Is interracial marriage unbiblical?

Deuteronomy 7:1-4“When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you . . . You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods.”

2 Corinthians 6:14Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?

Some have argued that the Bible is against interracial marriage because of the commands against marrying Canaanites in the Old Testament or Paul’s warning against “teaming up” with unbelievers. However, reading the context of both passages shows that race isn’t the issue—instead, it’s a matter of belief. In both cases, the sole concern is that a believer might be led away from the faith by the wrong partner. If someone of a different race is a believer, that concern is irrelevant.

Matthew 1:5-6Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of King David.

Two clear examples of godly interracial marriage in the Bible are the stories of Rahab (a Canaanite) and Ruth (a Moabite). Both these women were foreign to Israel, yet they became believers in the one true God. Afterward, both married Israelite men and became part of the family line of King David—and Jesus. Scripture praises both Rahab and Ruth for their godly character.

Daniel 2:43“This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix.”

Colossians 3:11In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

Revelation 7:9-10After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”

Daniel 2:43 is another Scripture commonly misused against interracial marriage. However, this verse is not a command to believers. It is a prophecy about a specific political context in history. If the mixing of races is morally wrong and corrupts a kingdom’s culture, why would the Kingdom of God be designed to embrace and protect cultural diversity?

1 Corinthians 7:9A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if he loves the Lord.

In this passage, the apostle Paul has every opportunity to mention that marriage should be within racial boundaries. However, the only boundary Paul sets is that marriage should be between a believing man and a believing woman.