Discovery BoxLeviticus 20:1-21
Context20:1 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 1 who gives any of his children 2 to Molech 3 must be put to death; the people of the land must pelt him with stones. 4 20:3 I myself will set my face 5 against that man and cut him off from the midst of his people, 6 because he has given some of his children to Molech and thereby defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. 7 20:4 If, however, the people of the land shut their eyes 8 to that man 9 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, 10 to commit prostitution by worshiping Molech. 11
20:6 “‘The person who turns to the spirits of the dead and familiar spirits 13 to commit prostitution by going after them, I will set my face 14 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. 15 I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
20:9 “‘If anyone 17 curses his father and mother 18 he must be put to death. He has cursed his father and mother; his blood guilt is on himself. 19 20:10 If a man 20 commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, 21 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. 22 Both of them must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. 23 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; 24 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, 25 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, 26 it is lewdness. 27 Both he and they must be burned to death, 28 so there is no lewdness in your midst. 20:15 If a man has sexual intercourse 29 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, 30 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 31 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. 32 He has exposed his sister’s nakedness; he will bear his punishment for iniquity. 33 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 34 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. 35 They must bear their punishment for iniquity. 36 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 37 his brother’s wife, it is indecency. He has exposed his brother’s nakedness; 38 they will be childless.
[20:2] 1 tn Heb “or from the sojourner who sojourns”; NAB “an alien residing in Israel.”
[20:2] 2 tn Heb “his seed” (so KJV, ASV); likewise in vv. 3-4.
[20:2] 3 tn Regarding Molech and Molech worship see the note on Lev 18:21.
[20:2] 4 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] 5 tn Heb “And I, I shall give my faces.”
[20:3] 6 sn On the “cut off” penalty see the notes on Lev 7:20 and 17:4.
[20:3] 7 tn Heb “for the sake of defiling my sanctuary and to profane my holy name.”
[20:4] 8 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] 9 tn Heb “from that man” (so ASV); NASB “disregard that man.”
[20:5] 10 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] 11 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] 12 sn For structure and coherence in Lev 20:6-27 see the note on v. 27 below.
[20:6] 13 tn See the note on the phrase “familiar spirits” in Lev 19:31 above.
[20:6] 14 tn Heb “I will give my faces.”
[20:8] 15 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] 16 sn Compare the regulations in Lev 18:6-23.
[20:9] 17 tn Heb “If a man a man who.”
[20:9] 18 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] 19 tn Heb “his blood [plural] is in him.” Cf. NAB “he has forfeited his life”; TEV “is responsible for his own death.”
[20:10] 20 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] 21 tc The reading of the LXX minuscule
[20:11] 22 sn See the note on Lev 18:7 above.
[20:11] 23 tn See the note on v. 9 above.
[20:12] 24 tn The Hebrew term תֶּבֶל (tevel, “perversion”) derives from the verb “to mix; to confuse” (cf. KJV, ASV “they have wrought confusion”).
[20:13] 25 tn Heb “[as the] lyings of a woman.” The specific reference here is to homosexual intercourse between males.
[20:14] 26 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] 27 tn Regarding “lewdness,” see the note on Lev 18:17 above.
[20:14] 28 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] 29 tn See the note on Lev 18:20 above.
[20:16] 30 tn Heb “to copulate with it” (cf. Lev 20:16).
[20:17] 31 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] 32 tn Regarding the “cut off” penalty, see the note on Lev 7:20.
[20:17] 33 tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
[20:18] 34 tn Heb “and the two of them.”
[20:19] 35 tn Heb “his flesh.”
[20:19] 36 tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
[20:21] 37 tn Heb “takes.” The verb “to take” in this context means “to engage in sexual intercourse.”
