Leviticus 18:1-30

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: 'I am the Lord your God. 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,¹ to which I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes. My ordinances you shall observe and my statutes you shall keep,² following them: I am the Lord your God.³ You shall keep my statutes and my ordinances; by doing so one shall live:⁴ I am the Lord.'

'None of you shall approach anyone near of kin⁵ to uncover nakedness:⁶ I am the Lord. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is the nakedness of your father. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter,⁷ whether born at home or born abroad. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter or of your daughter’s daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness.⁸ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father, since she is your sister. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s flesh. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s flesh. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law: she is your son’s wife; you shall not uncover her nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, and you shall not take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are your flesh; it is depravity. And you shall not take a woman as a rival to her sister,⁹ uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive.'

'You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness.'¹⁰

'You shall not have sexual relations with your kinsman’s wife, and defile yourself with her.'¹¹

'You shall not give any of your offspring to sacrifice them to Molech,¹² and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.'

'You shall not lie with a male as with a woman;¹³ it is an abomination.'¹⁴

'You shall not have sexual relations with any animal and defile yourself with it, nor shall any woman give herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it:¹⁵ it is perversion.'

'Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for by all these practices the nations I am casting out before you have defiled themselves.¹⁶ Thus the land became defiled; and I punished it for its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.¹⁷ But you shall keep my statutes and my ordinances and commit none of these abominations, either the citizen or the alien who resides among you (for the inhabitants of the land, who were before you, committed all of these abominations, and the land became defiled); otherwise the land will vomit you out for defiling it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. For whoever commits any of these abominations¹⁸ shall be cut off from their people.¹⁹ So keep my charge not to commit any of these abominations that were done before you, and not to defile yourselves by them: I am the Lord your God.'²⁰

1 This may suggest that these particular ordinances are related to distinguishing Israel as a separate people within a pagan context.

2 The choice between following God's statutes and following the statutes of Canaan/Egypt appears intentionally reminiscent of the choice between following the LORD and following the other gods. It brings to mind the question – are these particular laws meant to be ends in themselves, moral in their own right, or are they meant to be ways of distinguishing whether Israel's allegiance to their God is true and whether they have actually separated themselves from the peoples around them?

3 The first of five times that “I am the Lord your God” appears in this passage.

4 Making clear for the third time that THESE are the statutes that must be followed.

5 “Near of kin” appears to basically be anyone within 1 or 2 degrees of separation, whether a blood relative or not. All of the examples that follow are described from the male perspective.

6 Basically, close incest is forbidden, but the verses specifying this restriction are quite extensive compared to the rest of the passage. There are a multitude of reasons to oppose incest, but even when explanation is given the particular reasons behind these restrictions are not completely clear here – is it because incest destroys family relationships, leads to problems with the children, is a result of sinful types of lust, or because the pagans practice it? It should be noted that before this point, several of Israel's patriarchs had committed the exact types of incest being described.

7 Violated by Abraham, though before the restriction was in place.

8 Interesting phrase, not used for the other relations. Does this suggest a particular kind of issue (or existent problem) with this type of incest?

9 Violated by Jacob, though again before the law was in place.

10 Obviously the women is unclean according to previous restrictions, so does this verse mean that those who have sex with a woman during her menstrual cycle are simply unclean as well, or is the condemnation greater. The context suggests something greater. It is not clear whether the woman is also condemned.

11 Repeats the injunction against adultery found in the ten commandments.

12 Banning child sacrifice is obviously laudable, but if this list is seen as a list of rules about sexual practices, then this verse seems very out of place. However, if seen as a list of ways to distinguish the community's behavior from pagan behavior, then the verse very much fits. It would still be the only condemnation in this particular passage not dealing with sex, though.

13 It may bear mentioning that this speaks of sex, but does not appear to deal with romantic non-sexual relationships at the least, and may be even more specific than that.

14 Obviously a contentious verse. Is this in reference to a particular pagan practice (such as temple prostitution or the keeping of 'boys'), or a universal moral statement about all male homosexual sex acts? And what of women who lie with women – they are not mentioned here, though all the other verses were also strictly from a male perspective.

15 There are a number of reasons to be against homosexuality, the particular one driving the verse is not mentioned here. It could have been a real or supposed pagan practice. Few today would argue against this restriction.

16 Again connects the regulations to pagan practices.

17 However, this verse suggests that the practices themselves are bad, and are not merely being rejected because pagans happened to practice them.

18 The words “abomination” (5 times), “perversion” (1 time), “defile” (6 times), “iniquity” (1 time) and “profane the name of your LORD” (1 time) are all used to describe the various practices in this section. It appears that those words are all being used synonymously, but could they have different meanings. And overall, is the issue a ritual defilement based on having the wrong object of worship (as the previous 17 chapters focused on), or a new set of moral laws?

19 Unclear whether the people or God Himself will carry out this consequence.

20 Closes the passage by clearly stating, “I am the LORD your God” for the 5^th time.


Take-home: The Israelites are told not to practice certain things, for the Canaanites practiced them and thereby defiled the land. Incest with close relations is focused on, then adultery, bestiality  child sacrifice, male homosexuality, and sex during the menstrual period are briefly mentioned and prohibited for Israel.