Leviticus 18 Study Notes
General
True or False: The prohibition of sexual acts with animals in 18:23 is addressed to women as well as to men.
Answer: True
This is true. Verse 23 forbids a man to defile himself with an animal, then speaks directly to women as well, calling the act a perversion, a twisting of what is natural. Leviticus 20:15-16 again names both the man and the woman, and Exodus 22:19 had already made this a capital offense. God's standard of sexual holiness applies equally to both sexes.
- Leviticus 18:23 (BSB)“You must not lie carnally with any animal, thus defiling yourself with it; a woman must not stand before an animal to mate with it; that is a perversion.”The prohibition of sexual acts with animals, addressed to both men and women.
- Leviticus 20:15-16 (BSB)“If a man lies carnally with an animal, he must be put to death. And you are also to kill the animal. If a woman approaches any animal to mate with it, you must kill both the woman and the animal. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”The later penalty section again names both a man and a woman.
- Exodus 22:19 (BSB)“Whoever lies with an animal must surely be put to death.”The Book of the Covenant had already made this a capital offense.
Theological
True or False: Leviticus 18:23 addresses its prohibition of bestiality to women as well as men.
Answer: True
This is true. Verse 23 forbids the act for the man and then separately for the woman, calling it a perversion, a confusion of the created order. The penalty section again names both sexes (20:15-16), and Exodus 22:19 had already made it a capital crime. The holiness standard binds men and women equally.
- Leviticus 18:23 (BSB)“You must not lie carnally with any animal, thus defiling yourself with it; a woman must not stand before an animal to mate with it; that is a perversion.”The prohibition of sexual acts with animals, addressed to both men and women.
- Leviticus 20:15-16 (BSB)“If a man lies carnally with an animal, he must be put to death. And you are also to kill the animal. If a woman approaches any animal to mate with it, you must kill both the woman and the animal. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”The later penalty section again names both a man and a woman.
- Exodus 22:19 (BSB)“Whoever lies with an animal must surely be put to death.”The Book of the Covenant had already made this a capital offense.
General
True or False: John the Baptist's rebuke of Herod for marrying Herodias, who had been Philip's wife, reflects the prohibition found in 18:16.
Answer: True
This is true. Verse 16 forbids a man to take his brother's wife, because it would shame his brother, and 20:21 repeats the rule. Herod had married Herodias, who had been married to his brother Philip, and John the Baptist kept telling him that it was not lawful (Mark 6:17-18), language that reflects this very law. John's faithfulness cost him his freedom. The law did make one specific provision: if a man died without a son, his brother was to marry the widow and raise up an heir for the dead brother's family (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). Herod's marriage was nothing of that kind.
- Leviticus 18:16 (BSB)“You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would shame your brother.”The prohibition against taking a brother's wife, because it would shame the brother.
- Mark 6:17-18 (BSB)“For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, whom Herod had married. For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife!””John the Baptist kept telling Herod that his marriage to his brother Philip's wife was unlawful.
- Leviticus 20:21 (BSB)“If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity. He has uncovered the nakedness of his brother; they shall be childless.”The later penalty section repeats the prohibition, calling it impurity.
- Deuteronomy 25:5-6 (BSB)“When brothers dwell together and one of them dies without a son, the widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother is to take her as his wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law for her. The first son she bears will carry on the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.”The law's specific provision for a man whose brother died without a son, so that the dead brother's name would continue.
Theological
True or False: John the Baptist's charge against Herod (Mark 6:18) applies the prohibition of 18:16.
Answer: True
This is true. Leviticus 18:16 forbids marriage to a brother's wife on the ground that it shames the brother, and 20:21 restates it. Herod's marriage to Herodias, wife of his brother Philip, was exactly such a union, and John's repeated charge that it was unlawful (Mark 6:17-18) applies this statute, at the cost of his own imprisonment. The only provision of a different kind is levirate marriage, where a man married the widow of a brother who had died without a son in order to preserve his brother's line (Deuteronomy 25:5-6); Herod's case bore no resemblance to it.
- Leviticus 18:16 (BSB)“You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would shame your brother.”The prohibition against taking a brother's wife, because it would shame the brother.
- Mark 6:17-18 (BSB)“For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, whom Herod had married. For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife!””John the Baptist kept telling Herod that his marriage to his brother Philip's wife was unlawful.
- Leviticus 20:21 (BSB)“If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity. He has uncovered the nakedness of his brother; they shall be childless.”The later penalty section repeats the prohibition, calling it impurity.
- Deuteronomy 25:5-6 (BSB)“When brothers dwell together and one of them dies without a son, the widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother is to take her as his wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law for her. The first son she bears will carry on the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.”The law's specific provision for a man whose brother died without a son, so that the dead brother's name would continue.
General
What reason does 18:21 give for forbidding Israelites to hand over their children as sacrifices to Molech?
Answer: It would defile the holy name of their God
Molech was a god associated with sacrificing children in fire (2 Kings 23:10). Verse 21 forbids Israel to hand over any child to him, because doing so would profane God's name, treating it as common and unholy. Leviticus 20:2-3 makes it a capital crime and says it defiles God's sanctuary as well as His name. Through Jeremiah God later says that He never commanded such a thing and that it never entered His mind (Jeremiah 32:35), and godly King Josiah desecrated the place where it had been practiced so that the practice would end (2 Kings 23:10). The God who gives life abhors the sacrifice of children.
- Leviticus 18:21 (BSB)“You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.”The ban on giving children to Molech, because it profanes God's name.
- Leviticus 20:2-3 (BSB)““Tell the Israelites, ‘Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him. And I will set My face against that man and cut him off from his people, because by giving his offspring to Molech, he has defiled My sanctuary and profaned My holy name.”The penalty section makes giving a child to Molech a capital crime that defiles God's sanctuary and name.
- Jeremiah 32:35 (BSB)“They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech—something I never commanded them, nor had it ever entered My mind, that they should commit such an abomination and cause Judah to sin.”God says He never commanded such an abomination, nor did it ever enter His mind.
- 2 Kings 23:10 (BSB)“He also desecrated Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so that no one could sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire to Molech.”King Josiah desecrated Topheth so that no one could sacrifice a child to Molech there again.
Theological
On what ground does 18:21 prohibit giving one's children to Molech?
Answer: It profanes the LORD's holy name
Molech worship involved offering children in fire (2 Kings 23:10). Leviticus 18:21 forbids it because a covenant member committing such an act profanes the LORD's name, associating His holy name with an abomination. Leviticus 20:2-3 makes it a capital offense that defiles the sanctuary and profanes His holy name. The LORD later disowns the practice completely, saying He never commanded it nor conceived of it (Jeremiah 32:35), and Josiah's reform desecrated Topheth to end it (2 Kings 23:10). The Author of life abhors the sacrifice of children.
- Leviticus 18:21 (BSB)“You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.”The ban on giving children to Molech, because it profanes God's name.
- Leviticus 20:2-3 (BSB)““Tell the Israelites, ‘Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him. And I will set My face against that man and cut him off from his people, because by giving his offspring to Molech, he has defiled My sanctuary and profaned My holy name.”The penalty section makes giving a child to Molech a capital crime that defiles God's sanctuary and name.
- Jeremiah 32:35 (BSB)“They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech—something I never commanded them, nor had it ever entered My mind, that they should commit such an abomination and cause Judah to sin.”God says He never commanded such an abomination, nor did it ever enter His mind.
- 2 Kings 23:10 (BSB)“He also desecrated Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so that no one could sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire to Molech.”King Josiah desecrated Topheth so that no one could sacrifice a child to Molech there again.
General
What reason does 18:8 give for forbidding a man to take his father's wife?
Answer: It would bring dishonor on his father
Verse 8 treats a father's wife (beyond a man's own mother, already covered in 18:7) as off-limits because such a union would dishonor the father himself. This sin appears in Israel's own family history: Jacob told his firstborn Reuben that he would lose his preeminence, since he had gone up to his father's bed and defiled it (Genesis 49:3-4). In Leviticus 20:11 the offense carries the death penalty. In the New Testament, Paul was shocked that a church member was living with his stepmother, a sin even pagans would not tolerate (1 Corinthians 5:1).
- Leviticus 18:8 (BSB)“You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; it would dishonor your father.”The prohibition concerning a father's wife and the reason given for it.
- Genesis 49:3-4 (BSB)“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it.”Reuben lost the preeminence of the firstborn because he had defiled his father's bed.
- Leviticus 20:11 (BSB)“If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”The later penalty section treats this sin as a capital crime in Israel.
- 1 Corinthians 5:1 (BSB)“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.”Paul confronts a church member living with his father's wife, a sin even pagans would not tolerate.
Theological
What rationale does 18:8 give for prohibiting union with one's father's wife?
Answer: It would dishonor the father himself
Verse 8 extends the prohibition beyond one's own mother (18:7) to any wife of one's father, grounding it in the father's honor: the son's act would be an assault on his father. Reuben is the canonical example; his defiling of Jacob's bed cost him the preeminence of the firstborn (Genesis 49:3-4). Leviticus 20:11 assigns the death penalty in Israel's covenant setting. Paul treats the same sin in Corinth as intolerable even by pagan standards (1 Corinthians 5:1), showing the continuing force of this moral standard for the church.
- Leviticus 18:8 (BSB)“You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; it would dishonor your father.”The prohibition concerning a father's wife and the reason given for it.
- Genesis 49:3-4 (BSB)“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it.”Reuben lost the preeminence of the firstborn because he had defiled his father's bed.
- Leviticus 20:11 (BSB)“If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”The later penalty section treats this sin as a capital crime in Israel.
- 1 Corinthians 5:1 (BSB)“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.”Paul confronts a church member living with his father's wife, a sin even pagans would not tolerate.
General
What warning does God give Israel in 18:28?
Answer: If Israel defiled the land, it would expel them as it did the nations
God did not exempt His own people. If Israel defiled the land with the same sins, the land would throw them out just as it had thrown out the peoples before them (18:28), and any individual who committed these abominations was to be removed from the community (18:29). The warning is repeated in 20:22. Later history bore it out: the northern kingdom was exiled to Assyria because Israel turned to other gods and adopted the ways of the peoples God had expelled before them (2 Kings 17:7-8, 23). God's gift of the land was real, but living in it called for faithfulness to Him.
- Leviticus 18:28-29 (BSB)“So if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it spewed out the nations before you. Therefore anyone who commits any of these abominations must be cut off from among his people.”God warns that the land would expel Israel too if they defiled it, and that anyone committing these abominations must be cut off.
- Leviticus 20:22 (BSB)“You are therefore to keep all My statutes and ordinances, so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out.”The same warning is repeated: keep God's statutes so the land will not vomit Israel out.
- 2 Kings 17:7-8 (BSB)“All this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They had worshiped other gods and walked in the customs of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites, as well as in the practices introduced by the kings of Israel.”The northern kingdom fell because Israel adopted the ways of the nations God had driven out.
- 2 Kings 17:23 (BSB)“Finally, the LORD removed Israel from His presence, as He had declared through all His servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their homeland into Assyria, where they are to this day.”The LORD removed Israel from His presence into exile, as the prophets had warned.
Theological
What warning does 18:28 direct at Israel itself?
Answer: A defiled land would expel Israel as it had expelled the nations before them
The same holiness that judged the Canaanites binds Israel: if Israel defiles the land, it too will be vomited out (18:28), and the individual offender is to be removed from the people (18:29). The warning recurs in 20:22. The historical books record its fulfillment in the Assyrian exile of the northern kingdom, because Israel served other gods and adopted the ways of the dispossessed nations (2 Kings 17:7-8, 23). Enjoyment of the covenant blessing of the land was bound up with covenant faithfulness.
- Leviticus 18:28-29 (BSB)“So if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it spewed out the nations before you. Therefore anyone who commits any of these abominations must be cut off from among his people.”God warns that the land would expel Israel too if they defiled it, and that anyone committing these abominations must be cut off.
- Leviticus 20:22 (BSB)“You are therefore to keep all My statutes and ordinances, so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out.”The same warning is repeated: keep God's statutes so the land will not vomit Israel out.
- 2 Kings 17:7-8 (BSB)“All this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They had worshiped other gods and walked in the customs of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites, as well as in the practices introduced by the kings of Israel.”The northern kingdom fell because Israel adopted the ways of the nations God had driven out.
- 2 Kings 17:23 (BSB)“Finally, the LORD removed Israel from His presence, as He had declared through all His servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their homeland into Assyria, where they are to this day.”The LORD removed Israel from His presence into exile, as the prophets had warned.
General
How does 18:22 describe sexual relations between two men?
Answer: As an abomination, an act detestable to God
Verse 22 forbids sexual relations between men and calls such an act an abomination, meaning something detestable to God. Leviticus 20:13 repeats the prohibition with the death penalty in Israel's covenant setting. The New Testament reaffirms this sexual ethic: Paul describes men giving up relations with women for one another as one sign of humanity's turn away from God (Romans 1:26-27). But the gospel brings hope here as it does for every sinner. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Paul lists this sin alongside greed, theft, drunkenness, adultery, and others, and then tells the church that some of them had once lived that way, but they had been washed, set apart for God, and made right with Him through the Lord Jesus and the Spirit of God. No one is beyond the reach of His cleansing.
- Leviticus 18:22 (BSB)“You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.”The prohibition of sexual relations between men, called an abomination.
- Leviticus 20:13 (BSB)“If a man lies with a man as with a woman, they have both committed an abomination. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”The later penalty section repeats the prohibition with the death penalty in Israel.
- Romans 1:26-27 (BSB)“For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.”Paul describes same-sex relations as a mark of humanity's turn from God, reaffirming the sexual ethic of Leviticus.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (BSB)“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”Paul lists this among many sins, then reminds believers that some of them had been such, but were washed, sanctified, and justified.
Theological
How does 18:22 characterize homosexual intercourse?
Answer: As an abomination, detestable in the LORD's sight
Verse 22 prohibits sexual relations between men and labels the act an abomination, something detestable to the LORD; 20:13 attaches the death penalty in Israel's covenant setting. The New Testament reaffirms the moral standard: Paul presents same-sex relations as one expression of humanity's turning from God, given over to dishonorable desire (Romans 1:26-27). Yet the same apostle sets this sin within a broad vice list that includes greed, theft, drunkenness, and adultery, and then declares that some of the Corinthians had once lived that way but had since been cleansed, consecrated to God, and declared righteous through the Lord Jesus and the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). The call to sexual holiness comes together with the full offer of cleansing grace.
- Leviticus 18:22 (BSB)“You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.”The prohibition of sexual relations between men, called an abomination.
- Leviticus 20:13 (BSB)“If a man lies with a man as with a woman, they have both committed an abomination. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”The later penalty section repeats the prohibition with the death penalty in Israel.
- Romans 1:26-27 (BSB)“For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.”Paul describes same-sex relations as a mark of humanity's turn from God, reaffirming the sexual ethic of Leviticus.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (BSB)“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”Paul lists this among many sins, then reminds believers that some of them had been such, but were washed, sanctified, and justified.
General
True or False: Foreigners living among the Israelites were exempt from the sexual laws of chapter 18.
Answer: False
This is false. Verse 26 says these abominations were forbidden to both the native-born Israelite and the foreign resident in Israel. The surrounding verses explain why: these sins defiled the land itself, whoever committed them (18:25, 27). Leviticus often applies God's laws to both groups alike, as with eating blood (17:10), and it states the principle outright: the same law applies to native and foreigner alike (24:22).
- Leviticus 18:26 (BSB)“But you are to keep My statutes and ordinances, and you must not commit any of these abominations—neither your native-born nor the foreigner who lives among you.”The laws bind both the native-born Israelite and the foreigner living among them.
- Leviticus 24:22 (BSB)“You are to have the same standard of law for the foreign resident and the native; for I am the LORD your God.’””Leviticus states the principle of one standard of law for the foreign resident and the native.
- Leviticus 17:10 (BSB)“If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people.”The ban on eating blood likewise applies to both Israelites and foreigners.
Theological
True or False: Resident aliens in Israel were exempt from the sexual prohibitions of Leviticus 18.
Answer: False
This is false. Verse 26 explicitly binds both the native-born and the foreign resident to these statutes. The rationale is the defilement of the land, which these acts produce regardless of who commits them (18:25, 27). Leviticus repeatedly extends its laws to the resident alien, as with the blood prohibition (17:10), and formally states the principle that native and foreigner stand under the same law (24:22).
- Leviticus 18:26 (BSB)“But you are to keep My statutes and ordinances, and you must not commit any of these abominations—neither your native-born nor the foreigner who lives among you.”The laws bind both the native-born Israelite and the foreigner living among them.
- Leviticus 24:22 (BSB)“You are to have the same standard of law for the foreign resident and the native; for I am the LORD your God.’””Leviticus states the principle of one standard of law for the foreign resident and the native.
- Leviticus 17:10 (BSB)“If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people.”The ban on eating blood likewise applies to both Israelites and foreigners.
General
Which of the Ten Commandments does 18:20 echo?
Answer: The command forbidding adultery
Verse 20 forbids a man to sleep with his neighbor's wife and says that by doing so he makes himself unclean before God. This restates the seventh commandment, the ban on adultery (Exodus 20:14), and Leviticus 20:10 makes it a capital crime for both the man and the woman in Israel. The New Testament keeps the same standard: marriage must be honored by everyone, and God will judge adulterers (Hebrews 13:4).
- Leviticus 18:20 (BSB)“You must not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife and thus defile yourself with her.”The prohibition against sleeping with a neighbor's wife, an act that defiles the man.
- Exodus 20:14 (BSB)“You shall not commit adultery.”The seventh commandment forbids adultery.
- Leviticus 20:10 (BSB)“If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.”The later penalty section makes adultery a capital crime for both the man and the woman.
- Hebrews 13:4 (BSB)“Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.”The New Testament keeps the same standard: God will judge adulterers.
Theological
Which Decalogue commandment does 18:20 restate?
Answer: The seventh, against adultery
Verse 20 applies the seventh commandment (Exodus 20:14) within the holiness framework of Leviticus: adultery with a neighbor's wife defiles the man who commits it. Leviticus 20:10 attaches the death penalty to both parties in Israel's covenant setting. The New Testament maintains the moral standard: marriage is to be held in honor by all, and God Himself will judge adulterers (Hebrews 13:4).
- Leviticus 18:20 (BSB)“You must not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife and thus defile yourself with her.”The prohibition against sleeping with a neighbor's wife, an act that defiles the man.
- Exodus 20:14 (BSB)“You shall not commit adultery.”The seventh commandment forbids adultery.
- Leviticus 20:10 (BSB)“If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.”The later penalty section makes adultery a capital crime for both the man and the woman.
- Hebrews 13:4 (BSB)“Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.”The New Testament keeps the same standard: God will judge adulterers.
General
What general rule in 18:6 introduces the list of forbidden relationships in 18:7-18?
Answer: No one may sleep with a member of his close family
Verse 6 states the governing principle: no Israelite may approach a close relative for sexual intimacy. The verses that follow spell it out case by case: a mother, a father's wife, sisters and half-sisters, granddaughters, aunts on either side, an uncle's wife, a daughter-in-law, a brother's wife, a woman together with her daughter or granddaughter, and a wife's sister during the wife's lifetime (18:7-18). The family was to be a place of safety and honor, not of sexual confusion. Paul applies the same concern for purity to believers: God's will is that His people be holy and keep themselves from sexual immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5), and marriage is to be honored and kept pure (Hebrews 13:4).
- Leviticus 18:6 (BSB)“None of you are to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.”The heading principle for the list of forbidden relationships in 18:7-18.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 (BSB)“For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality; each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;”Paul says God's will for His people is holiness, which includes keeping away from sexual immorality.
- Hebrews 13:4 (BSB)“Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.”Marriage is to be honored by everyone and kept pure.
Theological
What is the governing principle of the incest prohibitions in 18:6-18?
Answer: A ban on sexual union with close kin by blood or marriage
Verse 6 states the general principle, and 18:7-18 applies it case by case: a mother, a father's wife, sisters and half-sisters, granddaughters, aunts on both sides, an uncle's wife, a daughter-in-law, a brother's wife, a woman together with her daughter or granddaughter, and a wife's sister during the wife's lifetime. The circle includes relatives by marriage as well as by blood, protecting the integrity and honor of the household. The New Testament carries the same concern for sexual holiness into the church: sanctification includes keeping oneself from sexual immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5), and marriage is to be held in honor and kept undefiled (Hebrews 13:4).
- Leviticus 18:6 (BSB)“None of you are to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.”The heading principle for the list of forbidden relationships in 18:7-18.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 (BSB)“For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality; each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;”Paul says God's will for His people is holiness, which includes keeping away from sexual immorality.
- Hebrews 13:4 (BSB)“Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.”Marriage is to be honored by everyone and kept pure.
General
In 18:3, whose ways does God tell Israel not to copy?
Answer: Both Egypt's and Canaan's, the lands behind and ahead of them
God names two peoples whose customs Israel must not copy: Egypt, the land they had just left, and Canaan, the land He was about to give them (18:3). Israel stood between an old way of life behind them and a new temptation ahead of them, and God's word was to follow neither, but to walk in His own statutes and judgments instead (18:4). Much later God reminded Israel that He had long ago told them to throw away Egypt's idols (Ezekiel 20:7). The same call comes to Christians: do not let the world around you press you into its shape, but be changed by a renewed mind (Romans 12:2), and do not go back to the desires that ruled you before you knew God (1 Peter 1:14).
- Leviticus 18:3 (BSB)“You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.”God forbids Israel to copy the ways of Egypt, the land they had left, and of Canaan, the land He was giving them.
- Ezekiel 20:7 (BSB)“And I said to them: ‘Each of you must throw away the abominations before his eyes, and you must not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’”God later recalls His charge to Israel to throw away Egypt's idols, showing Egypt's ways were a real snare to them.
- Romans 12:2 (BSB)“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”Paul gives God's people today the same call: not to be shaped by the surrounding world but transformed by a renewed mind.
- 1 Peter 1:14 (BSB)“As obedient children, do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.”Peter tells believers not to be shaped again by the desires that ruled them before they knew God.
Theological
What is the scope of the prohibition in 18:3 concerning the ways of the surrounding peoples?
Answer: It covers both Egypt, Israel's past home, and Canaan, its future one
Leviticus 18:3 sets Israel's conduct against both horizons of its redemptive history: the Egypt from which the LORD had delivered them and the Canaan into which He was bringing them. Neither the old life nor the culture of the promised land was to set the pattern; the LORD's own statutes and judgments were to govern them (18:4). Ezekiel 20:7 recalls the LORD's early charge to Israel to renounce Egypt's idols. The new covenant carries the same call to nonconformity: believers are not to take the shape of this age but to be remade through the renewal of the mind (Romans 12:2), nor to be shaped again by the desires of their former ignorance (1 Peter 1:14).
- Leviticus 18:3 (BSB)“You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.”God forbids Israel to copy the ways of Egypt, the land they had left, and of Canaan, the land He was giving them.
- Ezekiel 20:7 (BSB)“And I said to them: ‘Each of you must throw away the abominations before his eyes, and you must not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’”God later recalls His charge to Israel to throw away Egypt's idols, showing Egypt's ways were a real snare to them.
- Romans 12:2 (BSB)“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”Paul gives God's people today the same call: not to be shaped by the surrounding world but transformed by a renewed mind.
- 1 Peter 1:14 (BSB)“As obedient children, do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.”Peter tells believers not to be shaped again by the desires that ruled them before they knew God.
General
According to 18:24-25, why was God driving out the nations of Canaan?
Answer: They had defiled themselves and the land by these acts
God explains that the nations He was driving out had defiled themselves by these very practices, and that their sins had defiled the land itself, so the land would throw up its people (18:24-25, 27). Centuries earlier God had told Abraham that his descendants would have to wait because the sin of the Amorites was not yet complete (Genesis 15:16); God's judgment came only when their sin had run its full course. Moses also warned Israel not to think they were getting the land because they were righteous: it was because of the nations' wickedness and because God was keeping the promise He had sworn to the patriarchs (Deuteronomy 9:4-5). Israel's possession of the land was a gift of grace, not a reward.
- Leviticus 18:24-25 (BSB)“Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for by all these things the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves. Even the land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its sin, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.”The nations had defiled themselves and the land, so God was punishing the land and it would vomit them out.
- Genesis 15:16 (BSB)“In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.””God told Abraham his descendants would wait because the Amorites' iniquity was not yet complete.
- Deuteronomy 9:4-5 (BSB)“When the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say in your heart, “Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land.” Rather, the LORD is driving out these nations before you because of their wickedness. It is not because of your righteousness or uprightness of heart that you are going in to possess their land, but it is because of their wickedness that the LORD your God is driving out these nations before you, to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”Israel received the land not for its own righteousness but because of the nations' wickedness and God's oath to the patriarchs.
- Leviticus 20:22-23 (BSB)“You are therefore to keep all My statutes and ordinances, so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out. You must not follow the statutes of the nations I am driving out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.”The later chapter repeats that God abhorred the nations because they did these things.
Theological
What reason does 18:24-25 give for the expulsion of the Canaanite nations?
Answer: Their defilement of themselves and the land by these acts
The expulsion of the nations is presented as judicial: by these practices they defiled themselves and the land, and God was punishing the land so that it would spew out its inhabitants (18:24-25, 27). God had long delayed this judgment, telling Abraham that the Amorites' iniquity was not yet full (Genesis 15:16). Israel was not to infer its own merit from the conquest; the land was given because of the nations' wickedness and God's sworn oath to the patriarchs (Deuteronomy 9:4-5), and the LORD states that He abhorred the nations for these deeds (Leviticus 20:22-23). Israel's inheritance was grace, not wages.
- Leviticus 18:24-25 (BSB)“Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for by all these things the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves. Even the land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its sin, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.”The nations had defiled themselves and the land, so God was punishing the land and it would vomit them out.
- Genesis 15:16 (BSB)“In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.””God told Abraham his descendants would wait because the Amorites' iniquity was not yet complete.
- Deuteronomy 9:4-5 (BSB)“When the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say in your heart, “Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land.” Rather, the LORD is driving out these nations before you because of their wickedness. It is not because of your righteousness or uprightness of heart that you are going in to possess their land, but it is because of their wickedness that the LORD your God is driving out these nations before you, to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”Israel received the land not for its own righteousness but because of the nations' wickedness and God's oath to the patriarchs.
- Leviticus 20:22-23 (BSB)“You are therefore to keep all My statutes and ordinances, so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out. You must not follow the statutes of the nations I am driving out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.”The later chapter repeats that God abhorred the nations because they did these things.
General
What declaration frames the laws of chapter 18, appearing at its start (18:2) and its close (18:30)?
Answer: That He is the LORD, the God to whom Israel belongs
The chapter opens and closes with God identifying Himself as the LORD, Israel's God (18:2, 30), and the same claim, in full or shorter form, recurs through the middle (18:4-6, 21). Before God tells Israel what not to do, He reminds them whose they are. This matches the Ten Commandments, which begin with God naming Himself as the One who had already rescued Israel from Egypt (Exodus 20:2). It also matches the pattern of Leviticus, where the call to be holy rests on the fact that God rescued them from Egypt to be their God (Leviticus 11:45). Israel did not win this relationship by being better than other nations; God chose them because He loved them and kept His promise to their ancestors (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). Obedience is the grateful response of a people God has already claimed, not the price of being claimed.
- Leviticus 18:2 (BSB)““Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the LORD your God.”God begins the chapter's laws by identifying Himself as Israel's God.
- Leviticus 18:30 (BSB)“You must keep My charge not to practice any of the abominable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God.””The chapter closes with the same self-identification.
- Exodus 20:2 (BSB)““I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”The Ten Commandments open the same way, naming the LORD as the God who had already brought Israel out of Egypt.
- Leviticus 11:45 (BSB)“For I am the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt so that I would be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.”Earlier in Leviticus the call to holiness rests on God's having brought Israel out of Egypt to be their God.
- Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (BSB)“The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”Israel's standing rested on God's love and His oath to the fathers, not on anything in Israel.
Theological
What is the significance of the self-identification that brackets chapter 18 (18:2, 30)?
Answer: It grounds the commands in the LORD's prior claim on His people
The chapter is bracketed by the LORD's self-identification as Israel's covenant God (18:2, 30), and the formula, in full or shortened form, punctuates the body of the chapter (18:4-6, 21). The indicative precedes the imperative: the law is given to a people already belonging to the LORD. This is the same order as the preface to the Decalogue (Exodus 20:2) and the ground of the holiness command earlier in the book, where the LORD's bringing Israel out of Egypt to be their God is the basis of the call (Leviticus 11:45). Israel's election rested not on any quality in Israel but on God's sovereign love and His oath to the patriarchs (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). Obedience is the grateful fruit of a relationship graciously established, not its condition.
- Leviticus 18:2 (BSB)““Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the LORD your God.”God begins the chapter's laws by identifying Himself as Israel's God.
- Leviticus 18:30 (BSB)“You must keep My charge not to practice any of the abominable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God.””The chapter closes with the same self-identification.
- Exodus 20:2 (BSB)““I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”The Ten Commandments open the same way, naming the LORD as the God who had already brought Israel out of Egypt.
- Leviticus 11:45 (BSB)“For I am the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt so that I would be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.”Earlier in Leviticus the call to holiness rests on God's having brought Israel out of Egypt to be their God.
- Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (BSB)“The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”Israel's standing rested on God's love and His oath to the fathers, not on anything in Israel.
General
The apostle Paul quotes 18:5 in Romans 10:5 and Galatians 3:12. How does he use it?
Answer: To describe righteousness by doing the law, in contrast to faith
In its first setting, 18:5 speaks to a people God had already rescued from Egypt (18:2-3): walking in His ways was the life He gave His redeemed people to live in the land. Paul quotes the verse to describe what righteousness by the law would look like. Righteousness here means being right with God, and on the law's terms life belongs to the one who actually does what it commands (Romans 10:5; Galatians 3:12). Paul also shows that no sinner gains life this way, because the law pronounces a curse on everyone who fails to keep all of it, and so the righteous live by faith (Galatians 3:10-11). The good news is that Christ took that curse on Himself for His people (Galatians 3:13), so life comes through trusting Him, not through our own doing.
- Leviticus 18:5 (BSB)“Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.”God calls His people to keep His statutes and judgments, the way of life He gave them.
- Romans 10:5 (BSB)“For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.””Paul cites Leviticus 18:5 to describe the righteousness that comes from the law.
- Galatians 3:12 (BSB)“The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.””Paul cites the same verse to show that the law operates on the principle of doing rather than faith.
- Galatians 3:10-11 (BSB)“All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.””The law curses everyone who fails to keep all of it, so no one is justified by it; the righteous live by faith.
- Galatians 3:13 (BSB)“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.””Christ redeemed His people from the law's curse by bearing it in their place.
Theological
How does Paul employ Leviticus 18:5 in Romans 10:5 and Galatians 3:12?
Answer: As the formula of law-righteousness, set in contrast to faith
In its Levitical context 18:5 addresses a people already redeemed (18:2-3), for whom walking in the LORD's statutes was the shape of covenant life in the land. Paul takes up the verse as the formula of the righteousness of the law: life on the terms of doing (Romans 10:5; Galatians 3:12). Because the law pronounces its curse on all who do not persevere in everything it requires, none are justified by it, and the righteous live by faith (Galatians 3:10-11). Christ redeemed His people from that curse by bearing it in their place (Galatians 3:13), so that life comes by faith in Him and not by legal works.
- Leviticus 18:5 (BSB)“Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.”God calls His people to keep His statutes and judgments, the way of life He gave them.
- Romans 10:5 (BSB)“For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.””Paul cites Leviticus 18:5 to describe the righteousness that comes from the law.
- Galatians 3:12 (BSB)“The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.””Paul cites the same verse to show that the law operates on the principle of doing rather than faith.
- Galatians 3:10-11 (BSB)“All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.””The law curses everyone who fails to keep all of it, so no one is justified by it; the righteous live by faith.
- Galatians 3:13 (BSB)“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.””Christ redeemed His people from the law's curse by bearing it in their place.
General
True or False: According to 18:18, the ban on marrying a wife's sister applied during the first wife's lifetime.
Answer: True
This is true. Verse 18 forbids a man to marry his wife's sister, making the two sisters rivals, during his wife's lifetime. The word rival points to the heartbreak such an arrangement creates. Genesis shows it in Jacob's household long before this law was given: Jacob married two sisters, Leah and Rachel, and loved Rachel more (Genesis 29:30-31), and Rachel came to envy her sister (Genesis 30:1). Hannah's story shows the same pain in a home with two wives, where the other wife provoked her cruelly (1 Samuel 1:6).
- Leviticus 18:18 (BSB)“You must not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.”The prohibition against marrying a wife's sister during the wife's lifetime.
- Genesis 29:30-31 (BSB)“Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years. When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.”Jacob married the sisters Leah and Rachel and loved Rachel more, showing the hurt such a marriage caused.
- Genesis 30:1 (BSB)“When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.”Rachel envied her own sister, the very rivalry 18:18 names.
- 1 Samuel 1:6 (BSB)“Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival would provoke her viciously to taunt her.”Hannah's rival in a two-wife household provoked her cruelly, showing what such rivalry looked like.
Theological
True or False: The prohibition in 18:18 concerning a wife's sister applies during the lifetime of the first wife.
Answer: True
This is true. Verse 18 forbids taking a wife's sister so as to make her a rival, for as long as the first wife lives. The patriarchal narratives display the grief this produces: Jacob's marriage to Leah and Rachel issued in favoritism (Genesis 29:30-31) and envy between the sisters (Genesis 30:1). Hannah's provocation by the other wife (1 Samuel 1:6) shows the same bitterness in a polygamous household. The law guards the bond between sisters and the peace of the home.
- Leviticus 18:18 (BSB)“You must not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.”The prohibition against marrying a wife's sister during the wife's lifetime.
- Genesis 29:30-31 (BSB)“Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years. When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.”Jacob married the sisters Leah and Rachel and loved Rachel more, showing the hurt such a marriage caused.
- Genesis 30:1 (BSB)“When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.”Rachel envied her own sister, the very rivalry 18:18 names.
- 1 Samuel 1:6 (BSB)“Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival would provoke her viciously to taunt her.”Hannah's rival in a two-wife household provoked her cruelly, showing what such rivalry looked like.