Leviticus 18:23 - “‘You shall not lie with any animal to defile yourself with it. No woman may give herself to an animal, to lie down with it: it is a perversion.

Generated Verse: Leviticus 18:23

What does "Leviticus 18:23" mean?


Leviticus 18:23 explicitly prohibits bestiality, which is sexual relations between a human and an animal. The verse condemns this act for both men and women, calling it a "perversion" and emphasizing its defiling nature.

Here's a breakdown of the key elements:

"You shall not lie with any animal to defile yourself with it": This directly forbids the act of bestiality. The phrase "to defile yourself" suggests that engaging in this practice makes a person ritually unclean.
"No woman may give herself to an animal, to lie down with it": This specifically prohibits women from engaging in bestiality.
"it is a perversion": This identifies bestiality as an unnatural, twisted, or deviant act, emphasizing its moral and ethical wrongness.

The verse is part of a larger section (Leviticus 18) that outlines various sexual prohibitions considered abominations in the eyes of God. The purpose of these laws was to maintain the distinctiveness and holiness of the Israelite people.

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