20:17 “‘If a man has sexual intercourse with 26 his sister, whether the daughter of his father or his mother, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. 27 He has exposed his sister’s nakedness; he will bear his punishment for iniquity. 28
1 tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV).
2 tn Heb “the infection has stood in his eyes”; ASV “if in his eyes the plague be at a stay.”
3 tn Although there is no expressed “and” at the beginning of this clause, there is in the corresponding clause of v. 6, so it should be assumed here as well.
4 tn Heb “a second seven days.”
5 tn That is, at the end of the second set of seven days referred to at the end of v. 5, a total of fourteen days after the first appearance before the priest.
6 tn Heb “and behold.”
7 tn Heb “he shall make him clean.” The verb is the Piel of טָהֵר (taher, “to be clean”). Here it is a so-called “declarative” Piel (i.e., “to declare clean”), but it also implies that the person is put into the category of being “clean” by the pronouncement itself (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 176; cf. the corresponding opposite in v. 3 above).
8 tn On the term “scab” see the note on v. 2 above. Cf. NAB “it was merely eczema”; NRSV “only an eruption”; NLT “only a temporary rash.”
9 tn Heb “and he shall wash his clothes.”
10 tn Heb “and the priest shall see.” The pronoun “it” is unexpressed, but it should be assumed and it refers to the infection (cf. the note on v. 8 above).
11 tn Heb “and behold.”
12 tn Heb “and behold its appearance is low (שָׁפָל, shafal) ‘from’ (comparative מִן, min, “lower than”) the skin.” Compare “deeper” in v. 3 above where, however, a different word is used (עָמֹק, ’amoq), and see the note on “swelling” in v. 1 above (cf. J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 192; note that, contrary to the MT, Tg. Onq. has עָמֹק in this verse as well as v. 4). The alternation of these two terms (i.e., “deeper” and “lower”) in vv. 25-26 below shows that they both refer to the same phenomenon. Some have argued that “this sore was lower than the surrounding skin” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:773, 788), in which case “swelling” would be an inappropriate translation of שְׂאֵת (sÿ’et) in v. 19. It seems unlikely, however, that the surface of a “boil” would sink below the surface of the surrounding skin. The infectious pus etc. that makes up a boil normally causes swelling.
13 tn The declarative Piel of the verb טָמֵא (tame’, cf. the note on v. 3 above).
14 tn Heb “It is an infection of disease. In the boil it has broken out.” For the rendering “diseased infection” see the note on v. 2 above.
15 tn Heb “and the priest shall see it.”
16 tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV).
17 tn Heb “and its appearance is deep ‘from’ [comparative מִן (min) meaning ‘deeper than’] the skin.”
18 tn Heb “it is a disease. In the burn it has broken out.”
19 tn This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָמֵא (tame’; cf. the note on v. 3 above).
20 tn For the rendering “diseased infection” see the note on v. 2 above.
21 tn Heb “and if under it the bright spot stands, it has not spread in the skin.”
22 tn This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָהֵר (taher; cf. the note on v. 6 above).
23 tn Smr and LXX add after “tent of meeting” the following: “to make it a burnt offering or a peace offering to the
24 tc Smr includes the suffix “it,” which is needed in any case in the translation to conform to English style.
25 sn The exact meaning of this penalty clause is not certain. It could mean (1) that he will be executed, whether by God or by man, (2) that he will be excommunicated from sanctuary worship and/or community benefits, or (3) that his line will be terminated by God (i.e., extirpation). See also the note on Lev 7:20.
26 tn Heb “takes.” The verb “to take” in this context means “to engage in sexual intercourse,” though some English versions translate it as “marry” (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV).
27 tn Regarding the “cut off” penalty, see the note on Lev 7:20.
28 tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
29 tn Or “shall approach” (see HALOT 670 s.v. נגשׁ).
30 tn Heb “Man man.” The reduplication is a way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 15:2; 17:3, etc.), but with a negative command it means “No man” (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 147).
31 sn The diseases and discharges mentioned here are those described in Lev 13-15.
32 tn Heb “And the one.”
33 tn Heb “in all unclean of a person/soul”; for the Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) meaning “a [dead] person,” see the note on Lev 19:28.
34 tn Heb “or a man who goes out from him a lying of seed.”