| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Leviticus
Chapter Twenty
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 20
In
this chapter several laws are, repeated, enforced with a penalty annexed to
them, and the breach them made capital, to deter from it, as giving seed to
Molech, Leviticus 20:1;
going after such that have familiar spirits, or are wizards, Leviticus 20:6; by
shunning which, and other sins, a regard would be shown to holiness, Leviticus 20:7;
such as cursing parents, Leviticus 20:9;
committing adultery, Leviticus 20:10;
incestuous copulations, and marriages, and beastly actions, Leviticus 20:11;
all which it became the Israelites to avoid, lest, when come into the land of
Canaan, they should be cast out of it, as the old inhabitants were for the same
things, Leviticus 20:22;
and therefore, that they might appear to be a distinct people from others, they
were to put a difference between clean and unclean creatures, Leviticus 20:25;
and the chapter is closed with a law, making it death for any person to have a
familiar spirit, or to be a wizard, Leviticus 19:27.
Leviticus 20:1. Then
the Lord
spoke to Moses, saying,
YLT 1And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... After he had
delivered the above laws to him in the preceding chapter, he added penalties,
to many of them, or declared what punishment should be inflicted on the
transgressors of them:
saying; as follows.
Leviticus 20:2.
2 “Again, you shall say to
the children of Israel: ‘Whoever of the children of Israel, or of the strangers
who dwell in Israel, who gives any of his descendants to Molech, he
shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with
stones.
YLT 2`And unto the sons of Israel thou dost say,
Any man of the sons of Israel, and of the sojourners who is sojourning in
Israel, who giveth of his seed to the Molech, is certainly put to death; the
people of the land do stone him with stones;
Again thou shalt say to the children of Israel,.... The body
of the people by their elders, and the heads of their tribes; for the following
laws were binding on them all:
whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the
strangers that sojourn in Israel; everyone of the people
of Israel, of whatsoever age, sex, or condition of life: and not they only, but
the strangers and proselytes; and not the proselytes of righteousness only, but
the proselytes of the gate, who, as well as the others, were to shun idolatry,
and other impieties and immoralities after mentioned:
that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; which Aben
Ezra interprets of lying with an idolatrous woman, or a worshipper of Molech,
the abomination or idol of the Ammonites, 1 Kings 11:7; of
which see Leviticus 18:21;
but more than that is here intended, or even than causing their seed or
offspring to pass through the fire to Molech, as in the place referred to; more
is meant by it than a lustration of them, or a dedicating them to Molech, by
delivering them to his priests to lead them between two fires for that purpose,
but even the sacrificing of them to him; and so the Targum of Jonathan seems to
understand it, which is,"that makes (or sacrifices) of his seed Molech to
be burnt in the fire:'for that the Phoenicians or Canaanites, whose customs the
Israelites were in danger of imitating, and therefore cautioned against, did
sacrifice human creatures, and these the dearest to them, even their beloved
and only begotten children, to Saturn, is certain, as PorphyryF25De
Abstinent. l. 2. c. 56. and EusebiusF26De laudibus Constantin. c.
13. p. 646. Vid. Suidam in voce σαρδανιος. affirm, or to
Hercules, as PlinyF1Nat. Hist. l. 36. c. 5. , and both the same with
Molech, or the sun:
he shall surely be put to death; by the hand of the civil
magistrate, which death was to be by stoning, as follows:
the people of the land shall stone him with stones: that is, the
people of the house of Israel, as both the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan;
such as lived in that part of the country where the idolater lived, and where
he committed the sin, or was condemned for it; of the manner of stoning; see
Gill on Acts 7:58.
Leviticus 20:3.
3 I will set My face against
that man, and will cut him off from his people, because he has given some
of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name.
YLT 3and I -- I set My face against that man, and
have cut him off from the midst of his people, for of his seed he hath given to
the Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary, and to pollute My holy name.
And I will set my face against that man,.... Express
resentment, anger, wrath, and indignation at him, see Psalm 34:16,
and will cut him off from among his people: that is,
supposing him to have been guilty of the above horrid crime, and there being
not sufficient evidence given of it by witnesses, or the magistrates negligent
in doing their duty; and the matter being known to God the omniscient, he,
according this declaration, would deal with him himself, and cut him off out of
the land of the living, from among his relations, friends, and neighbours, by
his own immediate hand; otherwise the law before provided a penalty, which is
death by stoning, whereby he would be effectually cut off from his people, and
deprived of all natural, civil, and religious privileges in this life, and sent
into everlasting punishment in another, unless forgiving grace should be
vouchsafed:
because he hath given of his seed to Molech; an iniquity
to be punished by the judge, and deserving of everlasting wrath and
destruction:
to defile my sanctuary; not by doing this horrid
action in it, but by coming into it, having done it; or by offering sacrifice
in another place than where God had commanded, as well as such a sacrifice as
was abominable to him, sacrifice being to be offered nowhere but on the altar
of the Lord in the sanctuary. Jarchi interprets this of the congregation of
Israel, which was sanctified to the Lord, in the midst of which this wickedness
was committed, and with which they were polluted:
and to profane my holy name: by sacrificing to an
idol, when sacrifice should be offered to God; and such a sacrifice as would
cause the name of God, and his holy laws, and true religion, to be blasphemed
and evil, spoken of among the Gentiles, Romans 2:23.
Leviticus 20:4.
4 And if the people of the
land should in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some
of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him,
YLT 4`And if the people of the land really hide
their eyes from that man, in his giving of his seed to the Molech, so as not to
put him to death,
And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the
man,.... That is, the people of the house of Israel, as the Targums
of Onkelos and Jonathan; if the friends, relations, and neighbours of such a
man, though they know what he is about to do, or has done, yet they shut their
eyes wilfully, or look another way; or, however, wink and connive at his
wickedness, and will not discover him, and bear witness against him; or if a
court of judicature, before whom he comes, does not take the evidence of his
crime, nor condemn for it, or are negligent in punishing him as the law
directs, a gift having blinded their eyes, or they careless and remiss in their
duty:
when he giveth his seed unto Molech; a crime so heinous and
abominable:
and kill him not; do not bring witness against him, so as
that he may be put to death, or do not upon the evidence given condemn him to
death, or do not take care to have sentence executed, by stoning him to death.
Leviticus 20:5.
5 then I will set My face
against that man and against his family; and I will cut him off from his
people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with
Molech.
YLT 5then I have set My face against that man, and
against his family, and have cut him off, and all who are going a-whoring after
him, even going a-whoring after the Molech, from the midst of their people.
Then I will set my face against that man,.... That man
that sees him do the fact, and winks at it, or the judge that connives at him,
and will not condemn him, as well as the man that has committed the iniquity:
and against his family; either the family of the
witness, who could and should have testified against him, or of the judge
negligent of his office, or of the man himself, whose family must be privy to
so shocking an action, and were abettors of it, and aiders and assisters in it;
and so Onkelos renders it, "and his helpers":
and will cut him off: the head of the family,
whether judge, witness, or the criminal himself:
and all that go a whoring after him: that commit the like
idolatry after his example, and encouraged to it by the connivance of others at
it:
to commit whoredom with Molech; that is, idolatry, which
is spiritual whoredom, and often so called in Scripture, and with great
propriety; for since God had espoused these people to himself, and was their
husband, as he was from the time of his bringing them out of Egypt, and making
a covenant with them, Jeremiah 31:32; and
their sacrificing to and serving other gods being a breach of their matrimonial
covenant with him, it was no other than whoredom in a spiritual sense, for
which he threatens to cut them off:
from among their people; by an immature death,
even all that were guilty of such abominable actions, or made themselves
accessory to them, by any ways conniving at them, either as judges or
witnesses.
Leviticus 20:6. 6 ‘And
the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself
with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his
people.
YLT 6`And the person who turneth unto those having
familiar spirits, and unto the wizards, to go a-whoring after them, I have even
set My face against that person, and cut him off from the midst of his people.
The soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits,.... The man
or woman that has respect unto them, seeks after them, and inquires of them, in
order to get knowledge of things:
and after wizards who pretend to tell fortunes, and discover
lost and stolen goods; see Gill on Leviticus 19:31,
to go a whoring after them; for to consult them is
to forsake the Lord, and have recourse to Satan and his instruments; to
relinquish their trust in God, and put confidence in them, and attribute such
things to them as only belong to God, even the knowledge of things future; and
this is to commit idolatry, which is spiritual adultery:
I will even set my face against that soul; show like
resentment and indignation as at him that gives his seed to Molech:
and will cut him off from among his people; in case his
people do not bear witness against him, but hide their eyes, and wink at his
crimes, or the civil magistrate does not condemn and punish him; the Targum of
Jonathan is,"I will destroy him by the pestilence.'
Leviticus 20:7. 7 Consecrate
yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.
YLT 7`And ye have sanctified yourselves, and ye have
been holy, for I [am] Jehovah your God;
Sanctify yourselves therefore,.... By abstaining from
such impious and idolatrous practices, and separating themselves from all that
gave into them, as well as by observing the holy commandments of the Lord;
otherwise internal sanctification is not the work of man, but of the Lord
himself, as in Leviticus 20:8,
and be ye holy; or a separate people from all others in worship
and conversation:
for I am the Lord your God; who is a holy God, and
therefore it became them to be holy, in imitation of him, Leviticus 19:2.
Leviticus 20:8. 8 And
you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the Lord who sanctifies
you.
YLT 8and ye have kept My statutes and have done
them; I [am] Jehovah, sanctifying you.
And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them,.... Not only
those respecting the above things, but all others, which would be a means of
preserving them from sin, and of promoting holiness in their lives and
conversations:
I am the Lord which sanctify you: who had
separated and distinguished them from all other people on earth, and who had
given them holy laws, as the means of holiness; and who only could and did
sanctify internally, by his Spirit and grace, such or them as were sanctified
in heart, as well as outwardly.
Leviticus 20:9. 9 ‘For
everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He
has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him.
YLT 9`For any man who revileth his father and his
mother is certainly put to death; his father and his mother he hath reviled:
his blood [is] on him.
For everyone that curseth his father or his mother,.... Here
begins the account of the penalties annexed to the several laws in the
preceding chapter; and that respecting the fear and honour of parents being the
first, Leviticus 19:3, is
here begun with:
shall surely be put to death; the Targum of Jonathan
adds,"by casting of stones,'stoning being the punishment of such
transgressors:
he hath cursed his father or his mother: to do either
is his sin, and a capital crime it is:
his blood shall be upon him: he shall be guilty of
death, be condemned unto it, and punished with it, namely, by stoning; for, as
Jarchi observes, wherever it is, "his blood shall be on him",
or "their blood shall be on them", it is to be understood of stoning.
Leviticus 20:10. 10 ‘The
man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits
adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall
surely be put to death.
YLT 10`And a man who committeth adultery with a
man's wife -- who committeth adultery with the wife of his neighbour -- the
adulterer and the adulteress are surely put to death.
And the man that committeth adultery with another man's
wife,.... Which is a breach of the seventh command, Exodus 20:14,
even he that
committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife: which is only an
explanation of the former clause; though the Jewish writers, as Jarchi and Ben
Gersom, say this is so expressed to except the wife of a stranger, or a
Gentile; but it means whether a Gentile or an Israelite; and which may be
confirmed by the instance of Phinehas slaying a prince of Israel, that lay with
a Midianitish woman, Numbers 25:6,
the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death; on account of
her that is espoused, by strangling, with a hard napkin within a soft one; and
on account of her that is married, by casting stones; even both the adulterer
and adulteress, as the Targum: and the Jews sayF2Misn. Sanhedrin, c.
7. sect. 3. , strangling was thus performed; they that were strangled were
fixed up to their knees in dung, and then they put a hard napkin within a soft
one, and rolled it about his neck, and one drew it to him this way, and another
drew it to him that way, until he expired: and there is no unlawful copulation
punished with strangling, according to MaimonidesF3Hilchot lssure
Biah, c. 1. sect. 6. , but lying with another man's wife; and who observes,
that the death which is spoken of in the law absolutely, that is, without
specifying any kind of death, is strangling; but stoning seems rather meant,
agreeably to Deuteronomy 22:24.
Leviticus 20:11. 11 The man who lies with his
father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely
be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.
YLT 11`And a man who lieth with his father's wife
-- the nakedness of his father he hath uncovered -- both of them are certainly
put to death; their blood [is] on them.
And the man that lieth with his father's wife,.... Whether
she be his mother, or another woman, as the Targum of Jonathan; that is,
whether she is his own mother, or a stepmother, or whether he did this in the
lifetime of his father, or after his death, or whether she was betrothed or
married, it mattered not; according to the Jewish traditionF4Misn.
ut supra, (Sanhedrin, c. 7.) sect. 4. , this is a breach of the law, Leviticus 18:8; and
a man guilty of this
hath uncovered his father's nakedness; and which is
a foul and shameful piece of wickedness; the penalty follows:
both of them shall be put to death; by casting stones on
them, as the Targum of Jonathan adds; for, as before observed, wherever the
following phrase:
their blood shall be upon them, is used,
stoning is meant; and so, according to the MisnahF5lbid. , all those
were to be stoned, after mentioned, of whom this phrase is used.
Leviticus 20:12. 12 If
a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death.
They have committed perversion. Their blood shall be upon them.
YLT 12`And a man who lieth with his daughter-in-law
-- both of them are certainly put to death; confusion they have made; their
blood [is] on them.
If a man lie with his daughter in law,.... His son's
wife, whether in the lifetime of his son, or after his death, or whether she
was espoused or married, according to the above traditionF6Misn. ut
supra. (Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 4.) :
both of them shall surely be put to death; it being a
breach of the law in Leviticus 18:15;
and this is the penalty annexed to it, even death:
they have wrought confusion: have been guilty of a
shocking and shameful mixture, as Jarchi and Ben Gersom, as well as confounded
the degrees of relation and affinity:
their blood shall be upon them; it being a
capital crime, their, blood shall be shed for it; they shall be found guilty of
death by stoning, as the Targum of Jonathan.
Leviticus 20:13. 13 If
a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an
abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be
upon them.
YLT 13`And a man who lieth with a male as one lieth
with a woman; abomination both of them have done; they are certainly put to
death; their blood [is] on them.
If a man lie also with mankind, as he lieth with a woman,.... Is guilty
of the sin of sodomy, this is a breach of the law in Leviticus 18:22,
both of them have committed an abomination; he that lies,
and he that is lain with, both consenting to perpetrate the abominable
wickedness; which may well be called an abomination, being contrary to nature,
and more than brutish, for nothing of that kind is to be found among brutes:
they shall surely be put to death; if he that is lain with
is not forced, as Aben Ezra observes:
their blood shall be upon them; be slain by
stoning, as the above Targum.
Leviticus 20:14. 14 If
a man marries a woman and her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be
burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you.
YLT 14`And a man who taketh the woman and her
mother -- it [is] wickedness; with fire they burn him and them, and there is no
wickedness in your midst.
And if a man take a wife, and her mother,.... Marry
both the one and the other, or commit uncleanness with them, they consenting to
it:
it is wickedness; abominable wickedness,
shocking and detestable; there are other things, which also are wicked and not
to be done, but this is extremely wicked, wickedness to a high degree:
they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; the man, the
mother and her daughter both being married together to him, or both consenting
to his lying with them; otherwise, if one of them was first his wife, it was
not reasonable that she should be put to death; and therefore some interpret
"they", one of them, as Jarchi observes, one or other of them; and so
Aben Ezra explains it, this or that; if the mother was his wife, the daughter
was to be burnt; and so on the contrary, if the daughter was his wife, the
mother was to be burnt; according to the Targum of Jonathan, they were to be
burnt by pouring lead into their mouths: and so the manner of burning is
described in the MisnahF7Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 2. ; they that are
to be burnt are fixed in dung up to their knees, then they put a hard napkin
within a soft one, and roll it about is neck; one draws it one way, and another
another way, until he opens his mouth; then they take hot melted lead, and pour
it into his mouth, which goes down into his bowels and burns them. But it was
rather done with faggots, of which an instance is given:
that there be no wickedness among you; of such kind,
continued, countenanced, and pass unpunished. This punishment was to be
inflicted, to deter persons from it. The law against it is in Leviticus 18:17.
Leviticus 20:15. 15 If
a man mates with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill
the animal.
YLT 15`And a man who giveth his lying with a beast
is certainly put to death, and the beast ye do slay.
If a man lie with a beast,.... A sin quite
unnatural, exceeding shocking and detestable, forbid Leviticus 18:23,
he shall surely be put to death: by stoning, as the
Targum of Jonathan adds; and this is the death such are condemned to in the
MisnahF8Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 4. :
and ye shall slay the beast; with clubs, as says the
Targum of Jonathan; the reasons given in the MisnahF9Ibid. , why the
beast was to be slain, are, because ruin came to the man by means of it, and
that it might not be said, as it passed along the streets, that is the beast
for which such an one was stoned. Aben Ezra says it was to be slain, that it
might not cause others to sin; and he adds, there are that say it was to cover
the reproach: no doubt the true reason was to deter the more from this
detestable sin, that if a beast, which was only accessory to it, and an
instrument of it, was put to death, of how much sorer punishment must the man
that committed it be worthy of, even of eternal wrath and destruction, and,
unless repented of and forgiven, must be expected by him?
Leviticus 20:16. 16 If
a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and
the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them.
YLT 16`And a woman who draweth near unto any beast
to lie with it -- thou hast even slain the woman and the beast; they are
certainly put to death; their blood [is] on them.
And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto,.... In order
that the beast may lie with her, and solicit it to commit such an action with
her, see Leviticus 18:23,
thou shall kill the woman and the beast: the woman by
stoning, and the beast with clubs, as the Targum of Jonathan; and this for the
same reasons as before, as well as to prevent monstrous births:
they shall surely be put to death; both the one and the
other, and not spared:
their blood shall be upon them; they are
guilty of a capital crime, a crime which deserves death; this must be
understood of the man that lies with a beast, and of the woman; for as for the
beast itself, as it is not capable of sinning, so not of guilt, in a proper
sense.
Leviticus 20:17. 17 ‘If
a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and
sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a wicked thing. And
they shall be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered his
sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his guilt.
YLT 17`And a man who taketh his sister, a daughter
of his father or daughter of his mother, and he hath seen her nakedness, and
she seeth his nakedness: it is a shame; and they have been cut off before the
eyes of the sons of their people; the nakedness of his sister he hath
uncovered; his iniquity he beareth.
And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his
mother's daughter,.... Take her to be his wife, or commit lewdness with her,
whether she be his sister by both father and mother's side, or whether by one
only, either way she is his sister, and it is not lawful to marry her, or lie
with her, see Leviticus 18:9,
and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; which is not
to be understood of an immodest view, exposing to each other what should not be
seen, and pleasing themselves wills such obscene sights, but of the act of
lying together, for so it is afterwards explained by a phrase frequently used
to express that action by; and it denotes, as Aben Ezra observes, their mutual
consent and agreement in it:
it is a wicked thing; and by no means to be
done; it is a breach of a former law, it is a scandalous and reproachful thing,
and the word is sometimes used for reproach, as in Proverbs 14:34,
and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people; by death,
either by the hand of the civil magistrate, or by the hand of God, by the
pestilence, as the Targum of Jonathan; Ben Gersom interprets it, of their dying
childless, as in some following cases, Leviticus 20:20,
he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; or lay with
her, which explains a preceding clause:
he shall bear his iniquity; the punishment of it,
and he alone, as Aben Ezra observes.
Leviticus 20:18. 18 If
a man lies with a woman during her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has
exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them
shall be cut off from their people.
YLT 18`And a man who lieth with a sick woman, and
hath uncovered her nakedness, her fountain he hath made bare, and she hath
uncovered the fountain of her blood, -- even both of them have been cut off
from the midst of their people.
And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness,.... Her
monthly courses, which make her weak and languid, which is forbidden, Leviticus 18:19;
this is not to be understood of a man's lying with his wife ignorantly, when in
such a condition, for this being the case, he was only unclean seven days, Leviticus 15:24;
whereas this made him and her liable to cutting off, as in an after clause; but
of his lying with her, knowing this to be the case with her, and of which she
could not be ignorant, and therefore both liable to the same punishment; or
else of any other man lying with her, or of any man lying with any woman,
married or unmarried, being in such circumstances:
and shall uncover her nakedness; that is, have carnal
knowledge of her:
he hath discovered her fountain; from whence her issue of
blood flows: and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood; freely and
willingly, as Aben Ezra observes; for if she had been forced, he alone would
have been cut off; but both these phrases put together show agreement in this
matter, that they both had knowledge of her case, and both consented to commit
the sin:
and both of them shall be cut off from among their people; by death,
either by the hand of the civil magistrate, the case being known and proved, or
else by the hand of God being known by mortality or the pestilence, as the
Targum of Jonathan, or they should die childless; See Gill on Leviticus 20:17.
Leviticus 20:19. 19 ‘You
shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister nor of your father’s
sister, for that would uncover his near of kin. They shall bear their guilt.
YLT 19`And the nakedness of thy mother's sister,
and of thy father's sister, thou dost not uncover; because his relation he hath
made bare; their iniquity they bear.
And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister,
nor of thy father's sister,.... An aunt either by mother or father's
side, against which the law is, Leviticus 18:13,
for he uncovereth his near kin; as an aunt is to a man,
and so an uncle to a woman, and both equally criminal; for it is a rule that
holds good in all those cases, though not expressed, that what is binding upon
one sex is upon the other, being in the same degree of relation, whether of
consanguinity or affinity:
they shall bear their iniquity; "both" of
them, as the Vulgate Latin version, the man and his aunt, and so a woman and
her uncle:
the guilt of their sin shall be upon them, and the
punishment of it be inflicted on them; either they should be cut off from their
people, as before, or be childless, as in the following instances.
Leviticus 20:20. 20 If
a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness. They
shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.
YLT 20`And a man who lieth with his aunt, the
nakedness of his uncle he hath uncovered; their sin they bear; childless they
die.
And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife,.... His uncle
being dead, and he marry her, which is forbidden, Leviticus 18:14,
he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: his wife's,
which was his, and therefore the kindred too near for a man to marry in, and
such a copulation must be incestuous:
they shall bear their sin; "both" of
them, as the Vulgate Latin, as before, Leviticus 20:19;
the punishment of it, as follows:
they shall be childless; which Jarchi and other
Jewish writers interpret, if they had any children at this time, that is, by a
former marriage, they should die and be buried before them, which was reckoned
a great punishment, see Jeremiah 22:30.
Leviticus 20:21. 21 If a man takes his
brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing. He has uncovered his brother’s
nakedness. They shall be childless.
YLT 21`And a man who taketh his brother's wife --
it [is] impurity; the nakedness of his brother he hath uncovered; childless
they are.
And if a man shall take his brother's wife,.... To his
wife, whether in his life, as the Targum of Jonathan adds, or whether after his
death, unless when there is no issue, then he was obliged to it by another law,
Deuteronomy 25:5;
which is now ceased, and the law in Leviticus 18:16;
here referred to, stands clear of all exceptions:
it is an unclean thing; or a
"separation"F11נדה
"separatio", Drusius, from which a man should remove and keep at a
distance, as from menstruous women, of whom this word is used; and so denotes
that it is by all means to be avoided, as an abominable and detestable thing;
and it is observed that of all copulations it is only used of this: and the
Jewish writers, as Aben Ezra and others, observe that this case is somewhat
like that of a menstruous woman, who in the time of her separation is unlawful,
but when out of it lawful; and so, in this case, a brother's wife might not be
taken, he being alive; but after his death she might, if she had no son,
according to the law before referred to, but that is now abolished:
he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; his wife's,
which was his brother's; which through nearness of kin, he ought not to have
done; and the same holds good of a wife's sister, the relation being the same:
they shall be childless; they shall have none by
such a marriage or copulation, and die without any; and as this supposes the
brother's wife to have children by her first husband, or otherwise while the
Jewish law lasted, it would not have been unlawful to marry her husband's
brother; the meaning may be, that these should die before them, or rather, as
some think, those that might be born of such a marriage should not be reckoned
legitimate, and so not inherit.
Leviticus 20:22. 22 ‘You
shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them,
that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out.
YLT 22`And ye have kept all My statutes, and all My
judgments, and have done them, and the land vomiteth you not out whither I am
bringing you in to dwell in it;
Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes,.... All the
ordinances, institutions, and appointments of God, whether observed in this
chapter or elsewhere, but particularly those concerning incestuous marriages
and unlawful copulations:
and all my judgments, and do them; all the laws and
commandments of God, founded injustice and judgment, and according to the rules
thereof; or else, as Aben Ezra, the judgments of punishment, or the penalties
annexed to the above laws, which were carefully to be observed, and put into
execution, to deter from the transgression of them:
that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spew you not
out; as the stomach does its food when it is loathsome and nauseous
to it, and it cannot bear it; see Leviticus 18:25.
Leviticus 20:23. 23 And
you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before
you; for they commit all these things, and therefore I abhor them.
YLT 23and ye walk not in the statutes of the nation
which I am sending away from before you, for all these they have done, and I am
wearied with them;
And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation which I cast
out before you,.... Nation seems to be put for nations, for there were seven
nations cast out for them; though the Canaanites may be intended, being a
general name for the whole: some think the Amorites are meant, who were a
principal nation, and notorious for their wickedness: hence we often meet with
this phrase in Jewish writings, "the way of the Amorites", as being
exceeding bad, and so to be avoided, and by no means to be walked in, Genesis 15:16,
for they committed all these things; were guilty of all the
idolatries, incests, and uncleannesses before mentioned, and forbid under
severe penalties:
and therefore I abhorred them; the sins committed by
them, being so abominable and detestable: their persons, though the creatures
of God, were had in abhorrence by him, and this he showed by casting them out
of the land; and hereby it is suggested, that, should they, the Israelites, be
guilty of the like, they also would be rejected and abhorred by him: the
Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan are,"my Word abhorred them,'Christ, the
eternal Word, Psalm 45:7.
Leviticus 20:24. 24 But
I have said to you, “You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to
possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who
has separated you from the peoples.
YLT 24and I say to you, Ye -- ye do possess their
ground, and I -- I give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and
honey; I [am] Jehovah your God, who hath separated you from the peoples.
But I have said unto you, ye shall inherit the land,.... Promised
it unto them, as he had to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and also
to them; or he had said the above things unto them, that they, observing them,
might possess the land of Canaan, and continue therein, which is the sense of
the Targum of Jonathan: the Jews say, that the right of inheritance belonged to
them, from Shem the son of Noah, whose portion it was, and which they gather
from Melchizedek being king of Salem, whom they take to be Shem; and they say,
the Canaanites only dwelt in it to make it better, till they should come and
inherit it:
and I will give it unto you to possess it; in whose gift
it was, and who had a right to dispose of it; and could give them a good title
to it, and secure them in the possession of it:
a land that floweth with milk and honey; abounding
with all good things, with all the comforts of life, with everything both for
necessity and delight; see Exodus 3:8,
I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other
people; had chosen them above all people, to be a special and peculiar
people to him; had distinguished them by his favours, and had given them
particular laws and ordinances, to observe and walk according to them,
different from all other nations, which it became them carefully to regard.
Leviticus 20:25. 25 You
shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean
birds and clean, and you shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by
bird, or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have
separated from you as unclean.
YLT 25`And ye have made separation between the pure
beasts and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the pure, and ye do
not make yourselves abominable by beast or by fowl, or by anything which
creepeth [on] the ground which I have separated to you for unclean;
Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean,.... The ten
clean ones, as Aben Ezra observes, and all the rest that are unclean, according
to the law before given, Leviticus 11:3, by
using the one for food, and not the other, and so the Targum of Jonathan, ye
shall separate between the beast which is fit for food, and that which is not
fit for food:
and between unclean fowls and clean; and which the same
Targum interprets, what is unfit to eat and what is fit, even all that are
particularly mentioned as unclean, and not fit for food, in Leviticus 11:13 and
all the rest not excepted to as clean and fit for food, which was one way and
means God made use of to separate them from other nations, and so preserve them
from their idolatrous and evil works:
and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl,
or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground; that is, by
eating them, contrary to the command of God, which would make them abominable
in his sight; see Leviticus 11:43;
every sin or transgression of this law being so to him:
which I have separated from you as unclean; which by law
he had commanded them to abstain from the use of, as clean, and not fit to be
eaten.
Leviticus 20:26. 26 And
you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have
separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.
YLT 26and ye have been holy to Me; for holy [am] I,
Jehovah; and I separate you from the peoples to become Mine.
And ye shall be holy unto me,.... Separated from all
unclean persons and things, and devoted to his service, and obedient to all his
commands, and so live holy lives and conversations, according to his will, and
to his honour and glory:
for I the Lord am holy; and therefore they, his
people, should be like him, and imitate him, and observe those things which are
agreeable to his holy nature and will, and yield a cheerful obedience to his
holy precepts:
and have severed you from other people, that ye should be
mine; which is a very forcible argument, a strong motive, and which
laid them under great obligation to obedience and holiness.
Leviticus 20:27. 27 ‘A
man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be
put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be
upon them.’”
YLT 27`And a man or woman -- when there is in them
a familiar spirit, or who [are] wizards -- are certainly put to death; with
stones they stone them; their blood [is] on them.'
A man also or a woman that hath a familiar spirit,.... Or the
spirit of Python or divination, see Leviticus 19:31;
such as the damsel had in Acts 16:16; a woman
is here particularly mentioned, though before included in the above law;
because, as Aben Ezra says, such sort of practices were more frequently
committed by women; to which MaimonidesF12Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c.
37. adds another reason, because men have a natural clemency towards the female
sex, and are not easily prevailed upon to put them to death; therefore the law
says, "thou shall not suffer a witch to live", Exodus 22:18,
or that is a wizard; a knowing one, who
pretends to a great deal of knowledge of things; as of lost or stolen goods,
and even knowledge of things future, and imposes upon persons, and cheats them
of their money they give for information: such
shall surely be put to death: and not spared through
favour and affection: the death they are to be put to follows:
they shall stone them with stones; until they are dead; of
the manner of stoning; see Gill on Acts 7:58,
their blood shall be upon them: they are
worthy of death, and they shall suffer it: this phrase following upon the
former, the JewsF13Torat Cohanim in Yalcut in loc. gather from
hence, that, wherever it is used, it is to be understood of stoning; See Gill
on Leviticus 20:9.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》