Leviticus 16:1–18:30

Footnotes

1. 1 Heb “in their drawing near to the faces of the Lord.” The rendering here relies on the use of this expression for the very “presence” of God in Exod 33:14–15 and in the Lev 9:24–10:2 passage, where the Nadab and Abihu catastrophe referred to here is narrated.
2. 2 Heb “into the holy place from house to the veil-canopy.” In this instance, the Hebrew term “the holy place” refers to “the most holy place” (lit. “holy of holies”), since it is the area “inside the veil-canopy” (cf. Exod 26:33–34). The Hebrew term פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet) is usually translated “veil” or “curtain,” but it seems to have stretched not only in front of but also over the top of the ark of the covenant which stood behind and under it inside the most holy place, and thus formed more of a canopy than simply a curtain (see R. E. Averbeck, 3:).
3. 3 Heb “to the faces of the atonement plate.” The exact meaning of the Hebrew term כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet) here rendered “atonement plate” is much debated. The traditional “mercy seat” (, , , ) does not suit the cognate relationship between this term and the Piel verb כִּפֶּר (kipper, “to make atonement, to make expiation”). The translation of the word should also reflect the fact that the most important atonement procedures on the Day of Atonement were performed in relation to it. Since the Lord would “appear in the cloud over the atonement plate,” and since it was so closely associated with the ark of the covenant (the ark being his “footstool”; cf. 1 Chr 28:2 and Ps 132:7–8), one could take it to be the place of his throne at which he accepts atonement. See J. Milgrom, Leviticus (), 1:; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (), ; and R. E. Averbeck, 2:, . Cf. “the atonement cover”; “the lid on the Ark”; “the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement.”
4. 4 Heb “with a bull, a son of the herd.”
5. 5 See the note on regarding the term “sin offering.”
6. 6 For the “burnt offering” see the note on .
7. 7 The term “tunic” refers to a shirt-like garment worn next to the skin and, therefore, put on first (cf. Exod 28:4, 39–40; 29:5, 8; 39:27). It covered the upper body only. For detailed remarks on the terminology for the priestly clothing in this verse (except the “linen leggings”) see the notes on and the literature cited there.
8. 8 Heb “shall be on his flesh.” As in many instances in Lev 15, the term “flesh” or “body” here is euphemistic for the male genitals (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [], 1:, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [], ; cf. the note on ), which the priest must be careful not to expose during such ritual procedures (see Exod 20:26 with 28:42–43).
9. 9 The sash fastened the tunic around the waist (Exod 28:4, 39; 29:9; 39:29).
10. 10 Heb “and in a turban of linen he shall wrap.” The turban consisted of wound up linen (cf. Exod 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6; 39:31; Lev 16:4). It is usually thought to be a “turban,” but it might be only a “turban-like headband” wound around the forehead area ( מִצְנֶפֶת).
11. 11 Heb “and he shall bathe.…”
12. 12 Heb “And he shall take.”
13. 13 Heb “he-goats of goats”; “two goats, both of them males.”
14. 14 Heb “the two he-goats,” referred to as “two he-goats of goats” in v. 5.
15. 15 Heb “and Aaron shall give lots on the two he-goats.” See the note on for the priestly casting of lots in Israel and the explanation in B. A. Levine, Leviticus (), , on . J. Milgrom, Leviticus (), 1:, suggests, however, that the expression here signifies that, the lots having been cast, the priest was to literally “place” (Heb “give”) the one marked “for the Lord” on the head of the goat to be sacrificed and the one marked “for Azazel” on the head of the one to be released in the wilderness in order to avoid confusing them later in the ritual sequence.
16. 16 The meaning of the Hebrew term עֲזָאזֵל (’aza’zel, four times in the OT, all of them in this chapter; vv. 8, 10 [2 times], and 26) is much debated. There are three or perhaps four major views (see the summaries and literature cited in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [], 1:; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [], ; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [], ; D. P. Wright, The Disposal of Impurity [], 21–25; M. V. Van Pelt and W. C. Kaiser, 3:; and M. S. Moore, 4:). (1) Some derive the term from a combination of the Hebrew word עֵז (’ez, “goat”; i.e., the word for “goats” in v. 5) and אָזַל (’azal, “to go away”), meaning “the goat that departs” or “scapegoat” (cf., e.g., the and , , , ). This meaning suits the ritual practice of sending the so-called “scapegoat” away into the wilderness (vv. 10, 21–22, 26). Similarly, some derive the term from Arabic ’azala (“to banish, remove”), meaning “entire removal” as an abstract concept (see 736 עֲזָאזֵל). (2) Some see the term as a description of the wilderness area to which the goat was dispatched, deriving it somehow from Arabic ’azazu (“rough ground”) or perhaps עָזָז, (’azaz, “to be strong, fierce”). (3) The most common view among scholars today is that it is the proper name of a particular demon (perhaps even the Devil himself) associated with the wilderness desert regions. Levine has proposed that it may perhaps derive from a reduplication of the ז (zayin) in עֵז combined with אֵל (’el, “mighty”), meaning “mighty goat.” The final consonantal form of עֲזָאזֵל would have resulted from the inversion of the א (aleph) with the second ז. He makes the point that the close association between עֵז and שְׂעִירִים (shé’irim), which seems to refer to “goat-demons” of the desert in Lev 17:7 (cf. Isa 13:21, etc.), should not be ignored in the derivation of Azazel, although the term ultimately became the name of “the demonic ruler of the wilderness.” The latter view is supported by the parallel between the one goat “for (לְ, lamed preposition) the Lord” and the one “for (לְ) Azazel” here in v. 8. The rendering as a proper name has been tentatively accepted here (cf. , , , , ). Perhaps a play on words between the proper name and the term for “goat” has occurred so that the etymology has become obscure. Even if a demon or the demonic realm is the source for the name, however, there is no intention here of appeasing the demons. The goal is to remove the impurity and iniquity from the community in order to avoid offending the Lord and the repercussions of such (see esp. vv. 21–22 and cf. Lev 15:31).
17. 17 Heb “which the lot has gone up on it for the Lord.”
18. 18 The has “he shall stand it” (cf. v. 7).
19. 19 Heb “to make atonement on it to send it away to Azazel toward the wilderness.”
20. 20 Heb “and he shall take the fullness of the censer, coals of fire, from on the altar from to the faces of the Lord.”
21. 21 Heb “and the fullness of the hollow of his two hands, finely ground fragrant incense.”
22. 22 Heb “and he shall bring from house to the veil-canopy.”
23. 23 The text here has only “above the testimony,” but this is surely a shortened form of “above the ark of the testimony” (see Exod 25:22 etc.; cf. Lev 16:2). The term “testimony” in this expression refers to the ark as the container of the two stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them (see Exod 25:16 with Deut 10:1, 5, etc.).
24. 24 Heb “and he will not die,” but it is clear that the purpose for the incense cloud was to protect the priest from death in the presence of the Lord (cf. vv. 1–2 above).
25. 25 Heb “on the faces of the atonement plate toward the east.” Some have taken this to mean that the ark was stationed just behind the veil-canopy on the eastern side of the most holy place. Thus, the high priest would need to enter and walk toward the west end of the most holy place and then turn eastward in order to face the ark and sprinkle the blood in an eastward direction. The rendering here, however, requires that the ark was stationed on the western end, or perhaps in the middle of the area, so that as the priest entered he was already facing the ark and would sprinkle the blood on the eastern face of the atonement plate, in a westward direction (see, e.g., J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [], versus J. Milgrom, Leviticus [], 1:).
26. 26 Presumably in this case the blood was sprinkled seven times on the ground in front of the ark on which the atonement plate was mounted.
27. 27 Heb “and he shall bring its blood into from house to the veil-canopy.”
28. 28 Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative or even inferential force here.
29. 29 Heb “to all their sins.”
30. 30 Heb “And all man shall not be in the tent of meeting.” The term for “a man, human being” (אָדָם, ’adam; see the note on ) refers to any person among “mankind,” male or female.
31. 31 Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) indicates the sequence of events here.
32. 32 Heb “And he shall take.”
33. 33 Heb “and he shall purify it and he shall consecrate it.”
34. 34 Heb “And he shall finish from atoning the holy place.” In this case, the “holy place” etc. are direct objects of the verb “to atone” (cf. v. 33a below). In this case, therefore, the basic meaning of the verb (i.e., “to purge” or “wipe clean”) comes to the forefront. When the prepositions עַל (’al) or בֲּעַד (ba’ad) occur with the verb כִּפֶּר (kipper) the purging is almost always being done “for” or “on behalf of” priests or people (see the note on as well as R. E. Averbeck, 2:, the literature cited there, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [], , for more details).
35. 35 Heb “transgressions to all their sins.”
36. 36 Heb “and he shall give them.”
37. 37 The meaning of the Hebrew term עִתִּי (’itti) is uncertain. It is apparently related to עֵת (’et, “time”), and could perhaps mean either that he has been properly “appointed” (i.e., designated) for the task (e.g., and ) or “ready” (e.g., and ).
38. 38 The Hebrew term rendered “inaccessible” derives from a root meaning “to cut off” (cf. “an isolated region”). Another possible translation would be “infertile land” (see *גָּזֵּר and cf. “a barren region”; “a desolate land.”
39. 39 Heb “and he [the man (standing) ready, v. 21] shall send the goat away.”
40. 40 Heb “And Aaron shall enter.”
41. 41 Heb “And he shall make atonement.”
42. 42 Heb “on behalf of himself and on behalf of the people.” After “on behalf of himself” the adds the expected “and on behalf of his household” (cf. vv. 6, 11, and 17).
43. 43 Heb “And the fat of the sin offering he is to offer up.”
44. 44 For “Azazel” see the note on v. above.
45. 45 Heb “he shall bring into from outside to the camp.”
46. 46 Heb “they shall burn with fire”; “burn in the fire.” Because “to burn with fire” is redundant in contemporary English the present translation simply has “must be burned up.”
47. 47 Heb “And it [feminine] shall be for you a perpetual statute.” Verse 34 begins with the same clause except for the missing demonstrative pronoun “this” here in v. 29. The has “this” in both places and it suits the sense of the passage, although both the verb and the pronoun are sometimes missing in this clause elsewhere in the book (see, e.g., Lev 3:17).
48. 48 Heb “you shall humble your souls.” The verb “to humble” here refers to various forms of self-denial, including but not limited to fasting (cf. Ps 35:13 and Isa 58:3, 10). The ( Yoma 8:1) lists abstentions from food and drink, bathing, using oil as an unguent to moisten the skin, wearing leather sandals, and sexual intercourse (cf. 2 Sam 12:16–17, 20; see the remarks in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [], 1:; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [], ; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [], ).
49. 49 Heb “and all work you shall not do.”
50. 50 Heb “the native and the sojourner who sojourns.”
51. 51 The phrase “from all your sins” could go with the previous clause as the verse is rendered here (see, e.g., B. A. Levine, Leviticus [], , and J. Milgrom, Leviticus [], 1:), or it could go with the following clause (i.e., “you shall be clean from all your sins before the Lord”; see the accents as well as J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [], , and recent English versions, e.g., , , ).
52. 52 See the note on v. above.
53. 53 Compare v. 29a above.
54. 54 Heb “And the priest whom he shall anointed him and whom he shall fill his hand to act as priest under his father.” Imperfect active verbs are often used as passives (see, e.g., v. 27 above and the note on ).
55. 55 Heb “to atone” (also later in this verse); see the note on “purifying the holy place” in .
56. 56 Heb “the sanctuary of the holy place.” Although this is the only place this expression occurs in the OT, it clearly refers to the innermost shrine behind the veil-canopy, where the ark of the covenant was located.
57. 57 Heb “and the tent of meeting and the alter he shall atone.” The repetition of the verb כִּפֶּר (kipper, “to atone”) at the beginning and end of the sequence appears to be strange, but the accents suggest that only “the Most Holy Place” goes with the verb at the beginning of the verse. Of course, the purging of “the Most Holy Place” has been the main emphasis of this chapter from the start (see vv. 2–3 and 11–17).
58. 58 At this point in the verse the verb כִּפֶּר (kipper, “to make atonement”) takes its object with the preposition עַל (’al, “for”; literally, “upon”; contrast the first part of the verse and cf. the notes on and above).
59. 59 Heb “And this shall be for you to a statute of eternity” (cf. v. 29a above). cf. “a permanent statute”; “a lasting ordinance.”
60. 60 Heb “from”; see note on .
61. 61 Heb “one [feminine] in the year.”
62. 62 The of Lev 16:34b reads literally, “and he did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.” This has been retained here in spite of the fact that it suggests that Aaron immediately performed the rituals outlined in Lev 16 (see, e.g., J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [], and ; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [], 1:; note that Aaron was the one to whom Moses was to speak the regulations in this chapter, v. 2). The problem is that the chapter presents these procedures as regulations for “the tenth day of the seventh month” and calls for their fulfillment at that time (Lev 16:29; cf. Lev 23:26–32 and the remarks in P. J. Budd, Leviticus [], 237), not during the current (first) month (Exod 40:2; note also that they left Sinai in the second month, long before the next seventh month, Num 10:11). The translates, “once in the year it shall be done as the Lord commanded Moses,” attaching “once in the year” to this clause rather than the former one, and rendering the verb as passive, “it shall be done” (cf. , , etc.). We have already observed the passive use of active verbs in this context (see the note on v. above). The (cf. also the , , , ) translates, “And Moses did as the Lord commanded him,” ignoring the fact that the name Moses in the Hebrew text has the direct object indicator. Passive verbs, however, regularly take subjects with direct object indicators (see, e.g., v. 27 above). The renders it “And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses,” following the passive translation. The translates, “And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so he did,” transposing the introductory verb to the end of the sentence and supplying “so” in order to make it fit the context.
63. 1 The complex wording of vv. 3–4 requires stating “blood guilt” at the beginning of v. 3 even though it is not mentioned until the middle of v. 4. The Hebrew text has simply “blood,” but in this case it refers to the illegitimate shedding of animal blood, similar to the shedding of the blood of an innocent human being (Deut 19:10, etc.). In order for it to be legitimate the animal must be slaughtered at the tabernacle and its blood handled by the priests in the prescribed way (see, e.g., Lev 1:5; 3:2, 17; 4:5–7; 7:26–27, etc.; cf. vv. 10–16 below for more details).
64. 2 Heb “Man man.” The reduplication is way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 15:2; 22:18, etc.). See the note on .
65. 3 The original adds “or the sojourners who sojourn in your midst” (cf. Lev 16:29, etc., and note esp. 17:8, 10, and 13 below).
66. 4 Heb “or who slaughters from outside to the camp.”
67. 5 and add after “tent of meeting” the following: “to make it a burnt offering or a peace offering to the Lord for your acceptance as a soothing aroma, and slaughters it outside, and at the doorway of the tent of meeting has not brought it.”
68. 6 includes the suffix “it,” which is needed in any case in the translation to conform to English style.
69. 7 The exact meaning of this penalty clause is not certain. It could mean (1) that he will be executed, whether by God or by man, (2) that he will be excommunicated from sanctuary worship and/or community benefits, or (3) that his line will be terminated by God (i.e., extirpation). See also the note on .
70. 8 Heb “So that which.”
71. 9 Heb “on the faces of the field.”
72. 10 For the translation “splash” see the note on .
73. 11 The adds “all around” (i.e., Hebrew סָבִיב [saviv, “all around”]), which is normal for this overall construction (see, e.g., Lev 1:5; 3:8, etc.).
74. 12 Heb “sacrifice.” This has been translated as “offer” for stylistic reasons to avoid the redundancy of “sacrifice their sacrifices.”
75. 13 On “goat demons” of the desert regions see the note on .
76. 14 Heb “which they are committing harlotry after them.”
77. 15 Heb “for your generations.”
78. 16 Heb “Man, man.” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any [or “every”] man” ( §123.c; cf. Lev 15:2).
79. 17 Heb “and.” Here the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) has an alternative sense (“or”).
80. 18 Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”
81. 19 The , , and have “your” (plural) rather than “their.”
82. 20 Heb “causes to go up.”
83. 21 Heb “to make it,” meaning “to make the sacrifice.”
84. 22 For remarks on the “cut off” penalty see the note on v. above.
85. 23 Heb “And man, man.” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any (or every) man” ( §123.c; cf. Lev 15:2).
86. 24 Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”
87. 25 The , , and have “your” (plural) rather than “their.”
88. 26 Heb “I will give my faces against [literally “in”] the soul/person/life [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh, feminine] who eats the blood and I will cut it [i.e., that נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] off from the midst of its people.” The uses of נֶפֶשׁ in this and the following verse are most significant for the use of animal blood in Israel’s sacrificial system. Unfortunately, it is a most difficult word to translate accurately and consistently, and this presents a major problem for the rendering of these verses (see, e.g., G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [], ). No matter which translation of נֶפֶשׁ one uses here, it is important to see that both man and animal have נֶפֶשׁ and that this נֶפֶשׁ is identified with the blood. See the further remarks on v. below. On the “cutting off” penalty see the note on v. above. In this instance, God takes it on himself to “cut off” the person (i.e., extirpation).
89. 27 Heb “the life of the flesh.” Here “flesh” stands for “every living thing,” that is, all creatures (cf. , , “every creature”; “every living creature.”
90. 28 Heb “for the soul/life (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) of the flesh, it is in the blood” (cf. the note of v. 10 above and v. 14 below). Although most modern English versions begin a new sentence in v. 11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood” (see, e.g., , , , ), the כִּי (ki, “for, because”) at the beginning of the verse suggests continuation from v. 10, as the rendering here indicates (see, e.g., , ; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [], ; and G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [], ). This verse is a well-known crux interpretum for blood atonement in the Bible. The close association between the blood and “the soul/life [נֶפֶשׁ] of the flesh [בָּשָׂר, basar]” (v. 11a) begins in Gen 9:2–5 (if not Gen 4:10–11), where the Lord grants man the eating of meat (i.e., the “flesh” of animals) but also issues a warning: “But flesh [בָּשָׂר] with its soul/life [נֶפֶשׁ], [which is] its blood, you shall not eat” (cf. G. J. Wenham, Genesis [], 1: and ). Unfortunately, the difficulty in translating נֶפֶשׁ consistently (see the note on v. above) obscures the close connection between the (human) “person” in v. 10 and “the life” (of animals, 2 times) and “your (human) lives” in v. 11, all of which are renderings of נֶפֶשׁ. The basic logic of the passage is that (a) no נֶפֶשׁ should eat the blood when he eats the בָּשָׂר of an animal (v. 10) because (b) the נֶפֶשׁ of בָּשָׂר is identified with the blood that flows through and permeates it (v. 11a), and (c) the Lord himself has assigned (i.e., limited the use of) animal blood, that is, animal נֶפֶשׁ, to be the instrument or price of making atonement for the נֶפֶשׁ of people (v. 11b). See the detailed remarks and literature cited in R. E. Averbeck, 2:, .
91. 29 Heb “And I myself have given it to you.”
92. 30 Heb “for the blood, it by (בְּ, bet preposition, “in”] the life makes atonement.” The interpretation of the preposition is pivotal here. Some scholars have argued that it is a bet of exchange; that is, “the blood makes atonement in exchange for the life [of the slaughtered animal]” (see R. E. Averbeck, 2:, for analysis and criticism of this view). It is more likely that, as in the previous clause (“your lives”), “life/soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) here refers to the person who makes the offering, not the animal offered. The blood of the animal makes atonement for the person who offers it either “by means of” (instrumental bet) the “life/soul” of the animal, which it symbolizes or embodies (the meaning of the translation given here); or perhaps the blood of the animal functions as “the price” (bet of price) for ransoming the “life/soul” of the person.
93. 31 Heb “all/any person from you shall not eat blood.”
94. 32 Heb “and the sojourner, the one sojourning in your midst, shall not eat blood.”
95. 33 A few medieval Hebrew , , and . have “from the house of Israel” as in vv. 3, 8, and 10, but the agrees with the .
96. 34 Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”
97. 35 The , , , and certain of have “your” (plural) rather than “their” (cf. v. 10 above).
98. 36 Heb “[wild] game of animal.”
99. 37 That is, it must be a clean animal, not an unclean animal (cf. Lev 11).
100. 38 Heb “for the life/soul (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) of all flesh, its blood in its life/soul (נֶפֶשׁ) it is.” The , , and leave out “in its life/soul,” which would naturally yield “for the life of all flesh, its blood it is” (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [], , ). The present translation is something of an oversimplification, but the meaning is basically the same in any case. Cf. “For the life of every creature—its blood is its life.”
101. 39 Heb “of all flesh” (also later in this verse). See the note on “every living thing” in v. .
102. 40 For remarks on the “cut off” penalty see the note on v. above.
103. 41 Heb “And any soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh).
104. 42 Heb “carcass,” referring to the carcass of an animal that has died on its own, not the carcass of an animal slaughtered for sacrifice or killed by wild beasts. This has been clarified in the translation by supplying the phrase “of natural causes”; cf. “that died of itself”; “that has died a natural death.”
105. 43 Heb “in the native or in the sojourner.”
106. 44 The words “his clothes” are not in the Hebrew text, but are repeated in the translation for clarity.
107. 45 Heb “and he shall bear his iniquity.” The rendering “bear the punishment for the iniquity” reflects the use of the word “iniquity” to refer to the punishment for iniquity. This is sometimes referred to as the consequential use of the term (cf. Lev 5:17; 7:18; 10:17; etc.). For the interpretation of this verse reflected in the present translation, see the remarks on in J. Milgrom, Leviticus (), 1:.
108. 1 Heb “As the work [or “deed”] of the land of Egypt, which you were dwelling in it, you must not do.”
109. 2 Heb “and as the work [or “deed”] of the land of Canaan which I am bringing you to there, you must not do.” The participle “I am bringing” is inceptive; the Lord is “about to” bring them into the land of Canaan, as opposed to their having dwelt previously in the land of Egypt (see the first part of the verse).
110. 3 Heb “and you shall not walk.”
111. 4 Heb “My regulations you shall do”; , “my judgments”; “My ordinances”; , “my laws.” The Hebrew term translated “regulation” (מִשְׁפָּט, mishpat) refers to the set of regulations about to be set forth in the following chapters (cf. Lev 19:37; 20:22; 25:18; 26:46). Note especially the thematic and formulaic relationships between the introduction here in Lev 18:1–5 and the paraenesis in Lev 20:22–26, both of which refer explicitly to the corrupt nations and the need to separate from them by keeping the Lord’s regulations.
112. 5 Heb “and my statutes you shall keep [or “watch; guard”] to walk in them.”
113. 6 Heb “And you shall keep.”
114. 7 Heb “which the man shall do them and shall live in them.” The term for “a man, human being; mankind” (אָדָם, ’adam; see the note on ) in this case refers to any person among “mankind,” male or female. The expression וָחַי (vakhay, “and shall live”) looks like the adjective “living” so it is written וְחָיָה (vékhayah) in , but the form is simply the same verb written as a double ayin verb (see חיה qal and §76.i; cf. Lev 25:35).
115. 8 Heb “Man, man shall not draw near to any flesh (שְׁאֵר, shé’er) of his body/flesh (בָּשָׂר, basar).” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any (or “every”) man” ( §123.c; cf. Lev 15:2). The two words for “flesh” are combined to refer to emphasize the physical familial relatedness (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [], , and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [], ).
116. 9 Heb “to uncover [her] nakedness” (cf. , , , ), which is clearly euphemistic for sexual intercourse (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [], , and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [], ). This expression occurs a number of times in the following context and is generally translated “have sexual intercourse with [someone],” although in the case of the father mentioned in the following verse the expression may be connected to the shame or disgrace that would belong to the father whose wife’s sexuality is violated by his son. See the note on the word “mother” in v. .
117. 10 The general statement prohibiting sexual intercourse between close relatives serves as an opening summary statement for the following section, which gives details concerning which degrees of relationship are specifically forbidden.
118. 11 The verbal negative here is the same as that used in the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:4–5, 7, 13–17). It suggests permanent prohibition rather than a simple negative command and could, therefore, be rendered “must not” here and throughout the following section as it is in vv. 3–4 above.
119. 12 Heb “The nakedness of your father and [i.e., even] the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover.” Commentators suggest that the point of referring to the father’s nakedness is that the mother’s sexuality belongs to the father and is forbidden to the son on that account (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [], , and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [], ). The expression may, however, derive from the shame of nakedness when exposed. If one exposes his mother’s nakedness to himself it is like openly exposing the father’s nakedness (cf. Gen 9:22–23 with the background of Gen 2:25 and 3:7, 21). The same essential construction is used in v. 10 where the latter explanation makes more sense than the former.