Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her.
Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife forbids sexual relations with another man's wife as a defilement of the one who commits it, restating the seventh commandment against adultery. It stands among the prohibited unions of Leviticus 18 and 20 and exposes the vile sexual immorality and sun-worship licentiousness of Egypt and Canaan, for which God abhorred those nations, cast them out before Israel, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. Those prohibitions rest on moral principle and are abominations and not mere Jewish ritual pollutions, binding on all nations and Gentiles and not local to Israel alone. Because the Egyptians and Canaanites did these things and were punished before Sinai, the law was already binding on all men and known except where conscience was seared, and it still stands today as the standard by which acts are judged and the world is convinced of sin.
Prohibition and Canaanite Setting
Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife forbids sexual relations with a neighbor's wife, or another man's wife, which defile the man who commits it. It restates the seventh commandment against adultery. It belongs to the listing of prohibited sexual and marriage relationships given in Leviticus 18 and 20, including incestuous unions such as with a sister or daughter. Offspring of unions or marriages that violate those prohibited family relationships may be meant by bastard in Deuteronomy 23:2. That listing does not forbid cousins marrying.
The verse describes the evil, vile, and immoral practices of the nations inhabiting Canaan, and of the Egyptians, including sexual immorality. Those practices included the licentious practices of sun-worship. What those practices brought upon them was that God abhorred them for such uncleanness and cast them out before Israel, and the land vomited out its inhabitants, its earlier and first inhabitants, because of such abominations. Disregard of the laws in Leviticus 18 shows the evil that prevailed among the nations living in Canaan.
The description of wicked practices in Leviticus 18:20-24, including sexual immorality, shows the Canaanites were not the peaceable, good people they were claimed to be and shows God's judgment against them was not cruel. Their vile conduct was transgression for which they were guilty before God despite their declining knowledge of his will. The adultery the verse prohibits is part of the vice practiced in the world's cities.
Universal Moral Authority
The prohibitions on sexual relationships in Leviticus 18:6-24, including lying carnally with a neighbor's wife to defile oneself with her, are based on moral considerations and remain in force today for that reason. They are abominations, not merely Jewish ritual pollutions, for the land vomited out its earlier inhabitants because of such practices. The explicit laws against sexual sins in that chapter, including relations with a sister or daughter as well as with a neighbor's wife, belong to the law that identifies such acts as sinful.
As moral principles those explicit laws against sexual sins were binding on all nations, not only Israel, and were associated with the abominations for which the Canaanites were driven from the land. The Egyptians and Canaanites as Gentiles did these things before Sinai, and God abhorred them for doing them and cast them out before Israel, with the land to vomit out its inhabitants for such uncleanness. This proves the Ten-Commandment law, stated here as the seventh commandment against adultery with a neighbor's wife, was binding on all men before it was spoken from Sinai and was known to all except where conscience was seared through persistent disobedience. The law was not local or for a special people then, and is no more so now, but still stands.
The verse's prohibition of adultery is an example of the moral law identifying conduct as sin, and that law is the standard by which people's acts are judged. Still to be used of the Spirit in convincing the world of sin, it continues to declare self-defilement by sexual relations with a neighbor's wife to be sinful.
Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife forbids sexual relations with another man's wife as a defilement of the one who commits it, restating the seventh commandment against adultery. It stands among the prohibited unions of Leviticus 18 and 20 and exposes the vile sexual immorality and sun-worship licentiousness of Egypt and Canaan, for which God abhorred those nations, cast them out before Israel, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. Those prohibitions rest on moral principle and are abominations and not mere Jewish ritual pollutions, binding on all nations and Gentiles and not local to Israel alone. Because the Egyptians and Canaanites did these things and were punished before Sinai, the law was already binding on all men and known except where conscience was seared, and it still stands today as the standard by which acts are judged and the world is convinced of sin.
Prohibition and Canaanite Setting
Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife forbids sexual relations with a neighbor's wife, or another man's wife, which defile the man who commits it. It restates the seventh commandment against adultery. It belongs to the listing of prohibited sexual and marriage relationships given in Leviticus 18 and 20, including incestuous unions such as with a sister or daughter. Offspring of unions or marriages that violate those prohibited family relationships may be meant by bastard in Deuteronomy 23:2. That listing does not forbid cousins marrying.
The verse describes the evil, vile, and immoral practices of the nations inhabiting Canaan, and of the Egyptians, including sexual immorality. Those practices included the licentious practices of sun-worship. What those practices brought upon them was that God abhorred them for such uncleanness and cast them out before Israel, and the land vomited out its inhabitants, its earlier and first inhabitants, because of such abominations. Disregard of the laws in Leviticus 18 shows the evil that prevailed among the nations living in Canaan.
The description of wicked practices in Leviticus 18:20-24, including sexual immorality, shows the Canaanites were not the peaceable, good people they were claimed to be and shows God's judgment against them was not cruel. Their vile conduct was transgression for which they were guilty before God despite their declining knowledge of his will. The adultery the verse prohibits is part of the vice practiced in the world's cities.
Universal Moral Authority
The prohibitions on sexual relationships in Leviticus 18:6-24, including lying carnally with a neighbor's wife to defile oneself with her, are based on moral considerations and remain in force today for that reason. They are abominations, not merely Jewish ritual pollutions, for the land vomited out its earlier inhabitants because of such practices. The explicit laws against sexual sins in that chapter, including relations with a sister or daughter as well as with a neighbor's wife, belong to the law that identifies such acts as sinful.
As moral principles those explicit laws against sexual sins were binding on all nations, not only Israel, and were associated with the abominations for which the Canaanites were driven from the land. The Egyptians and Canaanites as Gentiles did these things before Sinai, and God abhorred them for doing them and cast them out before Israel, with the land to vomit out its inhabitants for such uncleanness. This proves the Ten-Commandment law, stated here as the seventh commandment against adultery with a neighbor's wife, was binding on all men before it was spoken from Sinai and was known to all except where conscience was seared through persistent disobedience. The law was not local or for a special people then, and is no more so now, but still stands.
The verse's prohibition of adultery is an example of the moral law identifying conduct as sin, and that law is the standard by which people's acts are judged. Still to be used of the Spirit in convincing the world of sin, it continues to declare self-defilement by sexual relations with a neighbor's wife to be sinful.