Leviticus 20:15

15 If a man has sexual intercourse with^[a] an animal,^[b] he must be put to death; you are also to kill the animal.

Leviticus 20:15 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 20:15

If a man lie with a beast
A sin quite unnatural, exceeding shocking and detestable, forbid ( Leviticus 18:23 ) :

he shall surely be put to death:
by stoning, as the Targum of Jonathan adds; and this is the death such are condemned to in the Misnah ^F8:

and ye shall slay the beast;
with clubs, as says the Targum of Jonathan; the reasons given in the Misnah ^F9, why the beast was to be slain, are, because ruin came to the man by means of it, and that it might not be said, as it passed along the streets, that is the beast for which such an one was stoned. Aben Ezra says it was to be slain, that it might not cause others to sin; and he adds, there are that say it was to cover the reproach: no doubt the true reason was to deter the more from this detestable sin, that if a beast, which was only accessory to it, and an instrument of it, was put to death, of how much sorer punishment must the man that committed it be worthy of, even of eternal wrath and destruction, and, unless repented of and forgiven, must be expected by him?

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 4.
F9 Ibid.

Leviticus 20:15 In-Context

13 If a man sleeps with a man as with a woman, they have both committed an abomination. They must be put to death; their blood is on their own hands.

14 If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned with fire, so that there will be no depravity among you.

15 If a man has sexual intercourse with an animal, he must be put to death; you are also to kill the animal.

16 If a woman comes near any animal and mates with it, you are to kill the woman and the animal. They must be put to death; their [own] blood is on them.

17 If a man marries his sister, whether his father's daughter or his mother's daughter, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off publicly from their people. He has had sexual intercourse with his sister; he will bear his punishment.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit man gives his emission to
• [b]. Lv 18:23; Ex 22:19; Dt 27:21