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LXX Leviticus

Septuagint

About this book
Chapter 18

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and you shall say to them, I am the Lord your God. 3 You shall not do according to the devices of Egypt, in which you lived: and according to the devices of the land of Canaan, into which I bring you, you shall not do; and you shall not walk in their ordinances. 4 You shall observe my judgments, and shall keep my ordinances, and shall walk in them: I am the Lord your God. 5 So you shall keep all my ordinances, and all my judgments, and do them; which if a man does, he shall live in them:⁠ I am the Lord your God. 6 No man shall draw near to any of his near kindred to uncover their nakedness; I am the Lord. 7 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, or the nakedness of your mother, for she is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness. 9 The nakedness of your sister by your father or by your mother, born at home or abroad, her nakedness you shall not uncover. 10 The nakedness of your son's daughter, or your daughter's daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; because it is your nakedness. 11 You shall not uncover the nakedness of the daughter of your father's wife; she is your sister by the same father: you shall not uncover her nakedness. 12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister, for she is near akin to your father. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is near akin to your mother. 14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, and you shall not go in to his wife; for she is your relation. 15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law, for she is your son's wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife: it is your brother's nakedness. 17 The nakedness of a woman and her daughter you will not uncover; her son's daughter, and her daughter's daughter, you will not take, to uncover their nakedness, for they are your kinswomen: it is impiety. 18 You shall not take a wife in addition to her sister, as a rival, to uncover her nakedness in opposition to her, while she is yet living. 19 And you shall not go in to a woman under separation for her uncleanness, to uncover her nakedness. 20 And you shall not lie with your neighbor's wife, to defile yourself with her. 21 And you shall not give of your seed to serve a ruler;⁠ and you shall not profane my holy name; I am the Lord. 22 And you shall not lie with a man as with a woman, for it is an abomination. 23 Neither shall you lie with any quadruped for copulation, to be polluted with it: neither shall a woman present herself before any quadruped to have connection with it; for it is an abomination. 24 Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for in all these things the nations are defiled, which I drive out before you, 25 and the land is polluted; and I have repaid their iniquity to them because of it, and the land is aggrieved with those who dwell upon it. 26 And you shall keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and you shall do none of these abominations; neither the native, nor the stranger that joins himself with you: 27 (for all these abominations the men of the land did who were before you, and the land was defiled,) 28 and for fear that the land might be aggrieved with you in your polluting it, as it was aggrieved with the nations before you. 29 For whoever shall do any of these abominations, the souls that do them shall be destroyed from among their people. 30 And you shall keep my ordinances, that you may not do any of the abominable practices, which have taken place before your time: and you shall not be polluted in them; for I am the Lord your God.

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Leviticus 18:5 and Romans 10:5

Septuagint · New Testament

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Summary

Leviticus 18 promises life to anyone who follows God’s commands. In Romans, Paul cites the verse to prioritize faith in Jesus as the universal sign of righteousness for Jewish and Gentile believers.

Passages

LXX Leviticus 18:5

Septuagint
4 You shall observe my judgments, and shall keep my ordinances, and shall walk in them: I am the Lord your God. 5 So you shall keep all my ordinances, and all my judgments, and do them; which if a man does, he shall live in them: I am the Lord your God. 6 No man shall draw near to any of his near kindred to uncover their nakedness; I am the Lord.
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Leviticus

Romans 10:5

New Testament
4 For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down)
55–58 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Romans

References

“... This is an appropriate point at which to introduce 10:5 into our discussion–a quotation of Leviticus 18:5: ‘Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them” ’ (Ὁ ποιήσας αὐτὰ ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῖς). The evidence is accumulating that this statement reprises the competing righteous activity of Israel; it encapsulates her alternative saving system. ... The case for this judgment begins by noting that Leviticus 18:5 must corroborate one of the two types of righteousness that we have just noted. Moreover, as the quotation explicitly attests, this righteousness concerns a way to life, here meaning a way to resurrection, the subject of all the other instances of δικαιοσύνη in the subsection. ... However, the Levitical text works nicely as an account of the righteous activity that Israel seeks to establish in opposition to God’s. Israel does indeed seem to be “doing” something here, and thereby seeking to live. And Paul even marks it explicitly as something effected ἐκ [τοῦ] νόμου, or “through law.” ...”
Douglas A. Campbell, The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), 1105–1106.

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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LXX Leviticus 18:5 and Romans 10:5

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