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Leviticus

About this book
Chapter 18

1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘I am the Lord your God! 3 You must not do as they do in the land of Egypt where you have been living, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan into which I am about to bring you; you must not walk in their statutes. 4 You must observe my regulations, and you must be sure to walk in my statutes. I am the Lord your God. 5 So you must keep my statutes and my regulations; anyone who does so will live by keeping them.⁠ I am the Lord.⁠ 6 “‘No man is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations with her. I am the Lord.⁠ 7 You must not expose your father’s nakedness by having sexual relations with your mother.⁠ She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her. 8 You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; she is your father’s nakedness.⁠ 9 You must not have sexual relations with your sister, whether she is your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she is born in the same household or born outside it; you must not have sexual relations with either of them.⁠ 10 You must not expose the nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter by having sexual relations with them, because they are your own nakedness. 11 You must not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife born of your father; she is your sister. You must not have sexual relations with her. 12 You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s flesh. 13 You must not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s flesh. 14 You must not expose the nakedness of your father’s brother; you must not approach his wife to have marital relations with her. She is your aunt. 15 You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife. You must not have sexual relations with her. 16 You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; she is your brother’s nakedness. 17 You must not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter; you must not take as wife either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to have sexual relations with them. They are closely related to her—it is lewdness. 18 You must not take a woman in marriage and then marry her sister as a rival wife while she is still alive, to have sexual relations with her.⁠ 19 “‘You must not approach a woman in her menstrual impurity to have sexual relations with her. 20 You must not have sexual relations with the wife of your fellow citizen to become unclean with her.⁠ 21 You must not give any of your children as an offering to Molech,⁠ so that you do not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord! 22 You must not have sexual relations with a male as one has sexual relations with a woman; it is a detestable act. 23 You must not have sexual relations with any animal to become defiled with it, and a woman must not stand before an animal to have sexual relations with it; it is a perversion. 24 “‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things, for the nations that I am about to drive out before you have been defiled with all these things.⁠ 25 Therefore the land has become unclean, and I have brought the punishment for its iniquity upon it, so that the land has vomited out its inhabitants.⁠ 26 You yourselves must obey my statutes and my regulations and must not do any of these abominations, both the native citizen and the resident foreigner in your midst, 27 for the people who were in the land before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become unclean. 28 So do not make the land vomit you out because you defile it just as it has vomited out the nations that were before you. 29 For if anyone does any of these abominations, that person who does them will be cut off from the midst of the people. 30 You must obey my charge not to practice any of the abominable statutes⁠ that have been done before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the Lord your God.’”

Texts in conversation

What Ham Really Did to Noah in Genesis 9 and Leviticus 18

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Genesis says Ham saw his father’s nakedness, an idiom that Leviticus later defines as sexual sin. Genesis appears to reflect the same commandment, placed earlier in time, with later editing that connects the patriarchs with the Torah.
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Passages

Genesis 9:22

Hebrew Bible
20 Noah, a man of the soil, began to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of the wine, he got drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers who were outside. 23 Shem and Japheth took the garment and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor he learned what his youngest son had done to him.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Leviticus 18:7

Hebrew Bible
5 So you must keep my statutes and my regulations; anyone who does so will live by keeping them. I am the Lord. 6 “‘No man is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations with her. I am the Lord. 7 You must not expose your father’s nakedness by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her. 8 You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; she is your father’s nakedness. 9 You must not have sexual relations with your sister, whether she is your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she is born in the same household or born outside it; you must not have sexual relations with either of them.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Leviticus

References

"... We begin with the idiomatic meaning of the phrase 'to see the father's nakedness' (verse 22). Proponents of the theory of paternal incest are correct to equate 'to uncover nakedness' via Leviticus 20:17, understanding both as euphemisms for sexual intercourse. However, one may take this valid insight one step further by recognizing that in all the relevant texts, it is associated with heterosexual activity, and 'the nakedness of the father' actually refers to the mother's nakedness. For example, in Leviticus 18:7-8, the 'nakedness of your father' is defined as 'the nakedness of your mother' ... Likewise, Leviticus 18:14, 16; 20:11, 30, 21 all describe a woman's nakedness as the nakedness of her husband. The same logic is at work in Deuteronomy 23:1 and 27:20, which describe intercourse with one's father's wife as 'uncovering the fathers skirt' ..."
John Sietze Bergsma and Scott Walker Hahn, “Noah's Nakedness and the Curse on Canaan (Genesis 9:20–27),” JBL 124.1 (2005): 25–40.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Comments

  • It does seem that the idiom "exposing the nakedness of your father" indicates Ham the youngest son, (word qaton, which can also mean shortest or less important) son of Noah did have relations with Noah's wife. According to the Book of Jasher, Shem and Japhet were sons of Noah and Naama. Then a bit l ...

    Shoshana, October 23, 2026

Genesis 9:22 and Leviticus 18:7

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