Leviticus 18:1-30

Cross-references For Better Understanding a Related Topics b Additional Materials c

Summary

• A variety of sexual sins, by which a person AND THE LAND are defiled. These practices are the reason that GOD would drive the wicked out from Canaan (v. 24+).

Details and/or Comments

Some Observations

• In some cases, the reason given for the prohibition may vary, depending on the specific relationship of the individuals.

• There are records of some in the Bible who did not obey these commands. Their actions do not nullify these commands!

• There are instances in which people who lived prior to the giving of these commands, did some of the things described here – for instance, Jacob married two sisters. We can read about them in Genesis, and see that the warning given here (about rivalry) was demonstrated in their lives.

• The only exception to these rules, found in the Bible, is this: The children of Adam and Eve had to marry their siblings, for there were no other alternatives! (At that point in history, there would have been no genetic problems. Their genetic material was much purer, and the harmful mutations that have accumulated down through the centuries would not have been present at that time.) See: Genetic Issues.

Scripture

Leviticus 18:1-30 – Sexual sins, by which a person AND THE LAND are defiled.

• See also: Seventh Commandment.

Scripture Passage	Comments and Links
Lev 18:1 Yahweh said to Moses, Lev 18:2 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, 'I am Yahweh your God. Lev 18:3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived: and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you; neither shall you walk in their statutes.	Do not follow the examples of the pagans. The Influence of Wicked People on Others Separation from the Wicked
Lev 18:4 You shall do my ordinances, and you shall keep my statutes, and walk in them: I am Yahweh your God. Lev 18:5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my ordinances; which if a man does, he shall live in them: I am Yahweh.	You must obey the true God; in doing so there is life. The Need for Obedience Old Covenant Obedience

A description of the sins...

Scripture Passage	Comments and Links
Lev 18:6 " 'None of you shall approach anyone who are his close relatives, to uncover their nakedness: I am Yahweh.	The basic statement about close relatives.
Lev 18:7 " 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, nor the nakedness of your mother: she is your mother. You shall not uncover her nakedness. Lev 18:8 " 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife: it is your father's nakedness. Lev 18:9 " 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home, or born abroad. Lev 18:10 " 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son's daughter, or of your daughter's daughter, even their nakedness: for theirs is your own nakedness. Lev 18:11 " 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, conceived by your father, since she is your sister. Lev 18:12 " 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister: she is your father's near kinswoman. Lev 18:13 " 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister: for she is your mother's near kinswoman. Lev 18:14 " 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, you shall not approach his wife: she is your aunt. Lev 18:15 " 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law: she is your son's wife. You shall not uncover her nakedness. Lev 18:16 " 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife: it is your brother's nakedness. Lev 18:17 " 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter. You shall not take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are near kinswomen: it is wickedness. Lev 18:18 " 'You shall not take a wife to her sister, to be a rival, to uncover her nakedness, while her sister is yet alive.	More detail about the various prohibitions regarding close relatives.
Lev 18:19 " 'You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness. Lev 18:20 " 'You shall not lie carnally with your neighbor's wife, and defile yourself with her. Lev 18:21 " 'You shall not give any of your children to sacrifice to Molech; neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am Yahweh. Lev 18:22 " 'You shall not lie with a man, as with a woman. That is detestable. Lev 18:23 " 'You shall not lie with any animal to defile yourself with it; neither shall any woman give herself to an animal, to lie down with it: it is a perversion.	A variety of other sexual matters, ranging from ceremonial uncleanness to detestable wickedness. This list includes the killing of the children – getting rid of the potential offspring of these (and other) practices. They did not have as much technology as we do, to kill them off preborn; so it was easier to turn it into a religious activity! Murder of Infants and the Unborn
Lev 18:24 " 'Don't defile yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled. Lev 18:25 The land was defiled: therefore I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out her inhabitants.	Such sins are the reason these nations were going to be destroyed. Defilement of the Land Land "Vomiting Out" Its Inhabitants Such practices defile the land and are the reason for the land “vomiting” the people out.
Lev 18:26 You therefore shall keep my statutes and my ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations; neither the native-born, nor the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you; Lev 18:27 (for all these abominations have the men of the land done, that were before you, and the land became defiled); Lev 18:28 that the land not vomit you out also, when you defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. Lev 18:29 " 'For whoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their people. Lev 18:30 Therefore you shall keep my requirements, that you do not practice any of these abominable customs, which were practiced before you, and that you do not defile yourselves with them: I am Yahweh your God.' "	Reaffirmation of the fact. Sexual sin is an abomination to God. Don't practice these abominations or the same thing will happen to you – the land will “vomit” you out, also. So how does the land do this??? Perhaps it might help to look at what happened to Israel – and the ecological matters related to their removal from the land. (Other factors were also used by God... everything went against them!)

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—— To avoid any copyright issues, all Scripture is either from a public domain translation (such as the World English Bible), my own translation, or a combination of these. ——

The name "Yahweh," when present in an Old Testament passage, represents the Hebrew name for the God of the Bible.

Unless otherwise noted, all notes and comments are © by Dennis Hinks.