Leviticus 20:15

15 “If a man has sex with an animal, he must be put to death, and the animal must be killed.

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 practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense.

14 “If a man marries both a woman and her mother, he has committed a wicked act. The man and both women must be burned to death to wipe out such wickedness from among you.

15 “If a man has sex with an animal, he must be put to death, and the animal must be killed.

16 “If a woman presents herself to a male animal to have intercourse with it, she and the animal must both be put to death. You must kill both, for they are guilty of a capital offense.

17 “If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a shameful disgrace. They must be publicly cut off from the community. Since the man has violated his sister, he will be punished for his sin.