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Leviticus 20:17-21
The list continues with additional prohibited unions, shifting to language of being cut off, bearing guilt, and childlessness as outcomes.
Meaning in context
The list continues with additional prohibited unions, shifting to language of being cut off, bearing guilt, and childlessness as outcomes.
Section 4 of 6
Forbidden relations with cut-off consequences
The list continues with additional prohibited unions, shifting to language of being cut off, bearing guilt, and childlessness as outcomes.
Movement
Life before the holy God
Artifact
Priestly instruction and sacred space
Biblical Timeline
Exodus & Settlement
Leviticus context: 1500 BC - 1000 BC
Biblical Timeline
Exodus & Settlement
Leviticus context
Exodus & Settlement / 1500 BC - 1000 BC
Leviticus context is set in the exodus and settlement period, where Moses, the exodus, wilderness, covenant instruction, conquest, and judges.
Scripture Text
Thesis
The list continues with additional prohibited unions, shifting to language of being cut off, bearing guilt, and childlessness as outcomes.
Verse by Verse
Sister relationship forbidden A man taking his sister (whether from the same father or the same mother) is described as mutual exposure: he “sees her nakedness” and she “sees his.” The act is called a shameful thing, and the consequence is that “they shall be cut off” in full view of their community. The reason given restates the offense: he has uncovered his sister’s nakedness, and he will carry the weight of his wrongdoing.
Sex during menstruation forbidden If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual condition, the text portrays it as exposing what should remain covered, using vivid “fountain” imagery for menstrual bleeding. The consequence is shared: both of them are to be “cut off from among their people.”
Aunt relationship forbidden The address shifts to “You shall not,” forbidding sexual exposure with either a mother’s sister or a father’s sister. The act is framed as uncovering a close relative, and the consequence is that “they shall bear their iniquity,” indicating ongoing liability for the wrongdoing.
Literary Context
These verses sit inside a longer block in Leviticus 20 that repeats and intensifies earlier relationship prohibitions found in Leviticus 18, but here with stated outcomes. The chapter moves case by case, using a steady “if a man…” pattern and then shifting briefly to direct address (“You shall not…”) before returning to conditional cases. The logic is consistent: identify a specific prohibited relation, describe it with the shared “uncover nakedness” wording, and then attach a consequence that affects standing “among their people,” public reputation, and future family line.
Historical Context
Leviticus presents these instructions as given to Israel during its early formation as a distinct community after leaving Egypt, with social life organized around clans, households, and shared worship space. In that setting, sexual boundaries were not treated as only private matters; they were tied to community identity, inheritance lines, and public order. The repeated phrase “among their people” reflects a group-based society where being removed from the community meant severe loss of protection and belonging. The focus on close-kin relations fits a world where extended family lived in close proximity and marriage shaped alliances and stability.
Theological Significance
Questions
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Uncle’s wife and brother’s wife forbidden Sleeping with an uncle’s wife is described as uncovering the uncle’s nakedness, and the couple is said to “bear their sin,” with the result that they will “die childless.” Taking a brother’s wife is labeled “impurity,” again described as uncovering the brother’s nakedness, and the stated outcome is likewise: “they shall be childless.”
Leviticus 20:17–21 treats certain sexual unions within close family ties as serious boundary violations, not merely private choices. The passage repeatedly uses “uncover nakedness” language to describe the acts and then attaches public and communal consequences (“among their people,” “in the sight of their people”).
The text also links these unions to moral and purity categories: the sister case is called “shameful,” the brother’s wife case is called “impurity,” and several outcomes are framed as the offenders “bearing” their wrongdoing. In two cases, the result is “childless,” showing that the consequences can reach into family continuity, not only immediate reputation.
What “cut off” means in practice. Some readers take “cut off from among their people” as a formal community removal (loss of membership, protection, and standing). Others argue it can include, or even mainly mean, a death outcome carried out by the community or attributed to God’s direct action. The passage itself states the result but does not spell out the procedure.
What “childless” means. Some take it as literal infertility (no children are born from that union). Others read it more broadly as the ending of the family line (for example, children not surviving, or the couple dying without heirs), because the focus is on lineage outcome rather than medical explanation.
The passage uses outcome-terms (“cut off,” “bear iniquity/sin,” “childless”) that are clear in direction but brief on mechanics. It also frames consequences in group terms (“among their people”), which can be read as social expulsion, capital penalty, or divine removal, depending on how one relates these phrases to other legal texts.
The explicit textual claims are that sex with a sister is “shameful” and leads to being “cut off” publicly; sex during menstruation leads to both being “cut off”; sexual exposure with a maternal or paternal aunt is forbidden and brings “bearing” iniquity; sex with an uncle’s wife is treated as uncovering the uncle’s nakedness and results in “bearing” sin and being “childless”; and taking a brother’s wife is called “impurity,” again described as uncovering the brother’s nakedness, with “childless” as the stated outcome (Leviticus 20:17–21).
As theological inference (beyond the explicit wording), the passage portrays sexual boundaries as tied to communal holiness and to the stability of kinship structures. It also treats certain violations as offenses with enduring moral weight (“bearing” wrongdoing) rather than momentary lapses.
sister (’ă·ḥō·ṯōw)