus 19:19—

". . . but you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18, NKJV).

Did Ancient Israel have SUPERIOR heredity?

A book I recently read that covered that topic of race stated that God started his chosen nation, Israel, with all the natural advantages of a superior heredity. God, the book further states, pulled the children of Israel out of slavery and gave them a new and fresh start.

If Israel's heredity was superior—then everyone else—all other races—must be inferior. Doesn't this sound a bit racist? And yet, many scriptures clearly contradict this view.

Let's notice from the Bible the REAL reason why God chose Israel:

"And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power, driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. " (Deuteronomy 4:37-38, NKJV).

Notice the Bible says God chose Israel because of the faithfulness of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The scripture also indicates that the other nations were in fact GREATER than Israel, not inferior.

Deuteronomy 7:1 shows that the nations God cast out before Israel were:

". . . seven nations greater and mightier than you"

God goes on to say why he chose Israel, notice it:

"The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the LEAST of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt." (Deuteronomy 7:7-8, NKJV, emphasis added)

Again in Deuteronomy 9:4-6, God emphatically states that it was not based on Israel's righteousness that he chose them.

"Do not think in your heart, after the LORD your God has cast them out before you, saying, 'Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land'; but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out from before you.

"It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Therefore understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people." (Deuteronomy 9:4-6, NKJV)

It should be obvious from these verses that God did not choose Israel due to any superior heredity or righteousness on their part. He chose them according to the promise he made to Abraham, and God blessed Abraham because Abraham obeyed him, not because he was white (Genesis 26:5).

Flawed Policy Bears Evil Fruit

In Matthew 7:16-20 we are told to know a true minister by his fruits. We can also judge policies by their fruits. A good policy will not bear evil fruit. From personal experience I know that a church policy that forbids interracial dating and marriage bears evil fruit.

What gives a minister the right to decide who a person can date? On what grounds does such ministers exercise such ungodily authority over people's lives?

God's Word does not lead the ministry to control every aspect of people's lives. We should teach and preach the Word. When we go beyond the Bible we overstep the authority God has given us.

I'll always remember the day that I found out that I was accepted to go to a religious College. I'll always remember because the Pastor was instructed to inform me and MAKE SURE I understood interracial dating at the college was strictly FORBIDDEN. White males were not subjected to this questioning. This was definitely a form of racial discrimination and reflected the racist view that black men are desperately desirous of white women.

So, what are the origins of such racist church policies in the United States?

The view many white Americans held of black people was intimated in the Dred Scott vs. Sandford Supreme Court Decision of 1857. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney wrote the main opinion of the court. He said that the black race was:

"viewed as part of an inferior order, possessing no rights that the white race was obligated to respect. Blacks were deemed completely unfit to associate politically and socially with whites, and therefore, enslavement for their own benefit was viewed as lawful and justifiable" (A Guide to American Law, Vol. 4, 1984, pg. 190).

The Jim Crow period of United States history, from 1863 to 1953, perpetuated racist views in America, and through a caste system embedded racism into the very fabric of American thinking. Many white Americans held racist views of blacks without giving it much thought. One of the great fears instilled in the minds of many white Americans was the fear of racial amalgamation. Hence, it was generally viewed that the danger of miscegenation necessitated segregation and discrimination in nearly all spheres of life. Jim Crow thinking led to segregation and discrimination in recreation, in religious services, in education, before the law, in politics, in housing, in stores and in bread winning.

Past (and present) policies on interracial marriage are nothing more than an extension of America's racist views. Racism had infiltrated many aspects of American life in order to justify the inhumane treatment of black people during the Slave period and beyond. Many intellectual and religious leaders supported slavery before the civil war and manipulated facts of science and even scripture to perpetuate their views.

We should base church policy, however, on the Bible and the Bible alone. Since the scriptures do not forbid interracial dating or marriage, we must not forbid them either.