Bible Strands
Leviticus 18:11
You must not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses the Israelites through Moses, issuing a covenant statute within a broader legal code. The command interrupts a sequence of family boundary regulations to specifically address a half-sibling relationship.
The words — עֶרְוַת ('er.Vat) translates literally to "[the] nakedness of," functioning as the Hebrew idiom for sexual relations. אֲחוֹתְ/ךָ֖ ('a.chot./Kha) means "[is] sister/ your," explicitly naming the prohibited kinship.
The thread — This prohibition is grouped with Leviticus 18:10 and Leviticus 18:12 in a continuous block of family boundary laws. The surrounding verses list restrictions on grandchildren and a paternal aunt to define the full scope of forbidden kinship ties.
Why it lands — The text states a direct prohibition against sexual relations with a woman who is both a father’s wife’s daughter and his biological child. It requires the reader to enforce strict marital boundaries regardless of whether a sibling shares both parents or only one.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.