particularly defenseless and deserving of kindness (Deuteronomy 10:18; 24:17). The sons, Mahlon and Kilion, filled the emptiness in their lives by taking Moabite wives. Israelites were forbidden to intermarry with Canaanites (Deuteronomy 7:3), but Moabites were cousins to the Hebrews through Lot, Abraham’s nephew. Moabites were barred from the Israelite congregation for ten generations, however (Deuteronomy 23:3). We can speculate that the marriages occurred near the end of the ten-year sojourn.