Tyndale Open Study Notes on Leviticus 17:7

A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.

Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Modern study notes
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.

17:7 be unfaithful (Hebrew zanah, “commit fornication”): Israel was not to worship any god but the Lord (Exod 20:3). Israel’s covenant relationship to the Lord was even compared to a marriage (see Hos 1:2), and worshiping other gods could be described as spiritual adultery. In addition, many of the Canaanite religions were fertility cults. This verb reflects the prostitution conducted at Canaanite shrines to induce fertility in the land through rites of magic involving sexual intercourse. • The Hebrew word translated goat idols is the plural for a male goat. In the ancient world, the male goat was often a symbol of fertility or of a god of the underworld. During the reign of Jeroboam I, many Levites from the northern kingdom moved south to Jerusalem; they had been appalled by the use of goats and bulls in the northern kingdom’s worship (2 Chr 11:15-16).

Read Leviticus 17:7 →Read the full chapter →John Gill's Exposition →Jamieson, Fausset & Brown →Barnes' Notes →Wesley's Explanatory Notes →Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge →

How to use this source
This excerpt is attributed to its named commentary. It is included as a historical study resource and should be evaluated in light of Scripture and other relevant evidence.