Misuse of “seed.” In Leviticus 18:19–23 are five laws that come under the topic of the Lord’s statutes, by contrast to those of Egypt and Canaan (18:2–5), but not under the heading of incest laws (18:6). Nevertheless, four out of five of them also have to do with sexuality.

Intercourse with a menstruating woman is absolutely forbidden in verse 19, and in verse 29 the consequence of this and other offenses is the divine penalty of being “cut off,” that is, extirpation (cf. 20:18). So how do we explain the fact that in 15:24 a man having sexual relations with a menstruant only incurs a seven-day impurity? Since 15:24 deals with ritual consequences irrespective of intention, it covers situations of accidental violation in which a couple has intercourse without knowing that the woman is menstruating, but they learn this after the fact. In chapters 18 and 20, by contrast, the divine penalty is for deliberate violation; it would be pointless to forbid an accident.

The prohibition of adultery, involving the consent of both parties, is already part of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:14), but the broader scope of Leviticus 18:20 also includes rape...

At the center of the final group of five laws is a prohibition against sacrificing children to the god Molech (18:21), who was worshiped especially by the Ammonites (1 Kings 11:5, 7, 33; 2 Kings 23:13; Jer. 49:1, 3), a Transjordanian people whose ancestor ... was Lot through his youngest daughter (Gen. 19:34–38). This law has to do with idolatrous worship of another deity rather than sexual relations, but the close parallel between the wording of Leviticus 18:21 and the previous verse forges a link for us... Molech worship parallels adultery: Both violate covenant relationships by disloyally giving precious “seed” to parties forbidden to receive it (Ezek. 23:37).

Verse 22 reads: “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.” The language is devastatingly untechnical, leaving no room for ambiguity. Leviticus 20:13 reiterates, but with a penalty directly attached: “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” This condemnation of homosexual practice as offensive to God is not “politically correct” today, but our task here is to understand what the Bible says, not to rewrite it. Whether we like it or not, the Bible is simply not bound by modern Western constraints of political correctness. Notice, however, that Leviticus does not condemn persons who have homosexual tendencies as long as they do not act on them.

The last law in chapter 18 prohibits the defiling (Qal of ṭmʾ) perversion of bestiality, whether by a man or a woman. For a man the terminology is almost the same as in verse 20 (see above), but slightly more specific and therefore graphic... Leviticus 20 mandates capital punishment for both the human and animal parties (20:15–16).