Leviticus 20:14
in Leviticus 20If 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.
KJV
And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.
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This verse in Leviticus 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThey shall be burnt with fire - As there are worse crimes mentioned here, (see Lev 20:11 and Lev 20:17), where the delinquent is ordered simply to be put to death, or to be cut off, it is very likely that the crime mentioned in this verse was not punished by burning alive, but by some kind of branding, by which they were ever after rendered infamous.
This site's exposition
if a man take a wife and her mother
on Leviticus 20:14-16
Verse 14 carries the one sentence in the chapter executed by fire, and the text is silent on whether the burning follows a death already inflicted. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read stoning first and burning afterwards from the pattern at Joshua 7:15, while Adam Clarke suggests a branding that left the offender marked for life. Verses 15 and 16 order the animal killed along with the person, which Keil and Delitzsch take as removing the memory of the act rather than as punishing the beast.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And if a man take a wife, and her mother,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The only instance of another form of capital punishment occurs in Le 20:14, that of being burnt with fire; and yet it is probable that even here death was first inflicted by stoning, and the body of the criminal afterwards consumed by fire (Jos 7:15).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The burning under the sentence of the Law took place after the death of the criminal by stoning, or strangling. Jos 7:25.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
משכבי אשה means he inserts as a brush into a tube [i.e. in the manner of marital intercourse].
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
17 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 |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִקַּ֧ח | yikach | he will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אִשָּׁ֛ה | ʾishah | a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אִמָּ֖הּ | ʾimah | mother her | H517 → | 220 times |
| זִמָּ֣ה | zimah | [is] wickedness | H2154 → | 29 times |
| הִ֑וא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| בָּאֵ֞שׁ | baesh | with <the> fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| יִשְׂרְפ֤וּ | yisrefu | people will burn | H8313 → | 117 times |
| אֹתוֹ֙ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְאֶתְהֶ֔ן | veethen | and <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִהְיֶ֥ה | tihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| זִמָּ֖ה | zimah | wickedness | H2154 → | 29 times |
| בְּתוֹכְכֶֽם׃ | betokhem | in midst of you | H8432 → | 418 times |
וְאִ֗ישׁand a man
veishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יִקַּ֧חhe will take
yikachH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אִשָּׁ֛הa woman
ʾishahH802 →781 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
אִמָּ֖הּmother her
ʾimahH517 →220 times
זִמָּ֣ה[is] wickedness
zimahH2154 →29 times
הִ֑ואit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
בָּאֵ֞שׁwith <the> fire
baeshH784 →378 times
יִשְׂרְפ֤וּpeople will burn
yisrefuH8313 →117 times
אֹתוֹ֙<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
וְאֶתְהֶ֔ןand <obj.> them
veethenH853 →10935 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
תִהְיֶ֥הit will be
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
זִמָּ֖הwickedness
zimahH2154 →29 times
בְּתוֹכְכֶֽם׃in midst of you
betokhemH8432 →418 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
Joshua 7:25“Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.
it leads to
- Joshua 6:18
But keep away from the things devoted to destruction, lest you yourself be set apart for destruction. If you take any of these, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and…
- 1 Chronicles 2:7
The son of Carmi: Achar, who brought trouble upon Israel by violating the ban on devoted things.
- Deuteronomy 17:5
you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death.
- Joshua 6:18
Through
Joshua 7:15The one who is caught with the things devoted to destruction must be burned, along with all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD and committed an outrage…
it leads to
- Genesis 34:7
When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that…
- Judges 20:6
Then I took my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance, because they had committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel.
- Genesis 34:7
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.
- 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.
- Isaiah 10:2
to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder.
- Amos 5:12
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.