You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Leviticus 18:8
What does Leviticus 18:8 mean?
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Leviticus 18:8
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This prohibition goes beyond just your biological mother; it extends to your stepmother, emphasizing that her relationship with your father makes her "off-limits" to you, as if it were your father's own person. This highlights how deeply the law understood familial bonds and the sacredness of marriage as a unit.
You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse comes amid a section laying out prohibitions against sexual impurity and incest to distinguish Israel from the surrounding nations. Building on the prohibition against sleeping with one's own mother, this command specifically forbids relations with a stepmother, emphasizing the sacredness of familial bonds. Such acts were seen as deeply violating the honor of the father and mirroring the sins that brought judgment upon the Canaanites.
This verse uses the phrase 'your father's nakedness' to describe a forbidden relationship. What does this powerful imagery really mean for us today?
The Deep Connection of 'Nakedness'
The Bible often uses the concept of 'nakedness' to refer to sexual intimacy. When Leviticus 18:8 says "it is your father's nakedness," it's not just stating a rule; it's revealing a profound truth about family relationships.
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While this verse seems to specifically forbid relations with a stepmother, the implications reach much further. What does this teach us about God's heart for family purity?
Protecting the Family's Foundation
Leviticus 18:8 addresses the specific, yet deeply significant, prohibition against a son having sexual relations with his father's wife (his stepmother). However, the underlying principle is about safeguarding the sanctity of marriage and family.
This passage describes Reuben's sin with his father Jacob's concubine Bilhah, serving as a direct biblical example of the transgression forbidden in Leviticus 18:8.
2 Samuel 16:21-22Absalom's act of lying with his father David's concubines after David fled Jerusalem is a stark parallel to the prohibition, highlighting the severe violation of familial honor and trust.
1 Corinthians 5:1-5The Apostle Paul fiercely condemns a similar situation in the Corinthian church where a man was living with his father's wife, showing how this prohibition against incestuous relationships remained a crucial moral standard for New Testament believers.
Deuteronomy 27:20This verse echoes the prohibition, explicitly stating 'Cursed be he who lies with his father's wife, because he has uncovered his father's nakedness,' reinforcing the seriousness of this offense with a divine curse.
gillLeviticus 18:8: "The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness."
The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover,.... That is, who is indeed a man's father's wife, but not his own mother, but a stepmother or mother-in-law; or otherwise this law would coincide with the former; a man lying with such an one is accursed by the law, Deuteronomy 27:23 ; such an incestuous copulation was that of Reuben with Bilhah, and Absalom with his father's concu…
ellicottLeviticus 18:8: "The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness."
(8) The nakedness of thy father’s wife. —Whilst the former prohibition refers to the son’s own mother, this law is directed against illicit commerce with his stepmother. Here we have an instance where the phrase “to uncover the nakedness” denotes both illicit commerce and incestuous marriage. Accordingly the administrators of the law during the second Temple defined it as follows; a man’s…
This prohibition goes beyond just your biological mother; it extends to your stepmother, emphasizing that her relationship with your father makes her "off-limits" to you, as if it were your father's own person. This highlights how deeply the law understood familial bonds and the sacredness of marriage as a unit.
This verse comes amid a section laying out prohibitions against sexual impurity and incest to distinguish Israel from the surrounding nations. Building on the prohibition against sleeping with one's own mother, this command specifically forbids relations with a stepmother, emphasizing the sacredness of familial bonds. Such acts were seen as deeply violating the honor of the father and mirroring the sins that brought judgment upon the Canaanites.
This verse comes amid a section laying out prohibitions against sexual impurity and incest to distinguish Israel from the surrounding nations. Building on the prohibition against sleeping with one's own mother, this command specifically forbids relations with a stepmother, emphasizing the sacredness of familial bonds. Such acts were seen as deeply violating the honor of the father and mirroring the sins that brought judgment upon the Canaanites.
"You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness." — This prohibition goes beyond just your biological mother; it extends to your stepmother, emphasizing that her relationship with your father makes her "off-limits" to you, as if it were your father's…
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Last reviewed October 2026