Incest in the Bible

Uncommon card · No. 165794

Narratives featuring incest can be found in the Hebrew Bible, which contains mentions of various types of sexual relationships. It also lays out rules and regulations with regard to prohibited degree of kinship. These prohibitions are found predominantly in Leviticus 18:7–18 and 20:11–21, but also in Deuteronomy. Endogamy was the preferred practice in many parts of the ancient Near East; the ideal marriage, in fact, was usually one to a cousin, and it was often forbidden for an eldest daughter to even marry outside of the family at all. Other endogamous relationships, namely avunculate marriages and sibling marriages, while considered incestuous by most of the world today, were also common among a number of ancient Eastern societies, such as that of Ancient Egypt and Ancient China. Biblical commentary on human sexual behaviour is less critical for events that are described as taking place before the Law of Moses was issued by God to the Israelites. For example, the Book of Genesis discusses...

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