The instructions for the Levirate marriage are found in Deuteronomy 25:5-10.  They cover what should be done if a brother dies before siring a son.

The word ”Levirate” is perhaps a little confusing.  It has nothing to do with Levites and neither is it found in the Bible, rather, it comes from the Latin “levir” meaning “husband’s brother”.  The marriage of the “husband’s brother” is the topic of Deuteronomy 25:5-10, hence its name of “Levirate marriage”.

Here is the passage in full.

Deu 25:5  “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.
Deu 25:6  And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
Deu 25:7  But if the man does not want to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.’
Deu 25:8  Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, ‘I do not want to take her,’
Deu 25:9  then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face [paniym], and answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who will not build up his brother’s house.’
Deu 25:10  And his name shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.’

Note that if a brother dies leaving no son, the living brother is to marry the widow, verse 5.  The purpose being that the widow can have a son so that the dead brother’s “name may not be blotted out of Israel”, verse 6.

If the living brother refuses to marry his brother’s widow, then a seemingly bizarre ritual is carried out, where the widow removes his shoe and spits in his face, verse 9.  What is the meaning of this ritual?

The Bible does not explicitly explain the meaning, but it is most likely sexual in symbolism.  The sandal symbolises the widow’s reproductive organ and the brother’s foot symbolises his reproductive organ.  If they were to marry, then his “foot” would slip into her “sandal”.  The brother’s refusal to marry her is symbolically his refusal to slip his “foot” into her “sandal”.  Thus in the ritual the widow publicly removes the sandal from his foot.

According to most translations, the widow then spits in his face.  The Hebrew word translated face is “paniym”, which means face, presence, before.  Although most translations have “face”, “presence” is probably the better translation.  The spit symbolises his semen, which likely ends up on the ground by his foot, instead of in the “sandal” had they married.

That he should then be called in Israel “the house of him who had his sandal removed”, verse 10, shows that his decision was made public and remembered.

Summary

The ritual portrays in sexual symbolism what the brother’s refusal to marry his brother’s widow means to her.  It is a public humiliation.