bastard Summary and Overview

In the Old Testament the rendering of the Hebrew word "mamzer'", which means "polluted." In Deut. 23:2, it occurs in the ordinary sense of illegitimate offspring. In Zech. 9:6, the word is used in the sense of foreigner. From the history of Jephthah we learn that there were bastard offspring among the Jews (Judg. 11:1-7). In Heb. 12:8, the word (Gr. nothoi) is used in its ordinary sense, and denotes those who do not share the privileges of God's children.

Among those who were excluded from entering the congregation, even to the tenth generation, was the bastard. #De 23:2| The term is not, however, applied to any illegitimate offspring, born out of wedlock, but is restricted by the rabbins to the issue of any connection within the degrees prohibited by the law.

BAS'TARD . Deut 23:2 forbids for ever the entrance of a bastard into the congregation -- i. e. "from intermarrying with pure Hebrews." But since concubinage was tolerated, the term evidently does not apply to one born out of wedlock. "The Rabbins, therefore, are probably right when they interpret the word as denoting only those born of incest or adultery." See Concubine.