What is the meaning of Leviticus 20:21? If a man marries his brother’s wife • God’s design for marriage is one man and one woman who are not near relatives (Genesis 2:24; Leviticus 18:6). • Taking a living brother’s wife oversteps a God-drawn family boundary laid out earlier: “You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife” (Leviticus 18:16). • The only exception—levirate marriage—applied only after a brother died childless (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). In that case the act preserved the deceased brother’s line, not personal desire. • Herod Antipas ignored this law when he took Herodias, his brother’s wife, and John the Baptist openly condemned him (Mark 6:17-18), illustrating the continuing relevance of the command. it is an act of impurity • “Impurity” describes what is morally and ceremonially unclean before God (Leviticus 18:24-25). • Such unions defile both people involved and pollute the covenant community (Leviticus 20:14). • Paul picks up the same theme in 1 Corinthians 5:1, calling out a man who violated similar family boundaries. • God labels the act, not merely the feelings, as impure—showing that moral standards are objective, not situational. He has uncovered the nakedness of his brother • In Scripture, “uncovering nakedness” is a polite way to speak of sexual relations (Leviticus 18:7-18). • The phrase stresses that marrying a brother’s wife is not just about the woman; it is a direct offense against the brother himself. • The brother’s marital rights and dignity are violated, paralleling how Ham dishonored Noah by exposing his father’s nakedness (Genesis 9:22-23). • God guards family relationships so that love and trust flourish without confusion or rivalry. they shall be childless • The penalty is severe: God promises to cut off the line that results from this forbidden union (Leviticus 20:20). • “Childless” can mean literal barrenness or early death of any offspring, preventing the couple from establishing a family legacy. • Michal, who despised David, illustrates divine judgment in childlessness (2 Samuel 6:23), echoing this principle. • The loss underscores how seriously God treats marital purity; fertility is a blessing, and its removal signals His displeasure (Deuteronomy 28:18). summary Leviticus 20:21 plainly forbids a man to marry his brother’s wife while the brother lives. God calls the act impure, explains that it violates the brother’s rightful intimacy, and warns that the couple will end without children. The verse upholds God’s protective boundaries for family, highlights the moral seriousness of sexual sin, and reminds us that blessings like offspring rest in His hands. |
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