Leviticus 18:18

18:18 You must not take a woman in marriage and then marry her sister as a rival wife ¹  while she is still alive, ²  to have sexual intercourse with her.

Leviticus 20:19

20:19 You must not expose the nakedness of your mother’s sister and your father’s sister, for such a person has laid bare his own close relative. ³  They must bear their punishment for iniquity. ⁴ 

Leviticus 18:12-13

18:12 You must not have sexual intercourse with your father’s sister; she is your father’s flesh. ⁵  18:13 You must not have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s flesh.

Leviticus 21:3

21:3 and his virgin sister who is near to him, ⁶  who has no husband; he may defile himself for her.

Leviticus 18:11

18:11 You must not have sexual intercourse with the daughter of your father’s wife born of your father; she is your sister. You must not have intercourse with her. ⁷ 

Leviticus 20:17

20:17 “‘If a man has sexual intercourse with ⁸  his sister, whether the daughter of his father or his mother, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. ⁹  He has exposed his sister’s nakedness; he will bear his punishment for iniquity. ¹⁰ 

Leviticus 18:9

18:9 You must not have sexual intercourse with your sister, whether she is your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, ¹¹  whether she is born in the same household or born outside it; ¹²  you must not have sexual intercourse with either of them. ¹³ 

¹ tn Or “as a concubine”; Heb “And a woman to her sister you shall not take to be a second wife [or “to be a concubine”].” According to HALOT 1059 s.v. III צרר, the infinitive “to be a second wife” (לִצְרֹר, litsror) is a denominative verb from II צָרָה A (“concubine; second wife”), which, in turn, derives from II צר “to treat with hostility” (cf. J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 283, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 122).

² tn Heb “on her in her life.”

³ tn Heb “his flesh.”

⁴ tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.

⁵ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate all read “because she is the flesh of your father,” like the MT of v. 13.

⁷ tn Cf. v. 2a.

⁹ tn Heb “The nakedness of the daughter of your father’s wife born of your father, she is your sister; you must not uncover her nakedness.” That is, a half sister, the daughter of the man’s father by another wife, who is not the man’s mother, is to be considered a true sister. Therefore, the man must not have sexual intercourse with her.

¹¹ tn Heb “takes.” The verb “to take” in this context means “to engage in sexual intercourse,” though some English versions translate it as “marry” (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV).

¹² tn Regarding the “cut off” penalty, see the note on Lev 7:20.

¹³ tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.

¹³ tn Heb “the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “born of house or born of outside.” CEV interprets as “whether you grew up together or not” (cf. also TEV, NLT).

¹⁵ tc Several medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, LXX, and Syriac have “her nakedness” rather than “their nakedness,” thus agreeing with singular “sister” at the beginning of the verse.