Leviticus 18:7

Here is, I. A general law against all conformity to the corrupt usages of the heathen (Lev 18:1-5). II. Particular laws, 1. Against incest (Lev 18:6-18). 2. Against beastly lusts, and barbarous idolatries (Lev 18:19-23). III. The enforcement of these laws from the ruin of the Canaanites (Lev 18:24-30).

18:7-8 violate your father: The Hebrew text here equates having sexual relations with your mother or any of your father’s wives with having sexual relations with him (cp. Gen 35:22; 49:4; see also 1 Cor 5:1). The husband and his wife were “two united into one” (Gen 2:24; cp. Eph 5:29). Always in the background of these commands are the commands to honor your parents (Lev 20:9; Exod 20:12) and, by extension, other members of the family (see also study note on Lev 20:17). 18:7 She is your mother: Incest was prohibited because of the disruption it created in families, so the commands concerning this sin included close relatives not necessarily related by blood. Incest was a serious crime because it brought competition and chaos into the family structure. It threatened the safety of the home by violating a family’s appropriate intimacy and the sense of belonging shared by its members. • The commands were directly addressed to the male, even though the female could be older (such as one’s mother). The male, especially if he was the head of the household or the firstborn, wielded more power than the female; with this position came the responsibility to use that power lawfully. In addition, the male was more likely to be the sexual aggressor in an illicit sexual union, although this was not always the case (e.g., Gen 39:6-18).