Leviticus 18

Following Leviticus 17, which deals with regulations concerning the place of sacrifice and the use of blood, chapter 18 begins a series of statutes on sexuality and family life. The penalties for violating these same prohibitions appear in Leviticus 20. Scholars sometimes group chapters 17–26 together as the "Holiness Code."

Outline

• Verses 1–5: The LORD speaks to Moses. Israel is not to follow the customs of Egypt, where they had lived, or of Canaan, which they are about to enter, but is to keep the LORD's statutes and judgments; if a man does them, he shall live in them.
• Verses 6–18: Sexual relations with close relatives, described as "uncovering the nakedness," are prohibited. The list proceeds in order: mother, stepmother, sister and half-sister, granddaughter through a son or a daughter, paternal and maternal aunts, a paternal uncle's wife, daughter-in-law, a brother's wife, taking both a woman and her daughter or granddaughter, and taking a wife's sister while the wife is still living.
• Verses 19–23: Relations with a woman during menstruation, adultery with a neighbor's wife, making one's children pass through the fire to Molech, sexual relations between men, and intercourse with animals are prohibited.
• Verses 24–30: The LORD declares that the nations about to be driven out had defiled themselves by these practices, and that the land itself was defiled and "vomiteth out" its inhabitants. Both native Israelites and the strangers who sojourn among them must keep these laws, and whoever violates them shall be cut off from among their people (that is, removed from the community).

Key Verses

• Leviticus 18:3: "After the doings of the land of Egypt … shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan … shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances." This introduction frames the entire chapter as a call to a life set apart from the surrounding nations.
• Leviticus 18:5: "Which if a man do, he shall live in them." Quoted in the New Testament in Romans 10:5 and Galatians 3:12, this verse became a foundational text for discussing the relationship between law and faith.
• Leviticus 18:22: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind." This verse is frequently cited in present-day discussions within the church concerning homosexuality.

People and Places

• The LORD: The God of Israel, who speaks the laws of this chapter.
• Moses: The one who receives the word and delivers it to the children of Israel.
• Egypt: The land where Israel had been in bondage, mentioned as one source of customs not to be followed.
• Canaan: The land Israel is about to enter, whose inhabitants' customs are named as prohibited.
• Molech: A foreign deity associated with the offering of children by fire.

Points for Reflection

• Application of the law: The Reformed tradition divides Old Testament law into moral, ceremonial, and civil law, and it often regards most of this chapter's prohibitions against incest, adultery, same-sex relations, and bestiality as moral law that remains binding today. The menstruation regulation in verse 19, by contrast, is sometimes viewed differently because of its connection to the purity laws. Views on this threefold classification itself also vary among denominations and scholars. For further detail, see Law and Gospel.
• Interpretation of verse 22: Most denominations in Korea read this verse as a prohibition of same-sex intercourse that remains valid today. Some progressive theologians argue that it should be read within the context of ancient cultic practice or the social setting of the time. A fuller discussion is found in Homosexuality and the Church.
• The marriages of the patriarchs: Abraham married his half-sister Sarah, and Jacob married two sisters, Rachel and Leah. Traditionally, these marriages are explained as having taken place before the law was given.
• Verse 16 and levirate marriage: Deuteronomy 25:5–10 requires a man to marry his brother's widow if the brother dies without children; this is generally understood as an exception to verse 16.
• Connections with the New Testament: Verse 8 forms the background to 1 Corinthians 5, which rebukes a man who had taken his father's wife. Verse 16 is connected to the episode in which John the Baptist rebuked Herod for taking his brother's wife (Mark 6:18; see Herodias). Some scholars interpret the "fornication" forbidden to Gentile believers in Acts 15:28–29 in connection with the prohibitions of this chapter.

In the Korean Church

This chapter is frequently cited, together with Leviticus 20:13, in sermons and denominational statements addressing homosexuality. Leviticus 18:5 is also treated in expositions of Romans and Galatians as a verse that illuminates the relationship between law and gospel.