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Leviticus

About this book
Chapter 20

1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “You are to say to the Israelites, ‘Any man from the Israelites (or any of the resident foreigners who live in Israel) who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death; the people of the land must pelt him with stones. 3 I myself will set my face against that man and cut him off from the midst of his people, because he has given some of his children to Molech and thereby defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. 4 If, however, the people of the land shut their eyes to that man when he gives some of his children to Molech so that they do not put him to death, 5 I myself will set my face against that man and his clan.⁠ I will cut off from the midst of the people both him and all who follow after him in spiritual prostitution, committing prostitution by worshiping Molech. 6 “‘The person who turns to the spirits of the dead and familiar spirits to commit prostitution by going after them, I will set my face against that person and cut him off from the midst of his people. 7 “‘You must sanctify yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. 8 You must be sure to obey my statutes. I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 9 “‘If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood guilt is on himself.⁠ 10 If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.⁠ 11 If a man goes to bed with his father’s wife, he has exposed his father’s nakedness. Both of them must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. 12 If a man goes to bed with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed perversion; their blood guilt is on themselves. 13 If a man goes to bed with a male as one goes to bed with a woman, the two of them have committed an abomination. They must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. 14 If a man has marital relations with both a woman and her mother, it is lewdness. Both he and they must be burned to death, so there is no lewdness in your midst. 15 If a man has sexual relations with any animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal to copulate with it, you must kill the woman, and the animal must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. 17 “‘If a man has marital relations with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has exposed his sister’s nakedness; he will bear his punishment for iniquity.⁠ 18 If a man goes to bed with a menstruating woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her fountain of blood, and she has exposed the fountain of her blood, so both of them must be cut off from the midst of their people. 19 You must not expose the nakedness of your mother’s sister or your father’s sister, for such a person has exposed his own close relative. They must bear their punishment for iniquity. 20 If a man goes to bed with his aunt, he has exposed his uncle’s nakedness; they must bear responsibility for their sin, they will die childless. 21 If a man has marital relations with his brother’s wife, it is indecency. He has exposed his brother’s nakedness; they will be childless. 22 “‘You must be sure to obey all my statutes and regulations, so that the land to which I am about to bring you to take up residence does not vomit you out. 23 You must not walk in the statutes of the nations which I am about to drive out before you, because they have done all these things and I am filled with disgust against them.⁠ 24 So I have said to you: You yourselves will possess their land and I myself will give it to you for a possession, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God who has set you apart from the other peoples.⁠ 25 Therefore you must distinguish between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean, and you must not make yourselves detestable by means of an animal or bird or anything that creeps on the ground—creatures I have distinguished for you as unclean. 26 You must be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the other peoples to be mine. 27 “‘A man or woman who has in them a spirit of the dead or a familiar spirit must be put to death. They must pelt them with stones; their blood guilt is on themselves.’”

Texts in conversation

Compare Leviticus 20:5 and Onkelos Leviticus 20:5

Hebrew Bible · Targum

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Summary

Leviticus 20 warns of punishment for idolaters and their families. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos changes “family” to “helpers” to limit guilt to those involved and replaces God’s “face” with “my anger” to avoid giving God a physical form.

Passages

Leviticus 20:5

Hebrew Bible
4 If, however, the people of the land shut their eyes to that man when he gives some of his children to Molech so that they do not put him to death, 5 I myself will set my face against that man and his clan. I will cut off from the midst of the people both him and all who follow after him in spiritual prostitution, committing prostitution by worshiping Molech. 6 “‘The person who turns to the spirits of the dead and familiar spirits to commit prostitution by going after them, I will set my face against that person and cut him off from the midst of his people.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Leviticus

Onkelos Leviticus 20:5

Targum
4 And if the people of the house of Israel turn a blind eye to that man when he gives his offspring to Molek, so as to avoid having to put him to death, 5 I will direct My anger against that man, and against his helpers, and will destroy him, and all who go after him, to wander after Molek, from among their people. 6 And the man who turns to impostors and diviners to wander after them, I will set My displeasure against that man, and will cut him off from among his people.
50–500 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Onkelos Leviticus

References

"... "Helpers" ... Sifra and the Babylonian Talmud, Shevuot 39a, report R. Simeon's question: “Did the family sin [so that they should also be punished]?” Doesn't Deuteronomy 24:16 forbid killing children for their parents’ sin? ... Our targumist avoids the complex theological difficulty by explaining scripture's “family” as “helpers.” Later commentators offer similar answers. Family members are punished only when they hide their eyes and shield him (Sforno). He alone is killed; the rest of the family suffers aggravation (Sifra and Rashi) ..."
Israel Drazin and Stanley M. Wagner, Onkelos on the Torah, Leviticus: Understanding the Bible Text (Jerusalem: Gefen, 2008), 158.

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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Leviticus 20:5 and Onkelos Leviticus 20:5

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