19 And the nakedness of thy mother's sister, and of thy father's sister shalt thou not uncover; for he hath laid naked his near relation: they shall bear their iniquity.
No one shall approach to any that is his near relation, to uncover his nakedness: I am Jehovah.
And Amram took Jochebed his aunt as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were a hundred and thirty-seven years.
The nakedness of thy father's sister shalt thou not uncover: she is thy father's near relation. The nakedness of thy mother's sister shalt thou not uncover; for she is thy mother's near relation. The nakedness of thy father's brother shalt thou not uncover; thou shalt not approach his wife: she is thine aunt. The nakedness of thy daughter-in-law shalt thou not uncover: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of thy brother's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy brother's nakedness. The nakedness of a woman and her daughter shalt thou not uncover; thou shalt not take her son's daughter, nor her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness: they are her near relations: it is wickedness. And thou shalt not take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness beside her, during her life. And thou shalt not approach a woman in the separation of her uncleanness to uncover her nakedness. And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to become unclean with her. And thou shalt not give of thy seed to let them pass through [the fire] to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah. And thou shalt not lie with mankind as one lieth with a woman: it is an abomination. And thou shalt lie with no beast to become unclean therewith; and a woman shall not stand before a beast to lie down with it: it is confusion. Make not yourselves unclean in any of these things; for in all these have the nations which I am casting out before you made themselves unclean. And the land hath become unclean; and I visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land vomiteth out its inhabitants. But *ye* shall observe my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of all these abominations: the home-born, and the stranger that sojourneth among you; (for all these abominations have the men of the land done, who were before you, and the land hath been made unclean); that the land vomit you not out, when ye make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. For whoever committeth any of these abominations, ... the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. And ye shall observe my charge, that ye commit not [any] of the abominable customs which were committed before you; and ye shall not make yourselves unclean therein: I am Jehovah your God.
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Commentary on Leviticus 20 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 20
Le 20:1-27. Giving One's Seed to Molech.
2. Whosoever … giveth any of his seed unto Molech—(See on Le 18:21).
the people of the land shall stone him with stones, &c.—Criminals who were condemned to be stoned were led, with their hands bound, without the gates to a small eminence, where was a large stone placed at the bottom. When they had approached within ten cubits of the spot, they were exhorted to confess, that, by faith and repentance, their souls might be saved. When led forward to within four cubits, they were stripped almost naked, and received some stupefying draught, during which the witnesses prepared, by laying aside their outer garments, to carry into execution the capital sentence which the law bound them to do. The criminal, being placed on the edge of the precipice, was then pushed backwards, so that he fell down the perpendicular height on the stone lying below: if not killed by the fall, the second witness dashed a large stone down upon his breast, and then the "people of the land," who were by-standers, rushed forward, and with stones completed the work of death (Mt 21:44; Ac 7:58).
4. If the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, &c.—that is, connive at their countrymen practising the horrid rites of Molech. Awful was it that any Hebrew parents could so violate their national covenant, and no wonder that God denounced the severest penalties against them and their families.
7-19. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy—The minute specification of the incestuous and unnatural crimes here enumerated shows their sad prevalence amongst the idolatrous nations around, and the extreme proneness of the Israelites to follow the customs of their neighbors. It is to be understood, that, whenever mention is made that the offender was "to be put to death" without describing the mode, stoning is meant. The only instance of another form of capital punishment occurs in Le 20:14, that of being burnt with fire; and yet it is probable that even here death was first inflicted by stoning, and the body of the criminal afterwards consumed by fire (Jos 7:15).
20. they shall die childless—Either by the judgment of God they shall have no children, or their spurious offspring shall be denied by human authority the ordinary privileges of children in Israel.
24. I … have separated you from other people—Their selection from the rest of the nations was for the all-important end of preserving the knowledge and worship of the true God amid the universal apostasy; and as the distinction of meats was one great means of completing that separation, the law about making a difference between clean and unclean beasts is here repeated with emphatic solemnity.