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Leviticus 20:15

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Leviticus 20:15 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.
Leviticus 20:15 — American Standard Version

Context — Leviticus 20

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
12And if a man lie with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.
13And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
14And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.
15And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.
16And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
17And 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 shameful thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people: he hath uncovered his sister`s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.
18And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath made naked her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
← Leviticus 20:14Leviticus 20:16 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“If a man lie with a beast, etc.] A sin quite unnatural, exceeding shocking and detestable, forbid (<031823>Leviticus 18:23): he shall surely be put to death: by stoning, as the Targum of Jonathan adds; and this is the death such are condemned to in the Misnah f726: and ye shall slay the beast; with clubs, as says the Targum of Jonathan; the reasons given in the Misnah f727, why the beast was to be slain, are, because ruin came to the man by means of it, and that it might not be said, as it passed along the streets, that is the beast for which such an one was stoned. Aben Ezra says it was to be slain, that it might not cause others to sin; and he adds, there are that say it was to cover the…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Slay the beast - Partly for the prevention of monstrous births, partly to blot out the memory of so loathsome a crime. Leviticus 20:17”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Lev 18:23; Exo 22:19; Deu 27:21 Leviticus 20:16”
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Related study paths

Read Leviticus 20 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification