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LEVITICUS 18

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

1. Most moderns see this chapter as
   1. not relevant
   2. a list of prohibitions

      But in reality, although believers in Christ are not responsible for these laws (cf. Mark 7:19; Acts 10; 15; Galatians 3; see SPECIAL TOPIC: PAUL'S VIEWS OF THE MOSAIC LAW and SPECIAL TOPIC: MOSAIC LAW AND THE CHRISTIAN), they do clearly show YHWH's respect for marriage and procreation (cf. Gen. 1:28; 9:1,7). Human sexuality is God's idea and plan for mankind (see SPECIAL TOPIC: HUMAN SEXUALITY).

2. These laws are meant to assure a stable, healthy, godly society. They are in direct contrast with fertility worship (see SPECIAL TOPIC: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST).
   
   
3. Sexuality is meant to be a gift from God, not a biological/hormonal master!
   
   
4. For a good discussion of Israel's sexual laws, see NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 1198-1211.
   1. sexual terms
   2. sexual differentiation
   3. sexual morality
   4. sexual rules
   5. rape
   6. harlotry
   7. sacred prostitution
   8. homosexuality
   9. bestiality
   10. miscellaneous

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 18:1-5
  ¹Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'I am the Lord your God. ³You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. ⁴You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the Lord your God. ⁵So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the Lord.'"

18:1 Notice, like Lev. 8:1; 12:1; 14:1; 16:1-2; 17:1, YHWH spoke to Moses commanding him (Lev. 18:2) to speak His words to the sons of Israel.

18:2 In this chapter, Moses addresses the priests and the people about sexual laws.

▣ "I am the Lord your God" This is covenant language from Exodus (cf. Exod. 6:7; 16:12; 23:25). The two main words for Deity are used.

1. Lord ‒ YHWH, see SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, D
2. God ‒ Elohim, see SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, D

Although not specifically stated here, the implication of this phrase links to Lev. 11:44, where YHWH's "holiness" is to be the character of His people (i.e., "holy," cf. Lev. 19:2; 28:7,24; see SPECIAL TOPIC: THE HOLY ONE). These sexual restrictions were meant to

1. insure a stable, godly society
2. keep Israel from pagan idol worship (see SPECIAL TOPIC: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST)
3. document and establish proper inheritance rights within families, tribes, because the land was a gift from God (i.e., Joshua 12-19) and it must stay in the family

18:3 "You shall not do. . ." This shows that these restrictions on human sexuality were influenced by Canaanite and Egyptian worship practices. As the food laws probably reflect pagan worship, so these sexual prohibitions also reflect the abuse of pagan worship.

Remember, it is "the iniquity of the Amorite" (i.e., collective term for all the Canaanite tribes) that was the reason YHWH took them out of His land (i.e., Canaan); see full text at Gen. 12:12-21. If Israel acts like them they, too, will be (and were) removed (i.e., the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles).

▣ "you shall not walk" "Walk" is a biblical metaphor for godly living (cf. Lev. 18:4; Psalm 1; Eph. 4:1,17; 5:2,15). Note the parallel in Lev. 20:22. The repeat of regulations so close together shows the composite nature of Leviticus.

▣ "statutes" See SPECIAL TOPIC: TERMS FOR GOD'S REVELATION.

18:4-5 Notice the emphasis on obedience (see SPECIAL TOPIC: KEEP and SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT)

1. to perform ‒ BDB 793, KB 889, Qal IMPERFECT
2. keep ‒ BDB 1036, KB 1581, Qal IMPERFECT
3. live (lit. to walk in them) ‒ BDB 229, KB 246, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT
4. you shall keep ‒ BDB 1036, KB 1581, Qal PERFECT with waw
5. if he does them ‒ BDB 793, KB 889, Qal IMPERFECT

Also notice the covenant for Israel's deity, "I am the Lord your God" (Lev. 18:4,30) and "I am the Lord" (Lev. 18:5,6,21).

18:4 "judgments. . .statutes" These terms are repeated in Lev. 18:26. See SPECIAL TOPIC: TERMS FOR GOD'S REVELATION.

18:5 "by which a man may live if he does them" In the Old Testament, if a man keeps the law, he will be blessed by God (i.e., Lev. 26:3-13; Deut. 28:1-14; see F. F. Bruce, Answers to Questions, p. 53, and Hard Sayings of the Bible, pp. 160-161). However, the New Testament teaches that no person can keep the law of God (cf. Rom. 3:9-23 and Gal. 3:15-29). See SPECIAL TOPIC: WHY DO OT COVENANT PROMISES SEEM SO DIFFERENT FROM NT COVENANT PROMISES?).

▣ "if" Note the conditional nature of all/most of God's dealings with humans. See SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 18:6-18
  ⁶"'None of you shall approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness; I am the Lord. ⁷You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you are not to uncover her nakedness. ⁸You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness. ⁹The nakedness of your sister, either your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether born at home or born outside, their nakedness you shall not uncover. ¹⁰The nakedness of your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for their nakedness is yours. ¹¹The nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, born to your father, she is your sister, you shall not uncover her nakedness. ¹²You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister; she is your father's blood relative. ¹³You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is your mother's blood relative. ¹⁴You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother; you shall not approach his wife, she is your aunt. ¹⁵You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. ¹⁶You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife; it is your brother's nakedness. ¹⁷You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, nor shall you take her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are blood relatives. It is lewdness. ¹⁸You shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.'"

18:6 "None of you shall approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness; I am the Lord" These laws were given to assure the stability of the covenant people. They basically define the term "uncover nakedness" as an obvious reference to sexual intercourse. The list of people here is extensive, although there are some notable exceptions. The exceptions may have been so obvious that there were not mentioned. In a day of polygamy, incest had to be precisely defined.

The VERB "uncover" (BDB 163, KB 191) is used 17 times in Lev. 18:6-19. It is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

There is a parallel in the VERB "approach" (BDB 897, KB 1132, Qal IMPERFECT, NIDOTTE, vol. 3, pp. 976-977).

The MT has "they are flesh." This implies they are blood-relatives. However, the phrase is better understood in this context as "fellow Israelites" (i.e., covenant partners). Notice the suggested emendations.

1. blood relative ‒ שׁארה (BDB 985)
2. covenant partner ‒ שׁארך (Qere)

See UBS Text Project, p. 187. The second option fits the context best.

The MT has a term (BDB 273 I) that denotes "a plan" or "a device" of wickedness. BDB lists two uses.

1. plan on purpose ‒ Job 17:11
2. evil plan
   1. evil device ‒ Ps. 26:10; 119:150; Pro. 24:9
   2. wicked act ‒ Pro. 10:23; 21:27; Hos. 6:9
   3. act of unchastity
      (1) incest ‒ Lev. 18:17; 20:14
      (2) licentiousness ‒ Lev. 19:29; Jdgs. 20:6
      (3) adultery ‒ Job 31:11
      (4) spiritual adultery of idol worship ‒ Jer. 13:27; Ezek. 16:27,43,58; 22:9; 23:21, 27, 29, 35, 44, 48, 49; 24:1

18:18 These laws developed over time and in reaction to

1. the problems they caused in Israel
2. the practices of fertility worship (i.e., Hosea 1-3)

There are several examples of early violations of these rules.

1. Abraham married his half-sister ‒ Gen. 20:12
2. Reuben lay with his father's concubine ‒ Gen. 35:22
3. Amram married his aunt ‒ Exod. 6:20
4. Jacob married sisters ‒ Gen. 29:16-28
5. Levirate marriage described in Deut. 25:5-9

▣ "while she is alive" This brief phrase implies that if the wife, who had a sister, died then the widower could marry the sister. The rabbis even commented "who would love the children more?"

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 18:19-23
  ¹⁹"'Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her menstrual impurity. ²⁰You shall not have intercourse with your neighbor's wife, to be defiled with her. ²¹You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord. ²²You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination. ²³Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion.'"

18:19 "during her menstrual impurity" This law goes back to previous passages (cf. Lev. 15:19-24; 20:18). This had to do with the ceremonial uncleanness of bodily emissions. We must be careful about making this a universal principle for every age and culture. See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE MOSAIC LAW AND THE CHRISTIAN and SPECIAL TOPIC: PAUL'S VIEWS OF THE MOSAIC LAW.

▣ "menstrual impurity" For a good brief discussion of this issue see NIDOTTE, vol. 1, pp. 925-928.

18:20 "You shall not have intercourse with your neighbor's wife" This refers to a type of adultery (NIDOTTE, vol. 2, pp. 2-5) which would destabilize any society and especially Israel because of its inheritance rights, which were so important (i.e., Joshua 12-19 and "the Year of Jubilee).

The MT has an unusual phrase, "you shall not give your lying/place of lying/copulation for seed."

1. negated VERB, "give" ‒ BDB 678, KB 733, Qal IMPERFECT
2. NOUN from three possible roots (all BDB 1012)
   1. lying
   2. place of lying
   3. copulation
3. NOUN, "seed"

Although it is ambiguous in its phrasing, it is obvious what it means (cf. Deut. 27:20-24).

18:21 "give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech" The name of this god (BDB 574) is a corruption of the Hebrew word Melech, with the vowels for the Hebrew word for "shame." This Phoenician fire god is mentioned in the Old Testament (cf. Lev. 19:2-5; Deut. 12:31; 18:10). It was apparently worshiped by offering the firstborn child. This human sacrifice is discussed in Jer. 32:35 and Ezek. 16:20. The Jews so hated this god that they turned its place of sacrifice into the garbage dump of Jerusalem. This becomes the word that Jesus used to describe hell, "Gehenna" (cf. Jer. 7:30-32). See SPECIAL TOPIC: MOLECH and SPECIAL TOPIC: WHERE ARE THE DEAD?

▣ "nor shall you profane the name of your God" The VERB (BDB 320, KB 319, Piel IMPERFECT) means "to pollute," "to defile," "to profane." Israel was meant to bring the whole world to YHWH (see SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN). However, their disobedience and idolatry confused the nations (i.e., Ezek. 36:22-32). Molech was one of the fertility idols that Israel worshiped. Notice the same phrase in Lev. 19:12; 20:3; 21:6; 22:32. Israel was a covenant partner who was recurrently faithless! This had terrible consequences to the nations and to Israel herself!

18:22 "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female" This is an obvious reference to homosexuality, which is dealt with several times in the Scriptures (cf. Gen. 19:5ff; Lev. 20:13; Jdgs. 19:22ff; Rom. 1:27; 1 Cor. 6:9). See SPECIAL TOPIC: HOMOSEXUALITY and SPECIAL TOPIC: HUMAN SEXUALITY. Also see Hard Sayings of the Bible, pp. 343-345.

▣ "an abomination" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ABOMINATION (OT). In Lev. 20:13, this offense brings the death penalty. See SPECIAL TOPIC: HOMOSEXUALITY.

For an interesting brief overview of homosexuality in the ANE, see R. K. Harrison, Tyndale OT Commentaries, vol. 3, pp. 191-193; also note Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd ed., p. 593, for a discussion on "abomination."

18:23 "you shall not have intercourse with any animal" This seems to refer to the inappropriate mixing of the orders of creation, as does Lev. 18:22 (cf. Lev. 19:19). This possibly refers to some of the pagan worship practices that we know from history, particularly Egyptian.

▣ "nor shall any woman" Usually God's laws are addressed to both men and women (cf. Exod. 21:29; Lev. 13:29,38; 30:27; Num. 5:6; 6:2; Deut. 17:2), but in Lev. 18:23b and 20:16 a law (i.e., bestiality) is directed at women (note Lev. 18:23a is directed to men).

It is surprising that the prohibition against same sex union is directed only at men, possibly because they had more access to activities outside the home.

The MT has the NOUN (BDB 117) which means "confusion." It is found only in Lev. 18:23 and 20:12, but a related root is also found in Lev. 21:20. BDB describes it as a "violation of nature" (i.e., the mixing of set orders).

For a brief discussion of bestiality in the ANE, see R. K. Harrison, Tyndale OT Commentaries, vol. 3, pp. 193-195.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 18:24-30
  ²⁴"'Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. ²⁵For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants. ²⁶But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you ²⁷(for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled); ²⁸so that the land will not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you. ²⁹For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people. ³⁰Thus you are to keep My charge, that you do not practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so as not to defile yourselves with them; I am the Lord your God.'"

18:24-30 We learn from Gen. 15:16 that the Canaanites practiced these abominations and God removed them from the land. The same will occur if God's people do these abominations; when they did, the result was the exile (cf. Deuteronomy 27-28).

18:25 "For the land has become defiled" The term "land" (BDB 75, KB 90) has a large semantic field. See SPECIAL TOPIC: LAND, COUNTRY, EARTH (OT). This is the reason for their expulsion. There is even the strong imagery in Leviticus that the land will "vomit them out" (cf. Lev. 19:25,28; 20:22). As the Tabernacle became defiled because of its relationship to the sins of the people, so the land became defiled.

The VERB (BDB 823, KB 955, Qal IMPERFECT with waw) in Qal has the connotation of "to pay close attention to" or "to observe with interest." It can be

1. positive ‒ Gen. 50:24,25; Exod. 4:31; Ruth 1:6; Jer. 15:15; Zeph. 2:7
2. negative ‒ Exod. 20:5; Lev. 18:25; 1 Sam. 15:2; Isa. 13:11; Hos. 4:14

The covenant God is always diligent in His attention to His people and purpose. All live in His gaze! There are consequences for how we live!

18:26 "neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you" The Israelites had divine requirement to legislate the religious practices of all the people who lived within their borders.

18:29 "cut off" It is not clear exactly what this VERB (BDB 503, KB 500) means.

1. death
   1. by God
   2. by the community
2. excommunication
   1. from worship (Tabernacle)
   2. from the community

18:30 Notice the theological historical points.

1. Israel, keep My charge (cf. Deut. 30:15,19)
2. do not practice any of these abominable customs
3. which have been practiced before you (pagan worship or culture)
4. so as to defile yourselves and by implication, their God and His Tabernacle
5. Israel and YHWH are in a covenant relationship (blessings and curses, Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 27-28)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. How does Israel's sexual guideline agree or disagree with its ANE culture?
2. Why are sexual guidelines so significant in the life of a culture?
3. Explain the theological issue involved in Lev. 18:5, when one compares the OT and NT.
4. Are the sexual guidelines directed only toward men?
5. Why was "menstruation" considered unclean?
6. Who is Molech?
7. Explain Lev. 18:27-28 in light of Gen. 15:12-22.

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