Leviticus18

Leviticus 18 outlines God's commands to Israel regarding sexual purity and other abominable practices. The LORD instructs them not to follow the customs of Egypt or Canaan, but to obey His statutes. The chapter specifically prohibits various forms of incest, adultery, child sacrifice, homosexual acts, and bestiality, warning that such defilement will cause the land to expel its inhabitants.

Call to Embrace God's Statutes

1
ADONAI said to Moshe,
2
"Speak to the people of Isra'el; tell them, 'I am ADONAI your God. ​
3
You are not to engage in the activities found in the land of Egypt, where you used to live; and you are not to engage in the activities found in the land of Kena'an, where I am bringing you; nor are you to live by their laws. ​
4
You are to obey my rulings and laws and live accordingly; I am ADONAI your God.
5
You are to observe my laws and rulings; if a person does them, he will have life through them; I am ADONAI. ​

Prohibited Sexual Relations (Incest)

6
"'None of you is to approach anyone who is a close relative in order to have sexual relations; I am ADONAI. ​
7
You are not to have sexual relations with your father, and you are not to have sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother -do not have sexual relations with her.
8
You are not to have sexual relations with your father's wife; that is your father's prerogative. ​
9
You are not to have sexual relations with your sister, the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere. Do not have sexual relations with them.
10
You are not to have sexual relations with your son's daughter or with your daughter's daughter. Do not have sexual relations with them, because their sexual disgrace will be your own.
11
You are not to have sexual relations with your father's wife's daughter, born to your father, because she is your sister; do not have sexual relations with her.
12
You are not to have sexual relations with your father's sister, because she is your father's close relative.
13
You are not to have sexual relations with your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative.
14
You are not to disgrace your father's brother by having sexual relations with his wife, because she is your aunt.
15
You are not to have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law; because she is your son's wife. Do not have sexual relations with her.
16
You are not to have sexual relations with your brother's wife, because this is your brother's prerogative. ​
17
"'You are not to have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter, nor are you to have sexual relations with her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter; they are close relatives of hers, and it would be shameful.
18
You are not to take a woman to be a rival with her sister and have sexual relations with her while her sister is still alive. ​

Warning Against Other Abominations

19
You are not to approach a woman in order to have sexual relations with her when she is unclean from her time of niddah. ​
20
You are not to go to bed with your neighbor's wife and thus become unclean with her.
21
"'You are not to let any of your children be sacrificed to Molekh, thereby profaning the name of your God; I am ADONAI. ​
22
"'You are not to go to bed with a man as with a woman; it is an abomination. ​
23
"'You are not to have sexual relations with any kind of animal and thus become unclean with it; nor is any woman to present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; it is perversion. ​

The Consequences of Defiling the Land

24
"'Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, because all the nations which I am expelling ahead of you are defiled with them. ​
25
The land has become unclean, and this is why I am punishing it - the land itself will vomit out its inhabitants. ​
26
But you are to keep my laws and rulings and not engage in any of these disgusting practices, neither the citizen nor the foreigner living with you;
27
for the people of the land have committed all these abominations, and the land is now defiled.
28
If you make the land unclean, it will vomit you out too, just as it is vomiting out the nation that was there before you.
29
For those who engage in any of these disgusting practices, whoever they may be, will be cut off from their people. ​
30
So keep my charge not to follow any of these abominable customs that others before you have followed and thus defile yourselves by doing them. I am ADONAI your God.'"

Study Notes for Leviticus 18

Verse 2

This proclamation establishes the covenant relationship between Yahweh and Israel, emphasizing that the laws are rooted in God’s identity as their sovereign authority.

Verse 3

Israel is commanded to maintain behavioral distinction from the corrupt practices of both their recent past (Egypt) and the land they are about to enter (Canaan), reinforcing the theme of holiness.

Verse 5

The promise that 'he shall live in them' signifies covenant blessing and flourishing—physical health, prosperity, and continuation within the land, rather than a guarantee of eternal life.

Verse 6

This verse introduces the central theme of kinship prohibitions. 'Uncover their nakedness' is a common biblical euphemism for sexual intercourse.

Verse 8

This prohibition applies even if the father is deceased, indicating that marriage to a stepmother is viewed as a violation of the father’s conjugal rights and honor.

Verse 16

Generally prohibits marriage to a sister-in-law. This is distinct from the later law of levirate marriage (Deut. 25:5-10), which is a mandatory exception if the brother died childless.

Verse 18

This verse is widely interpreted as prohibiting sororal polygyny—marrying two sisters simultaneously. The explicit reasoning is pragmatic: to prevent domestic jealousy and strife ('to vex her').

Verse 19

Intercourse during a woman’s menstrual impurity (*niddah*) was forbidden because it involved contact with a powerful source of ritual defilement.

Verse 21

The prohibition against sacrificing children to Molech (likely a deity associated with the Ammonites) is categorized as profaning God’s name, as it links Yahweh's people with horrific pagan rites.

Verse 22

This is a key prohibition against male homosexual intercourse, classified as *to'evah* ('abomination'), denoting something ritually and morally repugnant to God and the covenant community.

Verse 23

Bestiality is prohibited as 'confusion' (*tevel*), signifying the blurring and destruction of the divinely established boundaries between human and animal life.

Verse 24

These sexual and ritual sins are identified as the very acts that led to the defilement of the Canaanite nations, justifying God’s judgment upon them.

Verse 25

The land is personified: it becomes ritually defiled by the inhabitants' sin and eventually 'vomits out' those who corrupt it, establishing a direct link between moral behavior and territorial security.

Verse 29

The penalty for committing these specific abominations is to be 'cut off,' which typically means excommunication from the covenant community, often resulting in premature death or execution.

Use ← → arrow keys to navigate
Settings

Reading Style

Typeface

Font Size 19px

Options