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Leviticus 18 (the eighteenth chapter of the Book of Leviticus) deals with a number of sexual activities considered abominable, including incest and Zoophilia. The chapter also condemns Moloch. It is part of the Holiness Code (Leviticus 17–26), and its sexual prohibitions are largely paralleled by Leviticus 20, except that chapter 20 has more emphasis on punishment.
Leviticus 18:22 has traditionally been interpreted as prohibiting homosexuality acts, but its meaning is debated, with some scholars suggesting it applies only to specific contexts like adultery, rape, or incest and others arguing it evolved over time.
The chapter begins with God speaking to Moses (verse 1) and giving him a message for the Israelites (2), warning them to keep God's laws rather than Canaanite or Egyptian practices (3–5). Then God is quoted as listing people with whom sex is forbidden due to family relationships (6–19). In verse 20, God prohibits sexual relations with a neighbor's wife, and in verse 21 God prohibits passing one's children through fire to Moloch. Verse 22 is the famous verse about "lie with a man," discussed below, while in verse 23 God forbids bestiality, and, according to some translations, pedophilia. In the final verses (24–30), God warns that breaking these laws will produce defilement and that the Canaanites are about to be displaced from the land of Canaan as a result of following these practices, and warn of a similar fate for the Israelites if they fall into these practices.
| Deuteronomy | ||
| (Permitted if the brother died childless (Levirate marriage)) | ||
One feature of all the lists is that sexual activity between a man and his daughter is not explicitly forbidden. The Talmud argues that this is because the prohibition was obvious, especially given the proscription against a relationship with a granddaughter. The shortness of the list in Leviticus 20, and especially of that in Deuteronomy, is explained by classical Jewish scholarship as being due to the obviousness of the missing prohibitions.Samuel ben Meir, Commentary, ad loc. The explicit prohibition against engaging in sexual activity with "both a woman and her daughter" implicitly forbids sexual activity between a man and his daughter, as does the prohibition against engaging in sexual activity with "any that is near of kin". Some biblical scholars have instead proposed that it was originally in the list but was then accidentally left out from the copy on which modern versions of the text ultimately depend, due to a mistake by the scribe.
However, most tribal nations also disliked exogamy marriage to completely unrelated people. In several prominent cases in the Torah, incestuous relationships are described. In the biblical narrative, each of these occurred chronologically prior to the establishment of Levitical law. Abraham married his half-sister Sarah, Jacob married his first wife's sister (albeit without his knowledge), and Amram married his paternal aunt Jochebed.
Apart from the questionable case of a man marrying his daughter, the list in Leviticus 18 roughly produces the same rules as were followed in early pre-Islamic Arabic culture.
A word-by-word analysis of the WLC Hebrew text of Leviticus 18:22:
| + !Hebrew (WLC) !Transliteration !English | ||
| And | ||
| a male | ||
| not | ||
| you shall lie down | ||
| beds of/coitally | ||
| a woman | ||
| an abomination | ||
| it |
Leviticus 18:22 has been translated in common English versions as:
The Hebrew wording of Leviticus 18:22 has been generally interpreted as prohibiting some or all homosexual acts, although which precise acts, and in which situations, is a matter of ongoing scholarly debate.For an overview of some of the scholarly views on the question, see . Some authors; ; state that verse 22 condemns "homosexuality" or "homosexual relations", with other authors maintaining that it condemns only males penetrating males (Anal sex).; ; and Philo, Abraham 135. Some modern authors stating this view include ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and . Others believe due to study of the language used in the original Hebrew, that the restriction is only relevant in specific situations (in the context idolatry, religious sacrifice or various forms of rape which were common Canaanite or Egyptian practices), and specifically does not apply to modern homosexual relationships.; ; ; Some researchers speculate that the contents of the text changed over time, where earlier examples would only admonish homosexual incest, and not homosexuality, more broadly in line with surrounding attitudes at the time. Such readings have also been responded to and countered in research.
is not explicitly prohibited in the Torah; however, the rabbi and Jewish scholar Maimonides ruled that lesbianism was prohibited nonetheless as an "Egyptian practice" and deserving of punishment by beating.
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