Leviticus 18:6-12 New English Translation

Laws of Sexual Relations

⁶“‘No man is to approach any close relative^[a] to have sexual relations with her.^[b] I am the Lord.^[c] ⁷You must not^[d] expose your father’s nakedness by having sexual relations with your mother.^[e] She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her. ⁸You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; she is your father’s nakedness.^[f] ⁹You must not have sexual relations with your sister, whether she is your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter,^[g] whether she is born in the same household or born outside it;^[h] you must not have sexual relations with either of them.^[i] ¹⁰You must not expose the nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter by having sexual relations with them, because they are your own nakedness.^[j] ¹¹You must not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife born of your father; she is your sister. You must not have sexual relations with her.^[k] ¹²You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s flesh.^[l]

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Footnotes

Leviticus 18:6 tn Heb “Man, man shall not draw near to any flesh (שְׁאֵר, sh^eʾer) 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 and emphasize the physical familial relatedness (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 282, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 119).
Leviticus 18:6 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 relations 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.
Leviticus 18:6 sn The general statement prohibiting sexual relations between close relatives serves as an opening summary statement for the following section, which gives details concerning which degrees of relationship are specifically forbidden.
Leviticus 18:7 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.
Leviticus 18:7 tn Heb “The nakedness of your father and [i.e., even] the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover.” sn Commentators suggest that the point of referring to the father’s nakedness is that the mother’s sexuality belongs to the father and is forbidden to the son on that account (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 120, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 294). The expression may, however, derive from the shame of nakedness when exposed. If one exposes his mother’s nakedness to himself it is like openly exposing the father’s nakedness (cf. Gen 9:22-23 with the background of Gen 2:25 and 3:7, 21). The same essential construction is used in v. 10 where the latter explanation makes more sense than the former.
Leviticus 18:8 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).
Leviticus 18:9 tn Heb “the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother.”
Leviticus 18:9 tn Heb “born of house or born of outside.” CEV interprets as “whether you grew up together or not” (cf. also TEV, NLT).
Leviticus 18:9 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.tn For a smooth English translation “either of” was added.
Leviticus 18:10 sn That is, to have sexual relations with one’s granddaughter would be like openly exposing one’s own shameful nakedness (see the note on v. 7 above).
Leviticus 18:11 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.
Leviticus 18:12 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.

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