Bible/Leviticus/18

Leviticus 18:2

18:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God.

KJV

Save image

“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘I am Yahweh your God.

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the Lord your God.

Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, I am the LORD your God.

18:3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.

What does Leviticus 18:2 mean?

Leviticus 18:2 is a verse in the book of Leviticus, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include דָבַר (dâbar), בֵּן (bên), יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrâʼêl). It connects to 14 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

Full chapter interlinear →
Speakדָבַרdâbar/daw-bar'/H1696perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
unto
the
childrenבֵּןbên/bane/H1121a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
of
Israel,יִשְׂרָאֵלYisrâʼêl/yis-raw-ale'/H3478Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
and
sayאָמַרʼâmar/aw-mar'/H559to say (used with great latitude)
unto
them,
I
am
the
LORDיְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh/yeh-ho-vaw'/H3068Jehovah, Jewish national name of God
your
God.אֱלֹהִיםʼĕlôhîym/el-o-heem'/H430gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative

Commentary on Leviticus 18:2

HENRY_FULL · Leviticus 18:2
Here is, I. A general law against all conformity to the corrupt usages of the heathen, ver. 1-5 . II. Particular laws, 1. Against incest, ver. 6-18 . 2. Against beastly lusts, and barbarous idolatries, ver. 19-23 . III. The enforcement of these laws from the ruin of the Canaanites, ver. 24-30 .

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Genesis 17:7

And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

Exodus 6:7

And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

Exodus 20:2

I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. bondage: Heb. servants

Leviticus 11:44

For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Leviticus 18:4

Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19:3

Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19:4

Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19:10

And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 20:7

Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.

Psalms 33:12

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

Ezekiel 20:5

And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God; lifted: or, sware

Ezekiel 20:7

Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Ezekiel 20:19

I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them;

Ezekiel 20:20

And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Leviticus 18:2.

Genesis 2:16

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: thou: Heb. eating thou shalt eat

Genesis 2:18

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. meet: Heb. as before him

Genesis 3:1

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Yea: Heb. Yea, because, etc.

Genesis 1:11

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. grass: Heb. tender grass

Genesis 1:14

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: the day: Heb. between the day and between the night

Genesis 1:20

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. moving: or, creeping life: Heb. soul fowl: Heb. let fowl fly open: Heb. face of the firmament of heaven

Genesis 1:22

And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Genesis 1:24

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

Frequently asked questions

What does Leviticus 18:2 say?

Leviticus 18:2 (King James Version) reads: "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God."

Is Leviticus 18:2 in the Old or New Testament?

Leviticus 18:2 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Leviticus.

Reflect

As you read Leviticus 18:2, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

Plan a sermon or study on Leviticus 18:2
18:1Read all of Leviticus 1818:3