Did Wikipedia remove the word "" from the Yibbum article?

Yes. In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it "commonly translated as " levirate " marriage". Today it says "form of levirate marriage found in judaism". We saved the article's opening paragraph at 6 moments between 2005 and 2025, and the counts come from those saved copies.

When did the Yibbum article stop using the word ""?

The word appeared 0 times in the opening at its peak in 2005. It is absent from today's opening, the part search engines quote and AI systems train on, checked against the live article on 2026-08-02.

How can I verify what Wikipedia's Yibbum article used to say?

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What did Wikipedia remove from the Yibbum article?

The opening as it read in 2005

Yibbum ( pronounced "yee-boom") or Levirate marriage , in Judaism , is commonly translated as " levirate " marriage , one of the most complex types of marital unions mandated by Torah law, and which is not presently practiced in its full application. From the Torah, Judaism teaches that a " Yabham in Hebrew, [is] a specific term denoting a childless man's brother, who has an obligation to marry his dead brother's wife" [1] . The most famous case of a Levirate type marriage in the Hebrew Bible is the unusual union of the Hebrew patriarch Judah and his daughter in law Tamar as recorded in the Book of Genesis chapter 38 [2] . The full commandment is spelled out in the Book of Deuteronomy 25:5-6 [3] : "When brothers live together, and one of them dies childless, the dead man's wife shall not be allowed to marry an outsider. Her husband's brother must cohabit with her, making her his wife, and thus performing a brother-in-law's duty to her. The first-born son whom she bears will then perpetuate the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be obliterated from Israel." However, there is a loophole if the one of the parties refuses to go through with the "marriage", that is known as Chalitza , the "removal" of a specially designed leather shoe by the woman from the man who either he or she refuses to marry, as a symbolic act of renunciation of their willingness to perform the Yibbum (levirate marriage), Deuteronomy 25:7-10 : "If the man does not wish to take his brother's wife, the sister-in-law shall go up to the elders in court, and declare, 'My brother-in-law refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel, and will not consent to perform his brotherly duty with me.' The elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. If he remains firm, he must say, 'I do not want to take her.' His sister-in-law shall then approach him before the elders, take off his shoe and spit toward his face. She shall then declare, 'This is what shall be done to the man who will not build up a family for his brother.' The name of [that place] shall then be known in Israel as, 'the house [where] the shoe was removed'." In Jewish law, Halakha , today, Yibbum is not permited and therefore the ceremony of Chalitza must be performed in front of a ten man Beth Din (court of Jewish religious law). A famous instance involving a symbolic case of both Chalitza and Yibbum is recounted in the Book of Ruth when after the death of her husband, Ruth is rejected by an anonymous Ploni Almoni , and is noticed, welcomed and eventually turns to her husband's remaining kinsman Boaz . The rabbis in the time of the mishnah added formal marriage requirements such as a marriage contract, but over the centuries Yibbum waned in favor, until it was completely abolished by Ashkenazi Jews who favored strict monogamy , whereas it may have lingered on among Sephardi Jews who were more accepting of allowing more than one wife. The Biblical significance of Yibbum is emphasized by various Judaic teachings that the Jewish messiah will be directly descended from both Judah and Tamar as well as through Ruth and Boaz . Their stories are considered to be one of the most powerful love stories in the Hebrew Bible . An entire tractate in the Talmud , called Yevamot , is devoted to the subject of levirate marriages.¹

This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16604327.

The opening as it stood in 2010 13 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Yibbum (pronounced "yee-boom"), or levirate marriage , in Judaism , is one of the most complex types of marriages mandated by Torah law ( Deuteronomy 25:5–10 ). According to the law, the brother of a man who died without children has an obligation to marry the widow. However, if either of the parties refuses to go through with the marriage, both are required to go through a ceremony known as halizah , involving a symbolic act of renunciation of their right to perform this marriage. Jewish law ( halakha ) has seen a gradual decline of yibbum in favor of halizah , to the point where in most contemporary Jewish communities the former is strongly discouraged. The concept of yibbum is not unique to Judaism. Known as levirate marriage (when the marriage is to the deceased's brother) or widow inheritance (when it is to any surviving male relative), it has been practiced by other societies with a strong clan structure. It is or was known in societies including the Punjabis , Jats , Huns (Chinese " Xiongnu ", " Hsiong-nu ", etc.), Mongols , and Tibetans .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 352281394.

The opening as it stood in 2015

Yibbum ( ) or levirate marriage in Judaism , is one of the most complex types of marriages mandated by Torah law ( Deuteronomy 25:5–10 ) by which, according to the law, the brother of a man who died without children has an obligation to marry the widow. However, if either of the parties refuses to go through with the marriage, both are required to go through a ceremony known as halizah , involving a symbolic act of renunciation of their right to perform this marriage. Jewish law ( halakha ) has seen a gradual decline of yibbum in favor of halizah , to the point where in most contemporary Jewish communities, and in Israel by mandate of the Chief Rabbinate, the former is prohibited. The concept of yibbum is not unique to Judaism. Known as levirate marriage (when the marriage is to the deceased's brother) or widow inheritance (when it is to any surviving male relative), it has been practiced by other societies with a strong clan structure. It is or was known in societies including the Punjabis , Jats , Huns , Mongols , and Tibetans .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 665530132.

The opening as it stood in 2020 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Levirate marriage Yibbum ( , Hebrew: ייבום) is the form of levirate marriage found in Judaism . As specified by Deuteronomy 25:5–10 , the brother of a man who died without children is permitted and encouraged to marry the widow. However, if either of the parties refuses to go through with the marriage, both are required to go through a ceremony known as halizah , involving a symbolic act of renunciation of their right to perform this marriage. Jewish law ( halakha ) has seen a gradual decline of yibbum in favor of halizah , to the point where in most contemporary Jewish communities, and in Israel by mandate of the Chief Rabbinate , yibbum is prohibited.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 942796269.

The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023

Levirate marriage Yibbum ( , ) is the form of levirate marriage found in Judaism . As specified by Deuteronomy 25:5–10 , the brother of a man who died without children is permitted and encouraged to marry the widow. However, if either of the parties refuses to go through with the marriage, both are required to go through a ceremony known as halizah , involving a symbolic act of renunciation of their right to perform this marriage. Jewish law ( halakha ) has seen a gradual decline of yibbum in favor of halizah , to the point where in most contemporary Jewish communities, and in Israel by mandate of the Chief Rabbinate , yibbum is prohibited.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1172875937.

The opening as it stood in 2025

Levirate marriage Yibbum ( pronounced [jibum] , Hebrew : ייבום ) is the form of levirate marriage found in Judaism . As specified by Deuteronomy 25:5–10 , the brother of a man who died without children is permitted and encouraged to marry the widow. However, if either of the parties refuses to go through with the marriage, both are required to go through a ceremony known as halizah , involving a symbolic act of renunciation of their right to perform this marriage. Jewish law ( halakha ) has seen a gradual decline of yibbum in favor of halizah , to the point where in most contemporary Jewish communities, and in Israel by mandate of the Chief Rabbinate , yibbum is prohibited.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1285172777. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.

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