Deuteronomy 27:22
in Deuteronomy 27‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
KJV
Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 27
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Cursed is he who sleeps with his father’s wife
on Deuteronomy 27:20-23
All four stand in Leviticus 18, at 18:8, 18:23, 18:9 and 18:17. Like the curses around them, each is done inside a household where no outside witness would be present.
This site's exposition
the daughter of his father
Leviticus 20:17 had already ordered that a man who takes his sister be cut off in the sight of the people. Henry files this curse under the seventh commandment. Amnon's crime against Tamar, his father's daughter, at 2 Samuel 13 is a case Israel's history records.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Cursed be he that lieth with his sister,.... Which is forbid, Lev 18:9, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother; whether his sister by father or mother's side: and all the people shall say Amen; detesting such uncleanness.
These crimes not only exposed men to the sword of the magistrate ( Lev. xx. 11 ), but, which is more dreadful, to the wrath of God; bestiality likewise,
10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the L ORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day. A general charge to the people to keep God's commandments; for in vain did they know them, unless they would do them. This is pressed upon them, 1.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָר֗וּר | ʾarur | [is] cursed | H779 → | 63 times |
| שֹׁכֵב֙ | shokhev | [one who] lies | H7901 → | 212 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| אֲחֹת֔וֹ | ʾachoto | sister his | H269 → | |
| בַּת־ | bat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| אָבִ֖יו | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| א֣וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| בַת־ | vat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| אִמּ֑וֹ | ʾimo | mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| וְאָמַ֥ר | veamar | and it will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֖ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אָמֵֽן׃ ס | ʾamen | amen | H543 → | 30 times |
אָר֗וּר[is] cursed
ʾarurH779 →63 times
שֹׁכֵב֙[one who] lies
shokhevH7901 →212 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
אֲחֹת֔וֹsister his
ʾachotoH269 →
בַּת־[the] daughter of
bat-H1323 →588 times
אָבִ֖יוfather his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
א֣וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
בַת־[the] daughter of
vat-H1323 →588 times
אִמּ֑וֹmother his
ʾimoH517 →220 times
וְאָמַ֥רand it will say
veamarH559 →5305 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֖םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אָמֵֽן׃ סamen
ʾamenH543 →30 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Leviticus 20:17If a man marries his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of…
it leads to
- Leviticus 18:9
You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 18:9
Through
Ezekiel 22:11One man commits an abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another wickedly defiles his daughter-in-law; and yet another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.
it leads to
- Leviticus 20:17
If a man marries his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 13:14
But Amnon refused to listen to her, and being stronger, he violated her and lay with her.
- Leviticus 18:15
You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sexual relations with her.
- Leviticus 20:17
Through
Leviticus 18:9You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 22:11
One man commits an abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another wickedly defiles his daughter-in-law; and yet another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 22:11
Through
2 Samuel 13:1After some time, David’s son Amnon fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of David’s son Absalom.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 3:9
These were all the sons of David, besides the sons by his concubines. And Tamar was their sister.
- 2 Samuel 3:2–3
And sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel;
- 2 Samuel 13:15
Then Amnon hated Tamar with such intensity that his hatred was greater than the love he previously had. “Get up!” he said to her. “Be gone!”
- 1 Chronicles 3:9
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy

This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
