Discovery BoxLeviticus 17:1--20:27
Context17:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 17:2 “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites, and tell them: ‘This is the word that the Lord has commanded: 17:3 “Blood guilt 1 will be accounted to any man 2 from the house of Israel 3 who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat inside the camp or outside the camp, 4 17:4 but has not brought it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent 5 to present it as 6 an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord. He has shed blood, so that man will be cut off from the midst of his people. 7 17:5 This is so that 8 the Israelites will bring their sacrifices that they are sacrificing in the open field 9 to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent to the priest and sacrifice them there as peace offering sacrifices to the Lord. 17:6 The priest is to splash 10 the blood on the altar 11 of the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, and offer the fat up in smoke for a soothing aroma to the Lord. 17:7 So they must no longer offer 12 their sacrifices to the goat demons, 13 acting like prostitutes by going after them. 14 This is to be a perpetual statute for them throughout their generations. 15
17:8 “You are to say to them: ‘Any man 16 from the house of Israel or 17 from the foreigners who reside 18 in their 19 midst, who offers 20 a burnt offering or a sacrifice 17:9 but does not bring it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent to offer it 21 to the Lord – that person will be cut off from his people. 22
17:10 “‘Any man 23 from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside 24 in their 25 midst who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, 26 17:11 for the life of every living thing 27 is in the blood. 28 So I myself have assigned it to you 29 on the altar to make atonement for your lives, for the blood makes atonement by means of the life. 30 17:12 Therefore, I have said to the Israelites: No person among you is to eat blood, 31 and no resident foreigner who lives among you is to eat blood. 32
17:13 “‘Any man from the Israelites 33 or from the foreigners who reside 34 in their 35 midst who hunts a wild animal 36 or a bird that may be eaten 37 must pour out its blood and cover it with soil, 17:14 for the life of all flesh is its blood. 38 So I have said to the Israelites: You must not eat the blood of any living thing 39 because the life of every living thing is its blood – all who eat it will be cut off. 40
17:15 “‘Any person 41 who eats an animal that has died of natural causes 42 or an animal torn by beasts, whether a native citizen or a foreigner, 43 must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening; then he becomes clean. 17:16 But if he does not wash his clothes 44 and does not bathe his body, he will bear his punishment for iniquity.’” 45
18:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 18:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘I am the Lord your God! 18:3 You must not do as they do in the land of Egypt where you have been living, 46 and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan into which I am about to bring you; 47 you must not 48 walk in their statutes. 18:4 You must observe my regulations 49 and you must be sure to walk in my statutes. 50 I am the Lord your God. 18:5 So you must keep 51 my statutes and my regulations; anyone who does so will live by keeping them. 52 I am the Lord.
18:6 “‘No man is to approach any close relative 53 to have sexual intercourse with her. 54 I am the Lord. 55 18:7 You must not 56 expose your father’s nakedness by having sexual intercourse with your mother. 57 She is your mother; you must not have intercourse with her. 18:8 You must not have sexual intercourse with your father’s wife; she is your father’s nakedness. 58 18:9 You must not have sexual intercourse with your sister, whether she is your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, 59 whether she is born in the same household or born outside it; 60 you must not have sexual intercourse with either of them. 61 18:10 You must not expose the nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter by having sexual intercourse with them, because they are your own nakedness. 62 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. 63 18:12 You must not have sexual intercourse with your father’s sister; she is your father’s flesh. 64 18:13 You must not have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s flesh. 18:14 You must not expose the nakedness of your father’s brother; you must not approach his wife to have sexual intercourse with her. 65 She is your aunt. 66 18:15 You must not have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife. You must not have intercourse with her. 18:16 You must not have sexual intercourse with your brother’s wife; she is your brother’s nakedness. 67 18:17 You must not have sexual intercourse with both a woman and her daughter; you must not take as wife either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to have intercourse with them. 68 They are closely related to her 69 – it is lewdness. 70 18:18 You must not take a woman in marriage and then marry her sister as a rival wife 71 while she is still alive, 72 to have sexual intercourse with her.
18:19 “‘You must not approach a woman in her menstrual impurity 73 to have sexual intercourse with her. 18:20 You must not have sexual intercourse 74 with the wife of your fellow citizen to become unclean with her. 18:21 You must not give any of your children as an offering to Molech, 75 so that you do not profane 76 the name of your God. I am the Lord! 18:22 You must not have sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman; 77 it is a detestable act. 78 18:23 You must not have sexual intercourse 79 with any animal to become defiled with it, and a woman must not stand before an animal to have sexual intercourse with it; 80 it is a perversion. 81
18:24 “‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things, for the nations which I am about to drive out before you 82 have been defiled with all these things. 18:25 Therefore 83 the land has become unclean and I have brought the punishment for its iniquity upon it, 84 so that the land has vomited out its inhabitants. 18:26 You yourselves must obey 85 my statutes and my regulations and must not do any of these abominations, both the native citizen and the resident foreigner in your midst, 86 18:27 for the people who were in the land before you have done all these abominations, 87 and the land has become unclean. 18:28 So do not make the land vomit you out because you defile it 88 just as it has vomited out the nations 89 that were before you. 18:29 For if anyone does any of these abominations, the persons who do them will be cut off from the midst of their people. 90 18:30 You must obey my charge to not practice any of the abominable statutes 91 that have been done before you, so that you do not 92 defile yourselves by them. I am the Lord your God.’”
19:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 19:2 “Speak to the whole congregation of the Israelites and tell them, ‘You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. 19:3 Each of you must respect his mother and his father, 93 and you must keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God. 19:4 Do not turn to idols, 94 and you must not make for yourselves gods of cast metal. I am the Lord your God.
19:5 “‘When you sacrifice a peace offering sacrifice to the Lord, you must sacrifice it so that it is accepted for you. 95 19:6 It must be eaten on the day of your sacrifice and on the following day, 96 but what is left over until the third day must be burned up. 97 19:7 If, however, it is eaten 98 on the third day, it is spoiled, 99 it will not be accepted, 19:8 and the one who eats it will bear his punishment for iniquity 100 because he has profaned 101 what is holy to the Lord. 102 That person will be cut off from his people. 103
19:9 “‘When you gather in the harvest 104 of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field, 105 and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. 19:10 You must not pick your vineyard bare, 106 and you must not gather up the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You must leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.
19:11 “‘You must not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your fellow citizen. 107 19:12 You must not swear falsely 108 in my name, so that you do not profane 109 the name of your God. I am the Lord. 19:13 You must not oppress your neighbor or commit robbery against him. 110 You must not withhold 111 the wages of the hired laborer overnight until morning. 19:14 You must not curse a deaf person or put a stumbling block in front of a blind person. 112 You must fear 113 your God; I am the Lord.
19:15 “‘You 114 must not deal unjustly in judgment: 115 you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. 116 You must judge your fellow citizen fairly. 117 19:16 You must not go about as a slanderer among your people. 118 You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. 119 I am the Lord. 19:17 You must not hate your brother in your heart. You must surely reprove your fellow citizen so that you do not incur sin on account of him. 120 19:18 You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge 121 against the children of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself. 122 I am the Lord. 19:19 You must keep my statutes. You must not allow two different kinds of your animals to breed, 123 you must not sow your field with two different kinds of seed, and you must not wear 124 a garment made of two different kinds of fabric. 125
19:20 “‘When a man has sexual intercourse with a woman, 126 although she is a slave woman designated for another man and she has not yet been ransomed, or freedom has not been granted to her, there will be an obligation to pay compensation. 127 They must not be put to death, because she was not free. 19:21 He must bring his guilt offering to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, a guilt offering ram, 128 19:22 and the priest is to make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed, 129 and he will be forgiven 130 of his sin 131 that he has committed.
19:23 “‘When you enter the land and plant any fruit tree, 132 you must consider its fruit to be forbidden. 133 Three years it will be forbidden to you; 134 it must not be eaten. 19:24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, praise offerings 135 to the Lord. 19:25 Then in the fifth year you may eat its fruit to add its produce to your harvest. 136 I am the Lord your God.
19:26 “‘You must not eat anything with the blood still in it. 137 You must not practice either divination or soothsaying. 138 19:27 You must not round off the corners of the hair on your head or ruin the corners of your beard. 139 19:28 You must not slash your body for a dead person 140 or incise a tattoo on yourself. 141 I am the Lord. 19:29 Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, 142 so that the land does not practice prostitution and become full of lewdness. 143
19:30 “‘You must keep my Sabbaths and fear my sanctuary. I am the Lord. 19:31 Do not turn to the spirits of the dead and do not seek familiar spirits 144 to become unclean by them. I am the Lord your God. 19:32 You must stand up in the presence of the aged, honor the presence of an elder, and fear your God. I am the Lord. 19:33 When a foreigner resides 145 with you in your land, you must not oppress him. 19:34 The foreigner who resides with you must be to you like a native citizen among you; so 146 you must love him as yourself, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. 19:35 You must not do injustice in the regulation of measures, whether of length, weight, or volume. 147 19:36 You must have honest balances, 148 honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. 149 I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt. 19:37 You must be sure to obey all my statutes and regulations. 150 I am the Lord.’”
20:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 20:2 “You are to say to the Israelites, ‘Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners who reside in Israel 151 who gives any of his children 152 to Molech 153 must be put to death; the people of the land must pelt him with stones. 154 20:3 I myself will set my face 155 against that man and cut him off from the midst of his people, 156 because he has given some of his children to Molech and thereby defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. 157 20:4 If, however, the people of the land shut their eyes 158 to that man 159 when he gives some of his children to Molech so that they do not put him to death, 20:5 I myself will set my face against that man and his clan. I will cut off from the midst of their people both him and all who follow after him in spiritual prostitution, 160 to commit prostitution by worshiping Molech. 161
20:6 “‘The person who turns to the spirits of the dead and familiar spirits 163 to commit prostitution by going after them, I will set my face 164 against that person and cut him off from the midst of his people.
20:7 “‘You must sanctify yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. 20:8 You must be sure to obey my statutes. 165 I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
20:9 “‘If anyone 167 curses his father and mother 168 he must be put to death. He has cursed his father and mother; his blood guilt is on himself. 169 20:10 If a man 170 commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, 171 both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. 20:11 If a man has sexual intercourse with his father’s wife, he has exposed his father’s nakedness. 172 Both of them must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. 173 20:12 If a man has sexual intercourse with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed perversion; 174 their blood guilt is on themselves. 20:13 If a man has sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman, 175 the two of them have committed an abomination. They must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. 20:14 If a man has sexual intercourse with both a woman and her mother, 176 it is lewdness. 177 Both he and they must be burned to death, 178 so there is no lewdness in your midst. 20:15 If a man has sexual intercourse 179 with any animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal. 20:16 If a woman approaches any animal to have sexual intercourse with it, 180 you must kill the woman, and the animal must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves.
20:17 “‘If a man has sexual intercourse with 181 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. 182 He has exposed his sister’s nakedness; he will bear his punishment for iniquity. 183 20:18 If a man has sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her fountain of blood and she has exposed the fountain of her blood, so both of them 184 must be cut off from the midst of their people. 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. 185 They must bear their punishment for iniquity. 186 20:20 If a man has sexual intercourse with his aunt, he has exposed his uncle’s nakedness; they must bear responsibility for their sin, they will die childless. 20:21 If a man has sexual intercourse with 187 his brother’s wife, it is indecency. He has exposed his brother’s nakedness; 188 they will be childless.
20:22 “‘You must be sure to obey all my statutes and regulations, 189 so that 190 the land to which I am about to bring you to take up residence there does not vomit you out. 20:23 You must not walk in the statutes of the nation 191 which I am about to drive out before you, because they have done all these things and I am filled with disgust against them. 20:24 So I have said to you: You yourselves will possess their land and I myself will give it to you for a possession, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God who has set you apart from the other peoples. 192 20:25 Therefore you must distinguish 193 between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean, and you must not make yourselves detestable by means of an animal or bird or anything that creeps on the ground – creatures 194 I have distinguished for you as unclean. 195 20:26 You must be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the other peoples to be mine.
20:27 “‘A man or woman who 196 has in them a spirit of the dead or a familiar spirit 197 must be put to death. They must pelt them with stones; 198 their blood guilt is on themselves.’”
[17:3] 1 tn The complex wording of vv. 3-4 requires stating “blood guilt” at the beginning of v. 3 even though it is not mentioned until the middle of v. 4. The Hebrew text has simply “blood,” but in this case it refers to the illegitimate shedding of animal blood, similar to the shedding of the blood of an innocent human being (Deut 19:10, etc.). In order for it to be legitimate the animal must be slaughtered at the tabernacle and its blood handled by the priests in the prescribed way (see, e.g., Lev 1:5; 3:2, 17; 4:5-7; 7:26-27, etc.; cf. vv. 10-16 below for more details).
[17:3] 2 tn Heb “Man man.” The reduplication is way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 15:2; 22:18, etc.). See the note on Lev 15:2.
[17:3] 3 tn The original LXX adds “or the sojourners who sojourn in your midst” (cf. Lev 16:29, etc., and note esp. 17:8, 10, and 13 below).
[17:3] 4 tn Heb “or who slaughters from outside to the camp.”
[17:4] 5 tn Smr and LXX add after “tent of meeting” the following: “to make it a burnt offering or a peace offering to the
[17:4] 6 tc Smr includes the suffix “it,” which is needed in any case in the translation to conform to English style.
[17:4] 7 sn The exact meaning of this penalty clause is not certain. It could mean (1) that he will be executed, whether by God or by man, (2) that he will be excommunicated from sanctuary worship and/or community benefits, or (3) that his line will be terminated by God (i.e., extirpation). See also the note on Lev 7:20.
[17:5] 8 tn Heb “So that which.”
[17:5] 9 tn Heb “on the faces of the field.”
[17:6] 10 tn For the translation “splash” see the note on Lev 1:5.
[17:6] 11 tn The LXX adds “all around” (i.e., Hebrew סָבִיב [saviv, “all around”]), which is normal for this overall construction (see, e.g., Lev 1:5; 3:8, etc.).
[17:7] 12 tn Heb “sacrifice.” This has been translated as “offer” for stylistic reasons to avoid the redundancy of “sacrifice their sacrifices.”
[17:7] 13 tn On “goat demons” of the desert regions see the note on Lev 16:8.
[17:7] 14 tn Heb “which they are committing harlotry after them.”
[17:7] 15 tn Heb “for your generations.”
[17:8] 16 tn Heb “Man, man.” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any [or “every”] man” (GKC 395-96 §123.c; cf. Lev 15:2).
[17:8] 17 tn Heb “and.” Here the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) has an alternative sense (“or”).
[17:8] 18 tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”
[17:8] 19 tc The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate have “your” (plural) rather than “their.”
[17:8] 20 tn Heb “causes to go up.”
[17:9] 21 tn Heb “to make it,” meaning “to make the sacrifice.”
[17:9] 22 tn For remarks on the “cut off” penalty see the note on v. 4 above.
[17:10] 23 tn Heb “And man, man.” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any (or every) man” (GKC 395-96 §123.c; cf. Lev 15:2).
[17:10] 24 tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”
[17:10] 25 tc The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate have “your” (plural) rather than “their.”
[17:10] 26 tn Heb “I will give my faces against [literally “in”] the soul/person/life [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh, feminine] who eats the blood and I will cut it [i.e., that נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] off from the midst of its people.” The uses of נֶפֶשׁ in this and the following verse are most significant for the use of animal blood in Israel’s sacrificial system. Unfortunately, it is a most difficult word to translate accurately and consistently, and this presents a major problem for the rendering of these verses (see, e.g., G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 244-45). No matter which translation of נֶפֶשׁ one uses here, it is important to see that both man and animal have נֶפֶשׁ and that this נֶפֶשׁ is identified with the blood. See the further remarks on v. 11 below. On the “cutting off” penalty see the note on v. 4 above. In this instance, God takes it on himself to “cut off” the person (i.e., extirpation).
[17:11] 27 tn Heb “the life of the flesh.” Here “flesh” stands for “every living thing,” that is, all creatures (cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT “every creature”; CEV “every living creature.”
[17:11] 28 tn Heb “for the soul/life (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) of the flesh, it is in the blood” (cf. the note of v. 10 above and v. 14 below). Although most modern English versions begin a new sentence in v. 11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood” (see, e.g., NJPS, NASB, NIV, NRSV), the כִּי (ki, “for, because”) at the beginning of the verse suggests continuation from v. 10, as the rendering here indicates (see, e.g., NEB, NLT; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 261; and G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 239).
[17:11] 29 tn Heb “And I myself have given it to you.”
[17:11] 30 tn Heb “for the blood, it by (בְּ, bet preposition, “in”] the life makes atonement.” The interpretation of the preposition is pivotal here. Some scholars have argued that it is a bet of exchange; that is, “the blood makes atonement in exchange for the life [of the slaughtered animal]” (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:694-95, 697 for analysis and criticism of this view). It is more likely that, as in the previous clause (“your lives”), “life/soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) here refers to the person who makes the offering, not the animal offered. The blood of the animal makes atonement for the person who offers it either “by means of” (instrumental bet) the “life/soul” of the animal, which it symbolizes or embodies (the meaning of the translation given here); or perhaps the blood of the animal functions as “the price” (bet of price) for ransoming the “life/soul” of the person.
[17:12] 31 tn Heb “all/any person from you shall not eat blood.”
[17:12] 32 tn Heb “and the sojourner, the one sojourning in your midst, shall not eat blood.”
[17:13] 33 tc A few medieval Hebrew
[17:13] 34 tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”
[17:13] 35 tc The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and certain
[17:13] 36 tn Heb “[wild] game of animal.”
[17:13] 37 tn That is, it must be a clean animal, not an unclean animal (cf. Lev 11).
[17:14] 38 tn Heb “for the life/soul (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) of all flesh, its blood in its life/soul (נֶפֶשׁ) it is.” The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate leave out “in its life/soul,” which would naturally yield “for the life of all flesh, its blood it is” (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 261, 263). The present translation is something of an oversimplification, but the meaning is basically the same in any case. Cf. NRSV “For the life of every creature – its blood is its life.”
[17:14] 39 tn Heb “of all flesh” (also later in this verse). See the note on “every living thing” in v. 11.
[17:14] 40 tn For remarks on the “cut off” penalty see the note on v. 4 above.
[17:15] 41 tn Heb “And any soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh).
[17:15] 42 tn Heb “carcass,” referring to the carcass of an animal that has died on its own, not the carcass of an animal slaughtered for sacrifice or killed by wild beasts. This has been clarified in the translation by supplying the phrase “of natural causes”; cf. NAB “that died of itself”; TEV “that has died a natural death.”
[17:15] 43 tn Heb “in the native or in the sojourner.”
[17:16] 44 tn The words “his clothes” are not in the Hebrew text, but are repeated in the translation for clarity.
[17:16] 45 tn Heb “and he shall bear his iniquity.” The rendering “bear the punishment for the iniquity” reflects the use of the word “iniquity” to refer to the punishment for iniquity. This is sometimes referred to as the consequential use of the term (cf. Lev 5:17; 7:18; 10:17; etc.).
[18:3] 46 tn Heb “As the work [or “deed”] of the land of Egypt, which you were dwelling in it, you must not do.”
[18:3] 47 tn Heb “and as the work [or “deed”] of the land of Canaan which I am bringing you to there, you must not do.” The participle “I am bringing” is inceptive; the
[18:3] 48 tn Heb “and you shall not walk.”
[18:4] 49 tn Heb “My regulations you shall do”; KJV, NASB “my judgments”; NRSV “My ordinances”; NIV, TEV “my laws.”
[18:4] 50 tn Heb “and my statutes you shall keep [or “watch; guard”] to walk in them.”
[18:5] 51 tn Heb “And you shall keep.”
[18:5] 52 tn Heb “which the man shall do them and shall live in them.” The term for “a man, human being; mankind” (אָדָם, ’adam; see the note on Lev 1:2) in this case refers to any person among “mankind,” male or female. The expression וָחַי (vakhay, “and shall live”) looks like the adjective “living” so it is written וְחָיָה (vÿkhayah) in Smr, but the MT form is simply the same verb written as a double ayin verb (see HALOT 309 s.v. חיה qal and GKC 218 §76.i; cf. Lev 25:35).
[18:6] 53 tn Heb “Man, man shall not draw near to any flesh (שְׁאֵר, shÿ’er) of his body/flesh (בָּשָׂר, basar).” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any (or “every”) man” (GKC 395-96 §123.c; cf. Lev 15:2). The two words for “flesh” are combined to refer to emphasize the physical familial relatedness (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 282, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 119).
[18:6] 54 tn Heb “to uncover [her] nakedness” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV), which is clearly euphemistic for sexual intercourse (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 282, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 119). This expression occurs a number of times in the following context and is generally translated “have sexual intercourse with [someone],” although in the case of the father mentioned in the following verse the expression may be connected to the shame or disgrace that would belong to the father whose wife’s sexuality is violated by his son. See the note on the word “mother” in v. 7.
[18:6] 55 sn The general statement prohibiting sexual intercourse between close relatives serves as an opening summary statement for the following section, which gives details concerning which degrees of relationship are specifically forbidden.
[18:7] 56 tn The verbal negative here is the same as that used in the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:4-5, 7, 13-17). It suggests permanent prohibition rather than a simple negative command and could, therefore, be rendered “must not” here and throughout the following section as it is in vv. 3-4 above.
[18:7] 57 tn Heb “The nakedness of your father and [i.e., even] the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover.”
[18:8] 58 tn Heb “the nakedness of your father she is.” See the note on v. 7 above. This law refers to another wife of the man’s father, who is not that man’s mother. The laws in the Pentateuch sometimes assume the possibility that a man may have more than one wife (cf., e.g., Deut 21:15-17).
[18:9] 59 tn Heb “the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother.”
[18:9] 60 tn Heb “born of house or born of outside.” CEV interprets as “whether you grew up together or not” (cf. also TEV, NLT).
[18:9] 61 tc Several medieval Hebrew
[18:10] 62 sn That is, to have sexual intercourse with one’s granddaughter would be like openly exposing one’s own shameful nakedness (see the note on v. 7 above).
[18:11] 63 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.
[18:12] 64 tc A few medieval Hebrew
[18:14] 65 tn Heb “you must not draw near to his wife.” In the context this refers to approaching one’s aunt to have sexual intercourse with her, so this has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:14] 66 tn As in v. 12 (see the note there), some
[18:16] 67 sn Regarding the last clause, see the notes on vv. 7 and 10 above.
[18:17] 68 tn Heb “You must not uncover the nakedness of both a woman and her daughter; the daughter of her son and the daughter of her daughter you must not take to uncover her nakedness.” Translating “her” as “them” provides consistency in the English. In this kind of context, “take” means to “take in marriage” (cf. also v. 18). The LXX and Syriac have “their nakedness,” referring to the nakedness of the woman’s granddaughters, rather than the nakedness of the woman herself.
[18:17] 69 tc Heb “they are her flesh.” The LXX reads “your” here (followed by NRSV). If the LXX reading were followed by the present translation, the result would be “They are closely related to you.”
[18:17] 70 tn The term rendered “lewdness” almost always carries a connotation of cunning, evil device, and divisiveness (cf. HALOT 272 s.v. I זִמָּה 2, “infamy”), and is closely associated with sexual and religious infidelity (cf., e.g., Lev 19:29; 20:14; Job 31:11; Jer 13:27; Ezek 16:27; 22:9). Recent English versions differ on how they handle this: NAB “would be shameful”; CEV “would make you unclean”; NIV “wickedness”; NLT “horrible wickedness”; NRSV “depravity”; TEV “incest.”
[18:18] 71 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).
[18:18] 72 tn Heb “on her in her life.”
[18:19] 73 tn Heb “in the menstruation of her impurity”; NIV “during the uncleanness of her monthly period.”
[18:20] 74 tn Heb “And to the wife of your fellow citizen you shall not give your layer for seed.” The meaning of “your layer” (שְׁכָבְתְּךָ, shÿkhavtÿkha) is uncertain (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 122, “you shall not place your layer of semen”; but cf. also J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 283, and the literature cited there for the rendering, “you shall not give your penis for seed”).
[18:21] 75 tn Heb “And from your seed you shall not give to cause to pass over to Molech.” Smr (cf. also the LXX) has “to cause to serve” rather than “to cause to pass over.” For detailed remarks on Molech and Molech worship see N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NCBC), 87-88; P. J. Budd, Leviticus (NCBC), 259-60; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 333-37, and the literature cited there. It could refer to either human sacrifice or a devotion of children to some sort of service of Molech, perhaps of a sexual sort (cf. Lev 20:2-5; 2 Kgs 23:10, etc.). The inclusion of this prohibition against Molech worship here may be due to some sexual connection of this kind, or perhaps simply to the lexical link between זֶרַע (zera’) meaning “seed, semen” in v. 20 but “offspring” in v. 21.
[18:21] 76 tn Heb “and you shall not profane.” Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
[18:22] 77 tn Heb “And with a male you shall not lay [as the] lyings of a woman” (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 123). The specific reference here is to homosexual intercourse between males.
[18:22] 78 tn The Hebrew term תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, rendered “detestable act”) refers to the repugnant practices of foreigners, whether from the viewpoint of other peoples toward the Hebrews (e.g., Gen 43:32; 46:34; Exod 8:26) or of the
[18:23] 79 tn See the note on v. 20 above.
[18:23] 80 tn Heb “to copulate with it” (cf. Lev 20:16).
[18:23] 81 tn The Hebrew term תֶּבֶל (tevel, “perversion”) derives from the verb “to mix; to confuse” and therefore refers to illegitimate mixtures of species or violation of the natural order of things.
[18:24] 82 tn Heb “which I am sending away (Piel participle of שָׁלַח [shalakh, “to send”]) from your faces.” The rendering here takes the participle as anticipatory of the coming conquest events.
[18:25] 83 tn Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative or even inferential force here.
[18:25] 84 tn Heb “and I have visited its [punishment for] iniquity on it.” See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
[18:26] 85 tn Heb “And you shall keep, you.” The latter emphatic personal pronoun “you” is left out of a few medieval Hebrew
[18:26] 86 tn Heb “the native and the sojourner”; NIV “The native-born and the aliens”; NAB “whether natives or resident aliens.”
[18:27] 87 tn Heb “for all these abominations the men of the land who were before you have done.”
[18:28] 88 tn Heb “And the land will not vomit you out in your defiling it.”
[18:28] 89 tc The MT reads the singular “nation” and is followed by ASV, NASB, NRSV; the LXX, Syriac, and Targum have the plural “nations” (cf. v. 24).
[18:29] 90 sn Regarding the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.
[18:30] 91 tn Heb “to not do from the statutes of the detestable acts.”
[18:30] 92 tn Heb “and you will not.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
[19:3] 93 tn Heb “A man his mother and his father you [plural] shall fear.” The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and certain Targum
[19:4] 94 sn Regarding the difficult etymology and meaning of the term for “idols” (אֱלִילִים, ’elilim), see B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 126; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 304; N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NBC), 89; and Judith M. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:411. It appears to be a diminutive play on words with אֵל (’el, “god; God”) and, perhaps at the same time, recalls a common Semitic word for “worthless; weak; powerless; nothingness.” Snaith suggests a rendering of “worthless godlings.”
[19:5] 95 tn Heb “for your acceptance”; cf. NIV, NLT “it will be accepted on your behalf.”
[19:6] 96 tn Heb “from the following day” (HALOT 572 s.v. מָחֳרָת 2.b).
[19:6] 97 tn Heb “shall be burned with fire”; KJV “shall be burnt in the fire.” Because “to burn with fire” is redundant in contemporary English the present translation simply has “must be burned up.”
[19:7] 98 tn Heb “And if being eaten [infinitive absolute] it is eaten [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.
[19:7] 99 tn Or “desecrated,” or “defiled,” or “forbidden.” For this difficult term see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:422, on Lev 7:18.
[19:8] 100 tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
[19:8] 101 sn Regarding “profaned,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
[19:8] 102 tn Heb “the holiness of the
[19:8] 103 sn On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.
[19:9] 104 tn Heb “And in your harvesting the harvest.”
[19:9] 105 tn Heb “you shall not complete the corner of your field to harvest.”
[19:10] 106 tn Heb “And you shall not deal severely with your vineyard.”
[19:11] 107 tn Heb “you shall not deal falsely a man with his fellow citizen.”
[19:12] 108 tn Heb “And you shall not swear to the falsehood.”
[19:12] 109 tn Heb “and you shall not profane”; NAB “thus profaning.”
[19:13] 110 tn Heb “You shall not oppress your neighbor and you shall not rob.”
[19:13] 111 tn Heb “hold back with you”; perhaps “hold back for yourself” (cf. NRSV “keep for yourself”).
[19:14] 112 tn Heb “You shall not curse a deaf [person] and before a blind [person] you shall not put a stumbling block.”
[19:14] 113 tn Heb “And you shall fear.” Many English versions (e.g., KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV) regard the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) as adversative in force here (“but”).
[19:15] 114 tc Smr has the singular rather than the plural “you” of the MT, which brings this verb form into line with the ones surrounding it.
[19:15] 115 tn Heb “You shall not do injustice in judgment” (NASB similar); cf. NIV “do not pervert justice.”
[19:15] 116 tn Heb “You shall not lift up faces of poor [people] and you shall not honor faces of great.”
[19:15] 117 tn Heb “In righteousness you shall judge your fellow citizen.”
[19:16] 118 tn The term רָכִיל (rakhil) is traditionally rendered “slanderer” here (so NASB, NIV, NRSV; see also J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 304, 316), but the exact meaning is uncertain (see the discussion in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 129). It is sometimes related to I רָכַל (“to go about as a trader [or “merchant”]”; BDB 940 s.v. רָכַל), and taken to refer to cutthroat business dealings, but there may be a II רָכַל, the meaning of which is dubious (HALOT 1237 s.v. II *רכל). Some would render it “to go about as a spy.”
[19:16] 119 tn Heb “You shall not stand on the blood of your neighbor.” This part of the verse is also difficult to interpret. The rendering here suggests that one will not allow a neighbor to be victimized, whether in court (cf. v. 15) or in any other situation (see the discussion in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 129).
[19:17] 120 tn Heb “and you will not lift up on him sin.” The meaning of the line is somewhat obscure. It means either (1) that one should rebuke one’s neighbor when he sins lest one also becomes guilty, which is the way it is rendered here (see NIV, NRSV, NEB, JB; see also B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 129-30, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 303, and the discussion on pp. 316-17), or (2) one may rebuke one’s neighbor without incurring sin just as long as he does not hate him in his heart (see the first part of the verse; cf. NASB, NAB).
[19:18] 121 tn Heb “and you shall not retain [anger?].” This line seems to refer to the retaining or maintaining of some vengeful feelings toward someone. Compare the combination of the same terms for taking vengeance and maintaining wrath against enemies in Nahum 1:2 (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 305).
[19:18] 122 sn Some scholars make a distinction between the verb אָהַב (’ahav, “to love”) with the direct object and the more unusual construction with the preposition לְ (lamed) as it is here and in Lev 19:34 and 2 Chr 19:2 only. If there is a distinction, the construction here probably calls for direct and helpful action toward one’s neighbor (see the discussion in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 305, and esp. 317-18). Such love stands in contrast to taking vengeance or bearing a grudge against someone and, in NT terms, amounts to fulfilling the so-called “golden rule” (Matt 7:12).
[19:19] 123 tn Heb “Your animals, you shall not cross-breed two different kinds.”
[19:19] 124 tn Heb “you shall not cause to go up on you.”
[19:19] 125 sn Cf. Deut 22:11 where the Hebrew term translated “two different kinds” (כִּלְאַיִם, kil’ayim) refers to a mixture of linen and wool woven together in a garment.
[19:20] 126 tn Heb “And a man when he lies with a woman the lying of seed.”
[19:20] 127 sn That is, the woman had previously been assigned for marriage to another man but the marriage deal had not yet been consummated. In the meantime, the woman has lost her virginity and has, therefore, lost part of her value to the master in the sale to the man for whom she had been designated. Compensation was, therefore, required (see the explanation in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 130-31).
[19:21] 128 sn On the guilt offering see the note on Lev 5:15 above.
[19:22] 129 tn Heb “on his sin which he has sinned.”
[19:22] 130 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him.”
[19:22] 131 tn Heb “from his sin.”
[19:23] 132 tn Heb “tree of food”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV “trees for food.”
[19:23] 133 tn Heb “you shall circumcise its fruit [as] its foreskin,” taking the fruit to be that which is to be removed and, therefore, forbidden. Since the fruit is uncircumcised it is forbidden (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 306, and esp. B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 131-32).
[19:23] 134 tn Heb “it shall be to you uncircumcised.”
[19:24] 135 tn See B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 132, where the translation reads “set aside for jubilation”; a special celebration before the
[19:25] 136 tn Heb “to add to you its produce.” The rendering here assumes that the point of this clause is simply that finally being allowed to eat the fruit in the fifth year adds the fruit of the tree to their harvest. Some take the verb to be from אָסַף (’asaf, “to gather”) rather than יָסַף (yasaf, “to add; to increase”), rendering the verse, “to gather to you the produce” (E. S. Gerstenberger, Leviticus [OTL], 260, and see the versions referenced in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 306). Others take it to mean that by following the regulations given previously they will honor the
[19:26] 137 tn Heb “You shall not eat on the blood.” See the extensive remarks in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 319-20, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 132-33. The LXX has “on the mountains,” suggesting that this is a prohibition against illegitimate places and occasions of worship, not the eating of blood.
[19:26] 138 tn Heb “You shall not practice divination and you shall not practice soothsaying”; cf. NRSV “practice augury or witchcraft.” For suggestions regarding the practices involved see B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 133, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 320.
[19:27] 139 tc Heb “and you [singular] shall not ruin the corner of your [singular] beard.” Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Tg. Ps.-J. have the plural pronouns (i.e., “you” and “your” plural) rather than the singular of the MT.
[19:28] 140 tn Heb “And slash for the soul you shall not give.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul, person, life”) can sometimes refer to a “dead person” (cf. Lev 21:1, 5; 22:5). See J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 306, 320-21.
[19:28] 141 tn Heb “and a writing of incision you shall not give in you.”
[19:29] 142 tn Heb “to make her practice harlotry.” Some recent English versions regard this as religious or temple prostitution (cf. TEV, CEV).
[19:29] 143 tn Heb “and the land become full of lewdness.” Regarding the term “lewdness,” see the note on Lev 18:17 above.
[19:31] 144 sn The prohibition here concerns those who would seek special knowledge through the spirits of the dead, whether the dead in general or dead relatives in particular (i.e., familiar spirits; see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 321, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 134). Cf. Lev 20:6 below.
[19:33] 145 tn Heb “And when a sojourner sojourns.”
[19:34] 146 tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
[19:35] 147 tn That is, liquid capacity (HALOT 640 s.v. מְשׂוּרָה). Cf. ASV, NIV, NRSV, TEV “quantity”; NAB, NASB “capacity.”
[19:36] 148 tn Heb “balances of righteousness,” and so throughout this sentence.
[19:36] 149 sn An ephah is a dry measure which measures about four gallons, or perhaps one third of a bushel, while a hin is a liquid measure of about 3.6 liters (= approximately 1 quart).
[19:37] 150 tn Heb “And you shall keep all my statutes and all my regulations and you shall do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 386 §120.d, although שָׁמַר [shamar, “to keep”] is not cited there; cf. Lev 22:31).
[20:2] 151 tn Heb “or from the sojourner who sojourns”; NAB “an alien residing in Israel.”
[20:2] 152 tn Heb “his seed” (so KJV, ASV); likewise in vv. 3-4.
[20:2] 153 tn Regarding Molech and Molech worship see the note on Lev 18:21.
[20:2] 154 tn This is not the most frequently-used Hebrew verb for stoning (see instead סָקַל, saqal), but a word that refers to the action of throwing, slinging, or pelting someone with stones (רָגָם, ragam; see HALOT 1187 s.v. רגם qal.a, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 136).
[20:3] 155 tn Heb “And I, I shall give my faces.”
[20:3] 156 sn On the “cut off” penalty see the notes on Lev 7:20 and 17:4.
[20:3] 157 tn Heb “for the sake of defiling my sanctuary and to profane my holy name.”
[20:4] 158 tn Heb “And if shutting [infinitive absolute] they shut [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.
[20:4] 159 tn Heb “from that man” (so ASV); NASB “disregard that man.”
[20:5] 160 tn The adjective “spiritual” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that this is not a reference to literal prostitution, but figuratively compares idolatry to prostitution.
[20:5] 161 tn Heb “to commit harlotry after Molech.” The translation employs “worshiping” here for clarity (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT). On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.
[20:6] 162 sn For structure and coherence in Lev 20:6-27 see the note on v. 27 below.
[20:6] 163 tn See the note on the phrase “familiar spirits” in Lev 19:31 above.
[20:6] 164 tn Heb “I will give my faces.”
[20:8] 165 tn Heb “And you shall keep my statutes and you shall do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 386 §120.d, although שָׁמַר [shamar, “to keep”] is not cited there; cf. Lev 22:31, etc.).
[20:9] 166 sn Compare the regulations in Lev 18:6-23.
[20:9] 167 tn Heb “If a man a man who.”
[20:9] 168 tn Heb “makes light of his father and his mother.” Almost all English versions render this as some variation of “curses his father or mother.”
[20:9] 169 tn Heb “his blood [plural] is in him.” Cf. NAB “he has forfeited his life”; TEV “is responsible for his own death.”
[20:10] 170 tn Heb “And a man who.” The syntax here and at the beginning of the following verses elliptically mirrors that of v. 9, which justifies the rendering as a conditional clause.
[20:10] 171 tc The reading of the LXX minuscule
[20:11] 172 sn See the note on Lev 18:7 above.
[20:11] 173 tn See the note on v. 9 above.
[20:12] 174 tn The Hebrew term תֶּבֶל (tevel, “perversion”) derives from the verb “to mix; to confuse” (cf. KJV, ASV “they have wrought confusion”).
[20:13] 175 tn Heb “[as the] lyings of a woman.” The specific reference here is to homosexual intercourse between males.
[20:14] 176 tn Heb “And a man who takes a woman and her mother.” The Hebrew verb “to take” in this context means “to engage in sexual intercourse.”
[20:14] 177 tn Regarding “lewdness,” see the note on Lev 18:17 above.
[20:14] 178 tn Heb “in fire they shall burn him and them.” The active plural verb sometimes requires a passive translation (GKC 460 §144.f, g), esp. when no active plural subject has been expressed in the context. The present translation specifies “burned to death” because the traditional rendering “burnt with fire” (KJV, ASV; NASB “burned with fire”) could be understood to mean “branded” or otherwise burned, but not fatally.
[20:15] 179 tn See the note on Lev 18:20 above.
[20:16] 180 tn Heb “to copulate with it” (cf. Lev 20:16).
[20:17] 181 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).
[20:17] 182 tn Regarding the “cut off” penalty, see the note on Lev 7:20.
[20:17] 183 tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
[20:18] 184 tn Heb “and the two of them.”
[20:19] 185 tn Heb “his flesh.”
[20:19] 186 tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
[20:21] 187 tn Heb “takes.” The verb “to take” in this context means “to engage in sexual intercourse.”
[20:21] 188 sn See the note on Lev 18:7 above.
[20:22] 189 tn Heb “And you shall keep all my statutes and all my regulations and you shall do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 386 §120.d, although שָׁמַר [shamar, “to keep”] is not cited there; cf. Lev 22:31, etc.).
[20:22] 190 tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
[20:23] 191 tc One medieval Hebrew
[20:24] 192 tc Here and with the same phrase in v. 26, the LXX adds “all,” resulting in the reading “all the peoples.”
[20:25] 193 tn Heb “And you shall distinguish.” The verb is the same as “set apart” at the end of the previous verse. The fact that God had “set them apart” from the other peoples roundabout them called for them to “distinguish between” the clean and the unclean, etc.
[20:25] 194 tn The word “creatures” has been supplied in the translation to make it clear that the following relative clause modifies the animal, bird, or creeping thing mentioned earlier, and not the ground itself.
[20:25] 195 tc The MT has “to defile,” but Smr, LXX, and Syriac have “to uncleanness.”
[20:27] 196 tc Smr, LXX, Syriac, and some Targum
[20:27] 197 tn See the note on the phrase “familiar spirit” in Lev 19:31 above.
[20:27] 198 tn This is not the most frequently-used Hebrew verb for stoning, but a word that refers to the action of throwing, slinging, or pelting someone with stones (see the note on v. 2 above). Smr and LXX have “you [plural] shall pelt them with stones.”
