Leviticus 18:22
in Leviticus 18You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
KJV
Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
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This verse in Leviticus 18
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Thou shalt not lie with mankind
on Leviticus 18:22-23
Two verdicts close these verses, abomination at verse 22 and confusion at verse 23. The word rendered confusion is tebel, and it occurs once more in Scripture, at Leviticus 20:12. It carries the sense of a mixture of things that belong apart, which is the objection Leviticus 19:19 makes to a field sown with mingled seed. Romans 1:26 and 1:27 take up verse 22, and Leviticus 20:13 and 20:15 attach the penalties.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Thou shall not lie with mankind as with womankind,....
Other sins level men with the beasts, but these sink them much lower. That ever there should have been occasion for the making of these laws, and that since they are published they should ever have been broken, is the perpetual reproach and scandal of human nature; and the giving of men up to these vile affections was frequently the punishment of their idolatries; so the apostle shows, Rom. i.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
With mankind - This abominable crime, frequent among the Greeks and Romans as well as the Canaanites, may be punished with death in this country.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶ֨ת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| זָכָ֔ר | zakhar | a male | H2145 → | 82 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשְׁכַּ֖ב | tishkav | you will lie with | H7901 → | 212 times |
| מִשְׁכְּבֵ֣י | mishkevei | [the] lyings of | H4904 → | 46 times |
| אִשָּׁ֑ה | ʾishah | a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| תּוֹעֵבָ֖ה | toevah | [is] an abomination | H8441 → | 117 times |
| הִֽוא׃ | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
וְאֶ֨ת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
זָכָ֔רa male
zakharH2145 →82 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִשְׁכַּ֖בyou will lie with
tishkavH7901 →212 times
מִשְׁכְּבֵ֣י[the] lyings of
mishkeveiH4904 →46 times
אִשָּׁ֑הa woman
ʾishahH802 →781 times
תּוֹעֵבָ֖ה[is] an abomination
toevahH8441 →117 times
הִֽוא׃it
hi'H1931 →1879 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
1 Corinthians 6:9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual…
it leads to
- Galatians 5:19–21
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Timothy 1:9–10
We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers,
- Ephesians 5:4–5
Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving.
- Leviticus 20:13
If a man lies with a man as with a woman, they have both committed an abomination. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
- Revelation 21:8
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This…
- Galatians 5:19–21
Through
Jude 1:7In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal…
it leads to
- Romans 1:26–27
For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 1:26–27
Through
Leviticus 20:13If a man lies with a man as with a woman, they have both committed an abomination. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 6:9
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual…
- Jude 1:7
In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal…
- 1 Corinthians 6:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Leviticus

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.
