Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 20:17

And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it [is] a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.

Cut off … – See Exo 31:14 note. The more full expression here used probably refers to some special form of public excommunication, accompanied, it may be, by expulsion from the camp.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Seeing is here understood, either,

1. Properly, and so God would cut off the occasions of further filthiness. Or rather,

2. Improperly, for touching her or lying with her; for,

1. The sense of seeing is oft put for other senses, as for hearing, Gen 42:1, compared with Act 7:12; Exo 20:18 Rev 1:12; and for touching, as Joh 20:25,29.

2. That act is expressed by words parallel to this of seeing, as by uncovering, or discovering, and by knowing, Gen 4:1.

3. So it is directly explained in the following words,

he hath uncovered his sisters nakedness, which manifestly signifies lying with her.

4. It is not probable that an equal punishment would have been appointed to an immodest sight, and to the highest act of filthiness.

5. Nor seems there to be any reason why this crime should be restrained to this rather than to any other relations, when it was as great, yea, a greater crime in some other relations. In the sight of their people, i.e. publicly, for the terror and caution of others.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter,…. Take her to be his wife, or commit lewdness with her, whether she be his sister by both father and mother’s side, or whether by one only, either way she is his sister, and it is not lawful to marry her, or lie with her, see Le 18:9:

and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; which is not to be understood of an immodest view, exposing to each other what should not be seen, and pleasing themselves wills such obscene sights, but of the act of lying together, for so it is afterwards explained by a phrase frequently used to express that action by; and it denotes, as Aben Ezra observes, their mutual consent and agreement in it:

it [is] a wicked thing; and by no means to be done; it is a breach of a former law, it is a scandalous and reproachful thing, and the word is sometimes used for reproach, as in Pr 14:34;

and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people; by death, either by the hand of the civil magistrate, or by the hand of God, by the pestilence, as the Targum of Jonathan; Ben Gersom interprets it, of their dying childless, as in some following cases, Le 20:20;

he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; or lay with her, which explains a preceding clause:

he shall bear his iniquity; the punishment of it, and he alone, as Aben Ezra observes.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(17) Take his sister.See Lev. 18:9.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

17. Sister See Lev 18:9; Lev 18:11, notes.

Wicked thing Properly a disgrace.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments