“Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister, for she is your father’s close relative.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister: she is your father’s near kinswoman.
- KJV Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: she is thy father’s near kinswoman.
- BSB You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.
- NKJV You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is near of kin to your father.
- NASB You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s blood relative.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Relations with a paternal aunt are forbidden because she is a near kinswoman.
Overview
The prohibition extends to the father's sister, recognizing the close blood tie. By naming her 'your father's near kinswoman,' the law appeals to natural kinship as the reason for the boundary. Such laws preserve the purity and honor of the wider family network under God's design.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Lev 20:19“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, nor of your father’s sister; for he has made his close relative naked. They shall bear their iniquity.
- Exod 6:20Amram took Jochebed his father’s sister to himself as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were a hundred and thirty-seven years.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 18:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.