Leviticus 18:28

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Leviticus 18:28 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “that the land vomit not you out also, when ye defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

that the land vomit not you out also, when ye defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.
Leviticus 18:28 — American Standard Version

Context — Leviticus 18

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
28that the land vomit not you out also, when ye defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was 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
“That the land spew not you out also, when ye defile it, etc.] By sinning on it, and so rendering it obnoxious to the curse of God, as the whole earth originally was for the sin of man; and so be cast out of it, as Adam was out of paradise, and as the Israelites might expect to be cast out of Canaan, as the old inhabitants of it had been: as it spewed out the nations that [were] before you; which for the certainty of it is spoken of as done, though it was as yet future; and what the Lord did is ascribed to the land, the more to aggravate their crying sins and abominations, for which the land mourned, and which it could not bear.”
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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
“18:28 Just as the land would vomit out the Canaanites, it would also vomit out the Israelites if they acted like the Canaanites (see study note on 18:24-25). This came to pass with the destruction and exile of the northern kingdom by the Assyrians in 722 BC (2 Kgs 17:6) and when the Babylonians destroyed and exiled Judah in 586 BC (2 Kgs 25:8-21).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Lev 18:25, Lev 20:22; Jer 9:19; Eze 36:13, Eze 36:17; Rom 8:22; Rev 3:16 Leviticus 18:29”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification