Leviticus 20:11

If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God speaks through Moses to Israel, establishing sexual boundaries within the covenant community. The directive addresses a son violating his father’s marital relationship.

The words — יִשְׁכַּב (yish.Kav) means he will lie with, and עֶרְוַת (er.Vat) denotes the nakedness of. Together they frame the act as a violation of familial integrity.

The thread — The prohibition echoes in Deuteronomy 27:20 as a curse for violating the father’s marriage bed and Leviticus 18:7 as a direct command against exposing the father’s nakedness. Leviticus 20:10 and 20:12 place this rule within a broader sequence of penalties for sexual transgressions.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition of marital boundaries as inviolable and accepts capital punishment as the prescribed consequence for their breach. Readers must acknowledge that sexual ethics in this law carry communal and judicial weight.

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

וְאִ֗ישׁve./'Ishand/ a man אֲשֶׁ֤ר'a.Sherwho יִשְׁכַּב֙yish.Kavhe will lie with אֶת־'et-<obj.>אֵ֣שֶׁת'E.shet[the] wife of אָבִ֔יו'a.Vi/vfather/ his עֶרְוַ֥ת'er.Vat[the] nakedness of אָבִ֖יו'a.Vi/vfather/ his גִּלָּ֑הgi.Lahhe has uncovered מֽוֹת־mot-certainly <to die>יוּמְת֥וּyu.me.Tuthey will be put to death שְׁנֵיהֶ֖םshe.nei./Hemboth of/ them דְּמֵיהֶ֥םde.mei./Hemblood<s>/ theirבָּֽם׃Ba/m[are] on <the>/ them

King James Version

And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 27:20 ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his father’s wife, for he has violated his father’s marriage bed.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Deuteronomy 27:23 ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his mother-in-law.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Leviticus 18:7 You must not expose the nakedness of your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her.
Amos 2:7 They 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 and so profane My holy name.
1 Corinthians 5:1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.