Leviticus 18:6

Laws of Sexual Relations

18:6 “‘No man is to approach any close relative ¹  to have sexual intercourse with her. ²  I am the Lord. ³ 

Leviticus 18:8

18:8 You must not have sexual intercourse with your father’s wife; she is your father’s nakedness. ⁴ 

Leviticus 18:12-13

18:12 You must not have sexual intercourse with your father’s sister; she is your father’s flesh. ⁵  18:13 You must not have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s flesh.

Leviticus 18:16

18:16 You must not have sexual intercourse with your brother’s wife; she is your brother’s nakedness. ⁶ 

Leviticus 18:20

18:20 You must not have sexual intercourse ⁷  with the wife of your fellow citizen to become unclean with her.

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¹ tn Heb “Man, man shall not draw near to any flesh (שְׁאֵר, shÿ’er) of his body/flesh (בָּשָׂר, basar).” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any (or “every”) man” (GKC 395-96 §123.c; cf. Lev 15:2). The two words for “flesh” are combined to refer to emphasize the physical familial relatedness (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 282, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 119).

² tn Heb “to uncover [her] nakedness” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV), which is clearly euphemistic for sexual intercourse (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 282, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 119). This expression occurs a number of times in the following context and is generally translated “have sexual intercourse with [someone],” although in the case of the father mentioned in the following verse the expression may be connected to the shame or disgrace that would belong to the father whose wife’s sexuality is violated by his son. See the note on the word “mother” in v. 7.

³ sn The general statement prohibiting sexual intercourse between close relatives serves as an opening summary statement for the following section, which gives details concerning which degrees of relationship are specifically forbidden.

⁴ tn Heb “the nakedness of your father she is.” See the note on v. 7 above. This law refers to another wife of the man’s father, who is not that man’s mother. The laws in the Pentateuch sometimes assume the possibility that a man may have more than one wife (cf., e.g., Deut 21:15-17).

⁵ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate all read “because she is the flesh of your father,” like the MT of v. 13.

⁶ sn Regarding the last clause, see the notes on vv. 7 and 10 above.

⁷ tn Heb “And to the wife of your fellow citizen you shall not give your layer for seed.” The meaning of “your layer” (שְׁכָבְתְּךָ, shÿkhavtÿkha) is uncertain (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 122, “you shall not place your layer of semen”; but cf. also J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 283, and the literature cited there for the rendering, “you shall not give your penis for seed”).