Leviticus 18:9
Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy sister by father or by mother, whether born at home or abroad.
Open Leviticus 18:9 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Turpitudinem sororis tuæ ex patre sive ex matre, quæ domi vel foris genita est, non revelabis.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ἀσχημοσύνην τῆς ἀδελφῆς σου ἐκ πατρός σου ἢ μητρός σου, ἐνδογενοῦς γεγεννημένης ἢ ἔξω, οὐκ ἀποκαλύψεις ἀσχημοσύνην αὐτῆς.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- עֶרְוַ֨ת אֲחֽוֹתְךָ֤ בַת אָבִ֨יךָ֙ א֣וֹ בַת אִמֶּ֔ךָ מוֹלֶ֣דֶת בַּ֔יִת א֖וֹ מוֹלֶ֣דֶת ח֑וּץ לֹ֥א תְגַלֶּ֖ה עֶרְוָתָֽן
Haydock's commentary
Abroad; being born of your mother, while she was married to another. The marriages of brothers and sisters at the beginning, were authorized by necessity; but now they are the more to be condemned, as religion forbids them. (St. Augustine, City of God xv. 16.) Some Rabbins assert, that such connexions were lawful till the time of Moses. But St. Epiphanius (hær. 39,) maintains, they had been condemned long before. Seneca (St. Augustine, City of God vi. 10,) acknowledges that such marriages of the pagan gods were not right; ne piè quidem: and Plato says, they are hateful to God. The Romans punished them with death. Many barbarians do not, however, make any scruple to contract marriage with their children, or with their mothers. (St. Jerome, contra Jov. ii. 2.; Eurip. Hermione.) (Calmet)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St Jerome The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary
17. Innumerable instances of the same kind are to be found in the sacred books. But, to be brief, I will return to the last of the four classes of brethren, those, namely, who are brethren by affection, and these again fall into two divisions, those of the spiritual and those of the general relationship. I say spiritual because all of us Christians are called brethren, as in the verse, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” And in another psalm the Saviour says, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren.” And elsewhere, “Go unto my brethren and say to them.” I say also general , because we are all children of one Father, there is a like bond of brotherhood between us all. …