Leviticus 18:1-10

Unlawful Sexual Relations

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ¹I am the Lord your God.

3 ²You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and ³you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes.

4 ⁴You shall follow my rules^[a] and keep my statutes and walk in them. ⁵I am the Lord your God.

5 ⁶You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; ⁷if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.

6 “None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord.

7 ⁸You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness.

8 ⁹You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness.

9 ¹⁰You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home.

10 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter or of your daughter’s daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness.

Leviticus 18:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 18

In this chapter the Israelites are directed in general not to imitate the customs and practices of the Egyptians and Canaanites, but to keep the ordinances, statutes, and judgments of the Lord, Le 18:1-5; and they are instructed particularly to avoid incestuous marriages, Le 18:6-18; carnal copulation with a menstruous woman, Le 18:19; adultery, Le 18:20; letting any of their seed pass through the fire to Molech, Le 18:21; sodomy, Le 18:22; and bestiality, Le 18:23; and they are deterred from these things by observing to them the pollution and destruction which they brought on the inhabitants of Canaan, and would bring the same on them should they commit them, Le 18:24-30.

Cross References

• 1. 18:2 ch. 11:44; 19:4; 20:7; Ex. 6:6, 7
• 2. 18:3 Ezek. 20:7, 8; 23:8
• 3. 18:3 Ex. 23:24; Deut. 12:30, 31
• 4. 18:4 ver. 26; ch. 19:19, 37; 20:8, 22; 25:18; Deut. 4:1, 6; 5:1; 6:1; 12:1; Ezek. 20:19
• 5. 18:4 [See ver. 2 above]
• 6. 18:5 [See ver. 4 above]
• 7. 18:5 Ezek. 20:11, 13, 21; Cited Rom. 10:5; Gal. 3:12; [Luke 10:28]
• 8. 18:7 For ver. 7-16, see ch. 20:11-21
• 9. 18:8 Deut. 22:30; 27:20; 1 Cor. 5:1; [Gen. 49:4; Amos 2:7]
• 10. 18:9 [2 Sam. 13:12; Ezek. 22:11]

Footnotes

• [a] 18:4 Or 'my just decrees'; also verse 5