Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 18:17
Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; [for] they [are] her near kinswomen: it [is] wickedness.
Of a woman and her daughter, to wit, thy step-daughter, and so thy step-sons daughter, &c.
It is wickedness; because they are very near to thy wife by consanguinity, as coming directly from her; and therefore they are as near to thee by affinity, which binds as much as consanguinity; the wife, who is only related by affinity, being nearer to a man than any other by consanguinity, they two being made one flesh, and therefore the same distance is to be observed in both of them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Thou shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter,…. That is, if a man marries a woman, and she has a daughter, which is the man’s daughter-in-law, after the death of his wife he may not marry this daughter; for this daughter is of the same flesh with her mother, who became one flesh with the man she married, and therefore his relation to her daughter is too near to marry her: Jarchi says, if he does not marry the woman, but only deflower her, it is free for him to marry her daughter; but Aben Ezra says, if he has lain with the mother, the daughter is forbidden; however, if he married either of them, the other was forbidden; he could not marry them both, neither in the lifetime of them both, nor after the death of either of them:
neither shalt thou take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; not any of her granddaughters, either in the line of her son or daughter; that is, might not lie with either of them, or marry them, and much less then marry her own daughter, these being a further remove from her:
[for] they [are] her near kinswomen; one or other of them, even every one of them, “the rest” and residue “of her” r, of her flesh, who together made one flesh with her; and therefore not to be married to her husband, either in her life, or after her death:
it [is] wickedness: a very great wickedness, abominable in the sight of God, and to be detested by man as vile and impious; it is whoredom, as the Targum of Jonathan renders it.
r “reliquiae sunt ipsae”, Tigurine version.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Marriage with a woman and her daughter, whether both together or in succession, is described in Deu 27:20 as an accursed lying with the mother-in-law; whereas here it is the relation to the step-daughter which is primarily referred to, as we may see from the parallel prohibition, which is added, against taking the daughter of her son or daughter, i.e., the granddaughter-in-law. Both of these were crimes against blood-relationship which were to be punished with death in the case of both parties (Lev 20:14), because they were “wickedness,” , lit., invention, design, here applied to the crime of licentiousness and whoredom (Lev 19:29; Jdg 20:6; Job 31:11).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verses 17, 18:
This text describes a prohibited form of incest with a stepdaughter or step-granddaughter, or a mother-in-law. The reason: they are near kinswomen.
The margin note on verse 18 reads, “Neither shalt thou take one wife to another. The text concerns polygamy. God does not authorize this practice; He does give instructions regulating it. The text teaches that a man was not to take a second wife who would be likely for some reason to vex his first wife. Examples of this are: the conflict between Rachel and Leah, Ge 30:11-24; and the conflict between Peninnah and Hannah, 1Sa 1:4-6.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(17) A woman and her daughter.That is, if a man marries a widow who has a daughter by a former husband, or if he forms an alliance with a woman who has a daughter out of wedlock, he is forbidden to marry also the daughter. But though this prohibition is directed against a peculiar form of polygamy. there can hardly be any doubt that, as the administrators of the law during the second Temple interpreted it, if he married either of them and she died, he could not marry the other any more, and that this prohibition did not apply to cases of illicit commerce. Criminal intercourse with one did not preclude him from marrying the other. For contracting the kind of polygamy here forbidden, the offenders were punished with death by fire. (See Lev. 20:14.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. A woman and her daughter This verse prohibits the successive marriage of a man with a woman and her daughter or granddaughter on account of their near blood relationship.
Wickedness This word zimmah is elsewhere generally translated lewdness, and signifies a gross violation of decency or principle.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Lev 18:17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; [for] they [are] her near kinswomen: it [is] wickedness.
Ver. 17. It is wickedness. ] Wickedness with a witness; and yet avowed for lawful by some odious upstart sectaries, who teach that those marriages are most laudable that are betwixt persons nearest in blood, brother and sister, father and daughter, mother and son, &c. This they shame not to set forth in print. a
a Hist. Davidis Georg., pp. 28, 29; Little Non-such, pp. 5-7.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
wickedness = lewdness. Hebrew. zimmah. App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a woman: Lev 20:14, Deu 27:23, Amo 2:7
it is wickedness: Lev 20:14
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lev 18:17. A woman and her daughter If a man married a widow that had a daughter, he was not allowed to marry this daughter, either while the mother was alive or after her death.