Leviticus 20:19-21

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Leviticus 20:10-21

Sins against the seventh commandment are here ordered to be severely punished. These are sins which, of all others, fools are most apt to make a mock at; but God would teach those the heinousness of the guilt by the extremity of the punishment that would not otherwise be taught it. I. Lying with another man's wife was made a capital crime. The adulterer and the adulteress that had joined in the sin must fall alike under the sentence: they shall both be put to death, Lev. 20:10. Long before... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Leviticus 20:19

And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister, nor of thy father's sister ,.... An aunt either by mother or father's side, against which the law is, Leviticus 18:13 , for he uncovereth his near kin ; as an aunt is to a man, and so an uncle to a woman, and both equally criminal; for it is a rule that holds good in all those cases, though not expressed, that what is binding upon one sex is upon the other, being in the same degree of relation, whether of consanguinity or... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Leviticus 20:20

And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife ,.... His uncle being dead, and he marry her, which is forbidden, Leviticus 18:14 , he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness : his wife's, which was his, and therefore the kindred too near for a man to marry in, and such a copulation must be incestuous: they shall bear their sin ; "both" of them, as the Vulgate Latin, as before, Leviticus 20:19 ; the punishment of it, as follows: they shall be childless ; which Jarchi and other... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Leviticus 20:21

And if a man shall take his brother's wife ,.... To his wife, whether in his life, as the Targum of Jonathan adds, or whether after his death, unless when there is no issue, then he was obliged to it by another law, Deuteronomy 25:5 ; which is now ceased, and the law in Leviticus 18:16 ; here referred to, stands clear of all exceptions: it is an unclean thing ; or a "separation" F11 נדה "separatio", Drusius, from which a man should remove and keep at a distance, as from... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 20:1-21

The difference between the religious and the secular law is more marked in modern nations than in the Hebrew commonwealth; the primary object of the first being to forbid and prevent sin; of the second, to protect life and property. The distinction is shown by the separation of the eighteenth and the twentieth chapters; but as in the Mosaic legislation both the law which denounces sin and the law which pronounces penalties for crime proceeded from God, it was not necessary that the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 20:1-27

The first of these penalties, burning with fire, does not mean that those on whom it was inflicted were burnt alive, but that their dead bodies were burnt after they had been stoned to death, as in the case of Achan ( Joshua 7:25 ). It is the punishment for taking a mother and daughter together into the same harem ( Leviticus 18:14 ). Stoning with stones is appointed for crimes which are at once offenses against religion and morals, viz. giving of his seed to Molech ( Leviticus... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 20:1-27

Sin unto death. The offenses described in this chapter were mentioned before. Such is our obtuseness that we need "line upon line." Adorable is that goodness of God which takes such pains with us. We have here— I. PRESUMPTUOUS SINS AND THEIR PENALTY . 1 . Parents giving their seed to Moloch. 2 . Persons having dealings with necromancy. 3 . Children who curse their parents. 4 . Excesses in uncleanness. II. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF WITNESSES . ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 20:1-27

Punishments assigned to presumptuous sins. I. THE LAW OF SOCIETY RESTS ON THE HIGHER LAW OF GOD . All legislation should be thus divinely sanctioned. The Bible is not a statute-book for nations, but a book of principles—to give light to the mind and heart of man as man. We must not enforce human law on Divine grounds, but we can use Divine revelation to ascertain the most satisfactory laws. II. PUNISHMENTS vary from age to age and country to country, but the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 20:6-27

The pursuit of knowledge by right means is one of the highest and noblest occupations of the intellect of man, but the seeking after knowledge by unlawful means is so criminal as to lead God to cut off the presumptuous seeker from among his people. It was grasping after a forbidden knowledge by unrighteous means that brought death into the world ( Genesis 3:6 ). All dealing in necromancy and witchcraft involves this sin on the part of the inquirer into futurity, whether those whom they... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 20:13-19

(See Le Leviticus 18:22 , Leviticus 18:17 , Leviticus 18:23 , Leviticus 18:9 , Leviticus 18:19 , Leviticus 18:12 .) read more

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