Vayikra 18:13

13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of the achot (sister) of thy em: for she is thy mother’s near kinswoman.

Vayikra 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.

Vayikra 18:13 In-Context

11 The nakedness of the bat of the wife of thy av, begotten of thy av, she is thy achot (sister), thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of the achot of thy av; she is thy father’s near kinswoman [i.e., close relative].

13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of the achot (sister) of thy em: for she is thy mother’s near kinswoman.

14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of the achi avicha (the brother of thy father), thou shalt not approach to his wife; she is thine dodah.

15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy kallah (daughter-in-law); she is the wife of thy ben; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.