S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

There are numerous examples of incest in the Bible. The most commonly thought-of examples are the sons/daughters of Adam and Eve (Genesis 4), Abraham marrying his half-sister Sarah (Genesis 20:12),...

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July 01 2013 • 9 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter Arizona Bible College graduate and Dallas Seminary graduate

Why did God allow incest in the Bible?

Incest is defined and forbidden here:
Lev. 18:6-18; Lev. 20:11, 12, 17, 19-21; Deut. 22:30; Deut. 27:20, 22, 23; Ezek. 22:11; 1 Cor. 5:1

Instances of incest are here:

Lot with his daughters, Gen. 19:31-36.
Abraham, Gen. 20:12, 13.
Nahor, Gen. 11:29.
Reuben, Gen. 35:22; 49:4.
Amram, Ex. 6:20.
Judah, Gen. 38:16-18; 1 Chr. 2:4.
Amnon, 2 Sam. 13:14.
Absalom, 2 Sam. 16:21, 22.
Herod, Matt. 14:3, 4; Mark 6:17, 18; Luke 3:19.
Israel, Amos 2:7.
Instances of marriage of near of kin: Isaac with Rebekah, Gen. 24:15, 67.
Jacob with Leah and Rachel, Gen. 29:23, 30.
Rehoboam, 2 Chr. 11:18.

Incest became a crime.

In the earliest periods of the Bible, the human population was minuscule. For humanity to multiply and fill the earth as God commanded, close kin had to marry. The instances you cited, such as Abraham marrying his half-sister (Genesis 20:12) and Jacob marrying his cousins Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29:23, 30), occurred before the Mosaic Law was given. At that time, there were no other people to marry, making such unions a practical necessity for procreation.

However, the passages from Leviticus and Deuteronomy that I listed show that God later explicitly forbade these relationships. This prohibition was not an afterthought but part of God's progressive moral and civil law for the nation of Israel. The reason? God was setting His people apart from the corrupt practices of the Canaanites and Egyptians (Leviticus 18:24-30). bible.org and chat.deepseek assist

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