Leviticus 20:11
in Leviticus 20If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
KJV
And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
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This verse in Leviticus 20
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
If a man lies with his father’s wife
on Leviticus 20:11-13
Three offenses from chapter 18 receive the same sentence and the same closing words, "their blood is upon them". The formula lays the guilt of the execution on the offender, and the court that carries it out bears none.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
22 ) if this law had been then made. It was the sin of the incestuous Corinthian, for which he was to be delivered unto Satan, 1 Cor. v. 1, 5 . A man's debauching his daughter-in-law, or his mother-in-law, or his sister, was likewise to be punished with death,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
And the man that lieth with his father's wife,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
ואיש AND THE MAN [THAT COMMITTETH ADULERY SHALL SURELY BE PUT TO DEATH] — a man, thus excluding a minor (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 10 8).
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִ֗ישׁ | veish | and a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִשְׁכַּב֙ | yishkav | he will lie with | H7901 → | 212 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֵ֣שֶׁת | ʾeshet | [the] wife of | H802 → | 781 times |
| אָבִ֔יו | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| עֶרְוַ֥ת | ʾervat | [the] nakedness of | H6172 → | 54 times |
| אָבִ֖יו | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| גִּלָּ֑ה | gilah | he has uncovered | H1540 → | 186 times |
| מֽוֹת־ | mot- | certainly <to die> | H4191 → | 839 times |
| יוּמְת֥וּ | yumetu | they will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
| שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם | sheneihem | both of them | H8147 → | 768 times |
| דְּמֵיהֶ֥ם | demeihem | blood<s> their | H1818 → | 360 times |
| בָּֽם׃ | bam | [are] on <the> them |
וְאִ֗ישׁand a man
veishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יִשְׁכַּב֙he will lie with
yishkavH7901 →212 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֵ֣שֶׁת[the] wife of
ʾeshetH802 →781 times
אָבִ֔יוfather his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
עֶרְוַ֥ת[the] nakedness of
ʾervatH6172 →54 times
אָבִ֖יוfather his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
גִּלָּ֑הhe has uncovered
gilahH1540 →186 times
מֽוֹת־certainly <to die>
mot-H4191 →839 times
יוּמְת֥וּthey will be put to death
yumetuH4191 →839 times
שְׁנֵיהֶ֖םboth of them
sheneihemH8147 →768 times
דְּמֵיהֶ֥םblood<s> their
demeihemH1818 →360 times
בָּֽם׃[are] on <the> them
bam
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 5:1It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.
it leads to
- Leviticus 18:8
You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; it would dishonor your father.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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…
- Revelation 2:21
Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling.
- Colossians 3:5
Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
- Ephesians 5:3
But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed.
- Leviticus 18:8
Through
Deuteronomy 27:20‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his father’s wife, for he has violated his father’s marriage bed.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 5:1
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 5:1
Through
Deuteronomy 27:23‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his mother-in-law.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
it leads to
- Leviticus 20:14
If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that there will be no depravity among you.
- Leviticus 20:14
Through
Amos 2:7They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the earth; they push the needy out of their way. A man and his father have relations with the same girl…
it leads to
- Amos 5:12
For I know that your transgressions are many and your sins are numerous. You oppress the righteous by taking bribes; you deprive the poor of justice in the gate.
- Amos 5:12
Where this verse is studied
About Leviticus

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.
