Leviticus 18:24

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Leviticus 18:24 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out from before you;” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out from before you;
Leviticus 18:24 — American Standard Version

Context — Leviticus 18

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
24Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out from before you;

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things, etc.] In incestuous copulations and marriages, in adultery, corporeal and spiritual, and bestiality: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you; that is, the seven nations of the land of Canaan, which God was about to eject out of their land to make room for the Israelites, and that on account of the above shocking vices which abounded among them; so that in some sense the land they dwelt upon was defiled by them, and called for vengeance on them, as even loathing its inhabitants, as afterwards suggested.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Defile not yourselves in any of these things--In the preceding verses seventeen express cases of incest are enumerated; comprehending eleven of affinity [Lev 18:7-16], and six of consanguinity [Lev 18:17-20], together with some criminal enormities of an aggravated and unnatural character. In such prohibitions it was necessary for the instruction of a people low in the scale of moral perception, that the enumeration should be very specific as well as minute; and then, on completing it, the divine lawgiver announces his own views of these crimes, without any exception or modification, in the remarkable terms employed in this verse. in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The land designed and consecrated for His people by Yahweh Leviticus 25:23 is here impersonated, and represented as vomiting forth its present inhabitants, in consequence of their indulgence in the abominations that have been mentioned. The iniquity of the Canaanites was now full. See Genesis 15:16; compare Isaiah 24:1-6. The Israelites in this place, and throughout the chapter, are exhorted to a pure and holy life, on the ground that Yahweh, the Holy One, is their God and that they are His people. Compare Leviticus 19:2. It is upon this high sanction that they are peremptorily forbidden to defile themselves with the pollutions of the pagan. The only punishment here pronounced upon…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“18:24-25 any of these ways: Pagan worship (18:21), homosexuality (18:22), and bestiality (18:23). • The land was so nauseated by Canaanite practices that it would dramatically vomit them out (see 18:28).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Defile: Lev. 18:6-23, Lev 18:30; Jer 44:4; Mat 15:18-20; Mar 7:10-23; Co1 3:17 for: Lev 20:22, Lev 20:23; Deu 12:31, Deu 18:12 Leviticus 18:25”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“In the concluding exhortation God pointed expressly to the fact, that the nations which He was driving out before the Israelites (the participle משׁלּח is used of that which is certainly and speedily coming to pass) had defiled the land by such abominations as those, that He had visited their iniquity and the land had spat out its inhabitants, and warned the Israelites to beware of these abominations, that the land might not spit them out as it had the Canaanites before them. The pret. ותּקא ( Lev 18:25) and קאה ( Lev 18:28) are prophetic (cf. Lev 20:22-23), and the expression is poetical. The land is personified as a living creature, which violently rejects food that it dislikes. "Hoc enim…”
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Sources and verification