Leviticus 20:12
in Leviticus 20If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both must surely be put to death. They have acted perversely; their blood is upon them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if a man lie with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.
KJV
And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.
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This verse in Leviticus 20
Commentary
4 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.
This site's exposition
They have acted perversely
Leviticus 18:15 forbade this union and named no penalty, and here it receives death for both. Adam Clarke's text calls the act confusion and sends the reader back to chapter 18. Both are held guilty.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
If a man lie with his daughter in law,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
They have wrought confusion - See Leviticus 18, and especially the note on Lev 18:6 (note).
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
12 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 |
| כַּלָּת֔וֹ | kalato | daughter-in-law his | H3618 → | |
| מ֥וֹת | mot | certainly <to die> | H4191 → | 839 times |
| יוּמְת֖וּ | yumetu | they will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
| שְׁנֵיהֶ֑ם | sheneihem | both of them | H8147 → | 768 times |
| תֶּ֥בֶל | tevel | confusion | H8397 → | |
| עָשׂ֖וּ | ʾasu | they have done | H6213 → | 2628 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
כַּלָּת֔וֹdaughter-in-law his
kalatoH3618 →
מ֥וֹתcertainly <to die>
motH4191 →839 times
יוּמְת֖וּthey will be put to death
yumetuH4191 →839 times
שְׁנֵיהֶ֑םboth of them
sheneihemH8147 →768 times
תֶּ֥בֶלconfusion
tevelH8397 →
עָשׂ֖וּthey have done
ʾasuH6213 →2628 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
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 18:17
You must not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. You are not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and have sexual relations with her. They are close…
- Leviticus 20:14
Through
Genesis 38:18“What pledge should I give you?” he asked. She answered, “Your seal and your cord, and the staff in your hand.” So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became…
it leads to
- Genesis 38:25–26
As she was being brought out, Tamar sent a message to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these items belong.” And she added, “Please examine them. Whose seal and cord…
- Genesis 38:25–26
Through
Leviticus 18:23You must not lie carnally with any animal, thus defiling yourself with it; a woman must not stand before an animal to mate with it; that is a perversion.
it leads to
- Leviticus 20:15–16
If a man lies carnally with an animal, he must be put to death. And you are also to kill the animal.
- Exodus 22:19
Whoever lies with an animal must surely be put to death.
- Deuteronomy 27:21
‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- Leviticus 20:15–16
Through
Leviticus 18:15You 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.
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.
- Genesis 38:26
Judah recognized the items and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not have relations with her again.
- Ezekiel 22:11
Where this verse is studied
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) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.