Leviticus 20 outlines various capital offenses and other prohibitions for Israel, emphasizing the nation's call to holiness. It condemns practices such as child sacrifice to Molech, consulting familiar spirits, and a range of illicit sexual relations, including adultery, incest, and bestiality. The chapter reiterates that obedience to God's statutes is essential for remaining in the promised land and maintaining their separated status as a holy people.
Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.
¶ And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.
And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister, nor of thy father's sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity.
But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.
Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.
Study Notes for Leviticus 20
Verse 2
Molech worship involved child sacrifice, a practice strictly forbidden as it profaned God’s holy name and defiled the sanctuary. The community had the responsibility to police and execute the offender by stoning.
Verse 3
If the community failed to execute justice, God promised direct divine judgment ('set my face against that man'), emphasizing that the holiness of Israel was God's immediate concern.
Verse 5
The phrase 'go a whoring after him' uses the metaphor of sexual infidelity to describe spiritual rebellion and idolatry, highlighting the intimate covenant relationship between God and Israel.
Verse 6
Consulting those with familiar spirits (*’ōḇ*), or necromancers, was a form of forbidden divination associated with Canaanite practices and was deemed an act of spiritual rebellion against God.
Verse 7
This verse is foundational to the entire book, serving as the theological rationale: Israel must maintain moral and ritual purity because their God is inherently holy.
Verse 9
Cursing one’s parents is placed alongside capital sexual offenses, demonstrating the high value placed on the foundational family unit and respect for authority within Israelite society.
Verse 10
Adultery undermines the covenant of marriage and the social structure; the required death penalty applied equally to both the man and the woman, emphasizing mutual accountability.
Verse 12
The phrase 'wrought confusion' (Hebrew: *tebhel*) refers to the disruption and disorder of the natural, God-ordained relationship structure, reserved for the most severe sexual perversions.
Verse 13
This statute prohibits male homosexual acts, classifying them as an 'abomination' (*to’evah*), meaning ritually and morally repugnant, requiring the strict penalty of death.
Verse 14
Incest involving a mother and daughter is deemed 'wickedness' (*zimmah*), a severe term often reserved for the most heinous sexual crimes, necessitating execution by burning.
Verse 20
Unlike most capital offenses in this chapter, incest with an uncle’s wife results in the unique penalty of dying 'childless,' a devastating judgment signifying the termination of the family line and inheritance.
Verse 21
Taking a brother's wife (outside of the levirate marriage requirement, Deut. 25:5) is punished with childlessness, preventing the continuation of the family name through that union.
Verse 22
This summarizes the purpose of the detailed laws: obedience ensures Israel remains in the land, while disobedience leads to the land rejecting them ('spue you not out'), paralleling the fate of the Canaanites.
Verse 24
God reminds Israel that the laws are intrinsically linked to the promise of the land ('flowing with milk and honey') and their status as a people 'separated' by divine choice.
Verse 26
This reiterates the core theological theme of Leviticus: Israel’s holiness is a direct reflection of God’s holiness and the result of His sovereign act of severing them from the surrounding nations.
Verse 27
This final law reiterates the command from verse 6, clarifying that consulting mediums or wizards is a capital offense punishable by stoning, reinforcing the strict boundary against forbidden spiritual practices.
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