Leviticus 18:13

13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is near of kin to your mother.

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.


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 The nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, begotten by your father--she is your sister--you shall not uncover her nakedness.
12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister; she is near of kin to your father.
13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is near of kin to your mother.
14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt.
15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law--she is your son's wife--you shall not uncover her nakedness.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.