Leviticus 18:13

13 You must not have sexual contact with your mother's sister because she is your mother's blood relative.

Leviticus 18:13 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 18:13

Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister,
&c.] Which is the same relation as before, an aunt by the mother's side; wherefore, if such a marriage was unlawful, this must also, and for the same reason: for she [is] thy mother's near kinswoman;
the same phraseology is used here as in the preceding verse; (See Gill on Leviticus 18:12); and by the same rule a woman might not marry her uncle, whether by father or mother's side, the relation being the same, and this reaches to great-uncle and great-aunt; instances of women marrying their uncles, and men their aunts, among the Heathens, have been given, as among the Persians and Lacedaemonians by Herodotus ^F12, and among the Romans by Tacitus ^F13, but were, in his time, new things with the latter.

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 Erato, sive, l. 6. c. 71. Polymnia, sive, l. 7. c. 224, 239.
F13 Annal. l. 12. c. 5, 6, 7.

Leviticus 18:13 In-Context

11 You must not have sexual contact with the daughter of your father's wife, who was born into your father's family; she is your sister.

12 You must not have sexual contact with your father's sister; she is your father's blood relative.

13 You must not have sexual contact with your mother's sister because she is your mother's blood relative.

14 You will not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother—that is, you will not approach his wife for sex; she is your aunt.

15 You must not have sexual contact with your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife. You must not have sexual contact with her.