You must not have sexual relations
This phrase is a direct command, emphasizing the prohibition of certain sexual behaviors. The Hebrew root here is "גלה ערוה" (galah ervah), which means to uncover nakedness, a euphemism for sexual relations. This command is part of a broader set of laws given to the Israelites to maintain holiness and purity within the community. It underscores the importance of sexual morality as a reflection of one's relationship with God and others.

with your brother’s wife
The specific mention of "your brother’s wife" highlights the sanctity of marriage and family relationships. In ancient Israel, family was the cornerstone of society, and maintaining its integrity was crucial. The Hebrew term for brother, "אָח" (ach), signifies a close kinship bond, and the wife, "אִשָּׁה" (ishah), is to be respected as part of that sacred union. This prohibition protects the family structure and honors the marital covenant.

that would shame your brother
The phrase "that would shame your brother" points to the social and relational consequences of such an act. The Hebrew word for shame, "חֶרְפָּה" (cherpah), conveys disgrace or dishonor. In the cultural context of ancient Israel, bringing shame upon a family member was a serious offense, affecting not just the individuals involved but the entire community. This underscores the communal aspect of sin and the importance of upholding family honor and dignity.

(16) The nakedness of thy brother's wife.--Though alliance with a brother's wife is here forbidden--the prohibition, according to the administrators of the law during the second Temple, extending to illicit commerce or marriage in case she is divorced from her husband during the lifetime of her husband--and though the offenders are threatened with the curse of childlessness (see Leviticus 20:21), yet the law on this point is by no means absolute. Under certain conditions the law enjoins it as a moral and civil duty for a man to marry his brother's widow. If a brother dies without issue, it is incumbent upon each surviving brother in succession to marry the widow, and if the brother-in-law refused to perform the sacred duty, the widow made him pass through a ceremony in which she heaped upon him the greatest indignity. This clearly shows that the prohibition here could not be based upon the ground of incest, since that which is inherently incestuous the Divine law itself would under no circumstances have set aside. This duty the surviving brother-in-law had to perform to the widows of as many of his brothers as happened to die without issue. A striking illustration of this fact occurred whilst Jehudah the Holy was president of the Sanhedrin. Twelve widows appealed to their brother-in-law to perform the duty of Levir. He refused to marry them because he saw no prospect how to maintain such an additional number of wives, and possibly a large increase of children. The case came before the President of the Sanhedrin, who not only decided that he must marry them all, but promised that if he would do the duty enjoined upon him by the Law of Moses, he himself would maintain the family, and their children in case there should be any, every Sabbatical year, when no produce was got from the land, which was at rest. The offer was accepted by the Levir, and he accordingly married his twelve sisters-in-law. After three years these twelve wives appeared with thirty-six children before Jehudah the Holy, to claim the promised alimony, as it was the Sabbatical year, and they actually obtained it. To this day this law is in force among the orthodox Jews. When a man dies without issue, the widow ipso facto belongs to the surviving brother, and she is not allowed to marry any one else unless her brother-in-law has gone through the ceremony of publicly renouncing her, which is tantamount to a divorce. This will explain the rendering of the clause before us in the ancient Chaldee Version, "thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife in the lifetime of thy brother or after his death if he has children."

Verse 16. - The eighth ease of incest is intercourse with a brother's wife. Yet this is commanded under certain circumstances in the Book of Deuteronomy, and was practiced in patriarchal times (Genesis 38:8). The following are the circumstances under which it is commanded. "If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her" (Deuteronomy 25:5). It has been asked, "How can the same thing be forbidden as immoral in Leviticus, and commanded as a duly in Deuteronomy?" Bishop Wordsworth replies, "In a special case, for a special reason applicable only to the Jews, God was pleased to dispense with that law, and in the plenitude of his omnipotence to change the prohibition into a command.... God cannot command anything that is sinful. For sin is 'transgression of the Law' (1 John 3:4), and whatever he commands is right. But it would be presumptuous to say that we may dispense with God's law concerning marriage, because he in one case dispensed with it; as it would be impious to affirm that murder is not immoral, and may be committed by us, bemuse God, who is the sole Arbiter of life and death, commanded Abraham to slay his son Isaac." The levirate marriage was not a concession to the desires of the second brother, but a duty enjoined for a family or tribal purpose, and it was plainly at all times must distasteful. Thus Onan refused to perform his duty to Er's wife (Genesis 38:9); the legislation in Deuteronomy anticipates objection on the part of the brother, and institutes an in-suiting ceremony to be gone through by him if he declines to do his duty to his dead brother (Deuteronomy 25:9, 10), which we see carried out in some of its details in the case of Ruth's kinsman (Ruth 4:7, 10). Indeed, in such a marriage, the second husband seems rather to have been regarded as the continuation of the first husband than as having a substantive existence of his own as a married man. He performed a function in order "that the name of his brother which is dead may not be put out of Israel" (Deuteronomy 25:6), "to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren" (Ruth 3:10). The second husband's position may be compared to that of the concubine presented by Rachel to her husband. "Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her" (Genesis 30:3). The whole object of the rule was that, as the elder brother could not keep up the flintily by begetting an heir, the younger brother should do it for him after his death.

Parallel Commentaries ...


You must not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

have sexual relations with
עֶרְוַ֥ת (‘er·waṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 6172: Nakedness

your brother’s
אָחִ֖יךָ (’ā·ḥî·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 251: A brother, )

wife;
אֵֽשֶׁת־ (’ê·šeṯ-)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

that
הִֽוא׃ (hî)
Pronoun - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

would shame
עֶרְוַ֥ת (‘er·waṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 6172: Nakedness

your brother.
אָחִ֖יךָ (’ā·ḥî·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 251: A brother, )


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OT Law: Leviticus 18:16 You shall not uncover the nakedness (Le Lv Lev.)