Monday, October 12, 2020

Leviticus 20:10-21 comments: various commandments for the ancient Hebrews regarding personal morality

 

Leviticus 20:10 ¶  And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11  And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. 12  And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them. 13  If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. 14  And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you. 15  And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. 16  And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. 17  And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity. 18  And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19  And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister, nor of thy father’s sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity. 20  And if a man shall lie with his uncle’s wife, he hath uncovered his uncle’s nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21  And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.

 

In verse 20 adultery carries a death sentence for both parties. This is one thing that makes the passage in John 8:1-11 so intriguing. It makes one wonder, since there is no man brought to accuse with the woman, if Jesus wasn’t writing the names of those who had committed adultery with her in the dirt.

Verse 11 should return us to my comments on Leviticus 18:6-18. See Paul’s admonitions in 1Corinthians on the man and his father’s wife. Verse 12 applies the same restriction on a daughter-in-law. Good people may not believe this but these things are not uncommon in certain segments of our society, particularly in the more impoverished Appalachians and the inner city, along with remote sections of the western United States, wherever people are isolated or wherever an anarchic culture exists where socially dominant men and women act without shame or inhibition. The same goes with what follows.

Homosexual behavior and bestiality are condemned and we would be shocked to find that bestiality was practiced in the heathen world and even included in their mythologies as a practice of some gods. And yes, even today, the wicked hearts of men and women are known to engage in these behaviors that were condemned by God.

Verse 16 creates a perplexing situation for us today. Why kill the animal? The animal was innocent in this situation. Bestiality was commonly practiced in the ancient religions of Egypt and Babylon and therefore Canaan. Even when codes punished bestiality severely it was permitted in certain fertility rites. It is representative of the decadence of ancient religion and idolatry. Certain Arab groups believed that bestiality could cure diseases or increase virility. African tribes have been known to include bestiality as a rite of passage. Poor people, black and white, in Appalachia and rural areas and inner cities, even when such a practice was forbidden by law and the Bible, have been known to commit the act.

A recent article by Daniel Antolec, a 30-year law enforcement veteran, entitled, “Zoophilia: A Hidden Horror for Animals,” talks about how bestiality harms animals. An example is given of behavioral changes in abused work-horses that prevented them from being useful as farm animals. The article suggests that since dogs share many emotional responses to human toddlers that they experience trauma associated with sexual abuse.[1] From one perspective killing the animal was a mercy with their blood shall be upon them taking any guilt from the executioner.

Unfortunately, in Medieval Europe, this admonition was taken as accusing the animal of a crime and there were even court cases where animals were tried and executed as participants in a human perversion. The earliest record of an animal trial was the execution of a pig in 1266.[2] But, many other societies that did not have contact with the Jews also had animal trials for everything from murder to bestiality when forbidden.



[1] Daniel Antolec, “Zoophilia: A Hidden Horror for Animals,” Barks Blog, 03 Feb 2018, https://barksfromtheguild.com/2018/02/13/zoophilia-a-hidden-horror-for-animals/ (accessed 31 Dec 2019).

 

[2] Esther Cohen, "Law, Folklore and Animal Lore," Past & Present, no. 110 (1986): 20. www.jstor.org/stable/650647. (accessed 31 Dec 2019).

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