What Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 Mean
Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 forbid a man from lying with a male as with a woman, calling it an abomination. In early Christian writing, Clement of Alexandria and the Apostolic Constitutions read the command this same way. The surrounding chapter shows these laws as part of Israel’s call to avoid the sexual customs of the nations.
155 early-church witnesses · 257 source quotations · compared with Scripture
What does Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 mean?
Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 mean that God forbids a man from having sexual relations with another male as with a woman. In the chapter’s own words, the act is called an abomination and is treated as a serious covenant violation. Early Christian writers like Clement of Alexandria and the Apostolic Constitutions used these verses in the same plain way, as a clear moral command rather than a symbol or metaphor.
Many more early Christian quotations, Bible passages, and source links are gathered below so you can study the evidence for yourself.
Passage context
Leviticus 18 lists sexual sins Israel must avoid, and it ends by saying these are the abominable customs of the nations. Leviticus 20 repeats some of the same laws and adds penalties for breaking them. The chapter frames these commands as part of holiness and as a warning not to copy the nations around Israel.
Why early Christian sources matter
Early Christian writers help show how people close to the Bible read these verses in the centuries after the apostles. Clement of Alexandria directly quotes Leviticus 18:22 and calls the act contrary to nature, and the Apostolic Constitutions repeats the command as a forbidden act. Their use does not replace the Bible text, but it confirms that the passage was read as a direct moral rule in early Christian teaching.
Common interpretation points
- Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 are not about dress, gender roles, or temple ritual; they are about a sexual act.
- Leviticus 20:13 adds a penalty, so the second verse repeats and strengthens the first law.
- Some early Christian texts nearby use Leviticus for broader purity teaching, but the direct wording here is the main interpretive key.
Evidence-Based Summary
Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 forbid a man from lying with a male as with a woman, and Leviticus treats that act as an abomination. Early Christian writers who quote these verses, especially Clement of Alexandria and the Apostolic Constitutions, read them as a plain moral ban, often describing the act as against nature. The wider early Christian witness is broad on the same moral direction, even when many writers do not quote these exact verses.
Some later readers also used the chapter for wider purity teaching, but the direct evidence for these two verses is strong and consistent.
Key Takeaways
- Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 forbid male same-sex intercourse and call it an abomination.
- The chapter places this command inside a larger call to avoid the sexual customs of the nations.
- Clement of Alexandria and the Apostolic Constitutions read the verses as a direct moral rule.
Questions Answered by the Sources
What does Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 mean?
These verses forbid a man from lying with a male as with a woman, and Leviticus calls the act an abomination. Leviticus 20:13 repeats the same command and adds the penalty, so the law is presented as serious and direct, not symbolic.
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Leviticus 18:22 Direct teaching
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.
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Leviticus 20:13 Direct teaching
If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
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Leviticus 18:30 Background
‘Therefore you shall keep My ordinance, so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: I am the Lord your God.’ ”
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Leviticus 18:29 Background
For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people.
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Leviticus 18:27 Background
(For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)
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Leviticus 18:24 Background
‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you.
How did early Christians read Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13?
Early Christian writers treated these verses as a clear ban on male same-sex intercourse. Clement of Alexandria quotes Leviticus 18:22 directly, and the Apostolic Constitutions repeats the command in the same moral way as a forbidden act against nature.
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Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor (Paedagogus) Direct teaching
... most plainly commanded: "And with a male you shall not lie as with a woman. It is an abomination," Leviticus 18:22. In addition, the noble Plato, gathering from the divine Scriptures that one must also abstain from every female field except one's own, gave counsel from a law taken from there: "And you shall not give the intercourse of seed to your neighbor's wife, to be defiled with her," Leviticus 18:20. The seed spent with concubines is barren and adulterous. Do not sow seed where you do not want what is sown to be born for you. And do not touch any woman at all except your own wife, from whom alone it is permitted for you to receive bodily pleasure for obtaining legitimate offspring. For these alone are lawful according to the Word. Certainly for those who share in God's work in the labor of bringing forth life, seed must not be thrown away, or wronged, or sown as if you were ordering seed to be sown in horns. Therefore Moses himself also forbids intercourse even with one's own wife if she is held by her monthly purifications. For it is not right to pollute generative seed, and that which will soon become a human being, with the body's cleansing discharge, nor to flood and b
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Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor (Paedagogus) Supporting witness
Leviticus 18:22 Accedit his, quod ab omni quoque arvo feminino esse abstinendum præterquam a proprio, ex divinis Scripturis colligens præclarus Plato consuluit lege illinc accepta: Et uxori proximi tui non dabis concubitum seminis, ut polluaris apud ipsam.
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
You shall not corrupt boys: Leviticus 18:22 for this wickedness is contrary to nature, and arose from Sodom, which was therefore entirely consumed with fire sent from God.
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
...ue. All these things are forbidden by the laws, for the oracles say this: "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. For such a person is accursed, and you shall stone them with stones; they have committed abomination." "Everyone who lies with a beast, put him to death; he has committed wickedness among his people." "And if anyone defiles a married woman, put them both to death; they have committed wickedness; they are guilty; let them die." And afterward it says: "There shall not be a fornicator among the children of Israel, and there shall not be a prostitute among the daughters of Israel. You shall not offer the hire of a harlot to the Lord your God upon the altar, nor the price of a dog. For vows that arise from the hire of a harlot are not clean." These things the laws have forbidden, but they have honored marriage and called it blessed, since God, who joined male and female together, has blessed it. And wise Solomon says somewhere, "A wife is suited to her husband by the Lord." And David says, "Your wife is like a flourishing vine by the sides of your house; your children like olive branches around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord."
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
We abhor all unlawful mixtures, and that which is practised by some against nature as wicked and impious.
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Tertullian, On Modesty Supporting witness
But all the other frenzies of passions— impious both toward the bodies and toward the sexes — beyond the laws of nature, we banish not only from the threshold, but from all shelter of the Church, because they are not sins, but monstrosities.
Common Questions
Is Leviticus 18:22 talking about a general dislike of men?
No. The verse specifically forbids a man from lying with a male as with a woman.
Why does Leviticus 20:13 repeat the same command?
It repeats the command and adds the penalty, showing the law’s seriousness.
Did early Christians read Leviticus 18:22 as literal?
Yes. Clement of Alexandria and the Apostolic Constitutions quote it as a plain moral command against the act.
What is the plain meaning of Leviticus 18:22?
It forbids a man from lying with a male as with a woman.
What does Leviticus 20:13 add?
It repeats the same ban and adds the death penalty for the offense.
How did Clement of Alexandria use Leviticus 18:22?
He quoted it directly and called the act contrary to nature.
Source Index for Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13
The guided sections above show the strongest quotations. This compact index highlights 160 ranked source links from 257 compiled sources for deeper study.
Source index 160 ranked links shown
Early Christian Writings 80 shown of 155
Primary-source quotations from early Christian writers and church documents.
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Unknown, Unknown Work
Bible Passages 80 shown of 102
Related Bible passages saved for comparison with the early Christian quotations.
