Even though some of the marriages had produced children, this was not accepted as reason for the foreign women to stay in Jerusalem and Judah.1 The women would have been sent back to their fathers' houses together with their children, most probably with supplies and money. In ancient societies mothers were given custody of their children when marriages broke down. For example, when Hagar was dismissed, Ishmael was sent away with her (Genesis 21:14).2
18 Now there were found some of the sons of the priests who had married foreign women: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah, some of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers.