Incest in the Bible - wikipedia Incest in the Bible Incest in the Bible refers to sexual relations between certain close kinship relationships which are prohibited by the Hebrew Bible. These prohibitions are found predominantly in Leviticus 18 : 8 - 18 and 20 : 11 - 21, but also in Deuteronomy. The biblical categories of prohibited relationships does not entirely match the modern definitions of prohibited incestuous relations in force in various countries or of the various Christian denominations. ( see Affinity ( canon law ) and Laws regarding incest. ) A few books of the Bible, particularly the early parts of the Torah, contain narratives in which certain individuals, from the same family as one another, engage in sexual intercourse together ; while this could be construed as incest, endogamy is an alternative interpretation. The Bible does not, for example, forbid cousins from marrying, but it does prohibit sexual relations with several other close relatives. Contents 1 Definition 1.1 Gender - specific rules 2 Specific incestuous relationships in the Bible 3 Notes 4 References 5 See also Definition In ancient times, tribal nations preferred endogamous marriage -- marriage to one 's relatives ; the ideal marriage was usually that to a cousin, and it was often forbidden for an eldest daughter to even marry outside the family. Marriage to a half - sister, for example, is considered incest by most nations today, but was common behaviour for Egyptian pharaohs ; similarly, the Book of Genesis portrays Sarah as marrying Abraham, her half - brother, without criticising the close genetic relationship between them, and the Book of Samuel treats the marriage of a royal prince to his half - sister as unusual, rather than wicked. Leviticus 18 and 20 lists the prohibited incestuous relationships, and two chapters later specifies punishments for specific incestuous unions, but this second list of unions is much shorter than the first ; textual scholars regard the lists as having originally been independent documents, bound together at a later point. The Deuteronomic Code gives a yet more simple list of forbidden relationships -- a man 's parent 's daughter ( including his sister ), a man 's father 's wife ( including his mother ), and a man 's mother - in - law. These lists only mention relationships with female relatives ; excluding lesbianism, this implies that the list is addressed to men. These lists of forbidden unions compare as follows ( the relations highlighted in red are those that are forbidden ) : Leviticus 18 Leviticus 20 Deuteronomy Grandfather 's wife ( including grandmother ) Father 's wife Mother Stepmother Mother - in - law Aunt Parent 's sister Uncle 's wife Father 's brother 's wife Mother 's brother 's wife Parent 's daughter Half - sister ( mother 's side ) Father 's daughter Sister Half - sister ( father 's side ) Step sister Sister - in - law ( if the wife was still alive ) Niece Wife 's daughter Daughter Stepdaughter Daughter - in - law Wife 's child 's daughter ( including granddaughter ) One of the most notable features of all the lists is that sexual activity between a man and his own daughter is not explicitly forbidden. Although the first relation mentioned after the Levitical prohibition of sex with `` near kin '' names that of `` thy father '', it must be taken into account that the Hebrew original text only addresses male Jews with regard to their female relatives. The talmud argues that the absence is because the prohibition was obvious, especially given the proscription against a relationship with a granddaughter, although some biblical scholars have instead proposed that it was originally in the list, but was then accidentally left out from the copy on which modern versions of the text ultimately depend, due to a mistake by the scribe. The second list in the Holiness code noticeably differs from the first by not including the closer relatives, and it might be assumed that obviousness is the explanation here as well. One might argue that the explicit prohibition against engaging in sexual activity with a woman as well as with her daughter, implicitly forbids sexual activity between a man and his daughter. However, the rationale might suggest otherwise ( the original text is unclear here ), since it mentions only that `` they '' ( i.e., the woman and the daughter ) are related. John Calvin did not consider the father - daughter - relation to be explicitly forbidden by the bible, but regarded it as immoral nevertheless. Apart from the case of the daughter, the first incest list in the Holiness code roughly produces the same rules as were followed in early ( pre-Islamic ) Arabic culture ; in Islam, these pre-existing rules were made statutory. The rules in this list are, however, ignored in several prominent cases in the Torah -- Jacob is described as having married his first wife 's sister, and Abraham as having a father in common with Sarah ( rather than a mother, which would have been permitted by the list ). Ezekiel implies that, in his time, marriage between a man and his stepmother, or his daughter - in - law, or his sister, were frequent. This situation seems to be the target of the Deuteronomic version of the incest prohibition, which only addresses roughly the same three issues ( though prohibiting the mother - in - law in place of the daughter - in - law ). Early rabbinic commentators instead argue that the Deuteronomic list is so short because the other possible liaisons were obviously prohibited, and these three were the only liaisons difficult to detect, on account of the fact that, in their day, a man 's stepmother, half - sister, and mother - in - law usually lived in the same house as the man ( prior to any liaison ). Gender - specific rules The biblical lists are not symmetrical -- the implied rules for women are not the same. Ignoring family members involved in homosexual liaisons ( for the sake of simplicity ), they compare as follows ( blue = forbidden for men only, red = forbidden for women only, purple = forbidden for both men and women ) : Leviticus 18 Leviticus 20 Deuteronomy Grandparent 's spouse ( including other grandparent ) Parent 's spouse Parent Stepparent Parent - in - law Uncle / Aunt Parent 's sibling Uncle 's / Aunt 's spouse Father 's sibling 's spouse Mother 's sibling 's spouse Parent 's child Half - sibling ( mother 's side ) Father 's child Sibling Half - sibling ( father 's side ) Step sibling Sibling - in - law ( if the spouse was still alive ) Nephew / Niece Sibling 's child Nephew / Niece - in - law Spouse 's brother 's child Spouse 's sister 's child Spouse 's child Child Stepchild Child - in - law Spouse 's grandchild ( including grandchild ) Specific incestuous relationships in the Bible The Bible mentions a number of sexual relationships, most of which relate to pre-Sinai period prior to the handing down of the Mosaic law : In Genesis 4 : 17, Cain has a wife, though there is no account given of where his wife comes from. Excepting direct creation by God or that the area contained other groups of people not mentioned by the Bible, the possibilities for Cain 's wife are that she was either a full sister of Cain, or she was Cain 's mother Eve, or from a later generation of descendants ; it does n't mean he married immediately or even at his generation level, a great deal of time could have elapsed. Adam was over 930 years old when he died. In Genesis 9 : 20 - 27, Ham saw his father Noah 's nakedness. The Talmud suggests that Ham may have sodomized Noah ( Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 70a ). In more recent times, some scholars have suggested that Ham may have had intercourse with his father 's wife. Abraham 's brother Nahor married his niece Milcah, the daughter of his other brother Haran. In Genesis 19 : 30 - 38, living in an isolated area after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot 's two daughters conspired to inebriate and seduce their father due to the lack of available partners. Because of intoxication, Lot `` perceived not '' when his firstborn, and the following night his younger daughter, lay with him. ( Genesis 19 : 32 - 35 ) The two children born were directly Lot 's sons and indirectly his grandsons, being his daughters ' sons. Likewise, their sons were also half - brothers ( between them and with their mothers ), having the same father, as well as cousins, having mothers that were sisters. In one of the tales of a wife confused for a sister, Abraham admitted that his wife Sarah is also his half - sister, on his father 's side. However, in the rabbinic literature, Sarah is considered Abraham 's niece ( the daughter of his brother, Haran ). Abraham 's son Isaac married Rebekah, his first cousin once removed, the granddaughter of his father 's brother Nahor and niece Milcah. Isaac and Rebekah 's firstborn son Esau married his cousin Mahalah, daughter of his father 's brother Ishmael, while their second son Jacob married his cousins Leah and Rachel, daughters of his mother 's brother Laban. Marriage of cousins was not forbidden in biblical law. In Genesis 35 : 22, Jacob 's firstborn son Reuben committed incest by sleeping with his father 's concubine Bilhah. In Genesis 38, Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, mistook his daughter - in - law Tamar for a prostitute while she was veiled, and had sex with her. The biblical character Amram married his paternal aunt, Jochebed, the mother of Miriam, Aaron and Moses. In the book of 2nd Samuel, Amnon, King David 's eldest son and heir to the throne, raped his half - sister Tamar ; Tamar 's brother, Absalom, learned of the incident and, two years later, ordered his servants to have Amnon killed. It is noteworthy that when pleading in vain with Amnon, Tamar said, `` Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king ; for he will not withhold me from thee ''. In 2 Samuel 16 : 22, Absalom ( son of King David ) is in the middle of a rebellion against his father and sleeps with his father 's concubines on the roof inside a tent. Rehoboam son of Solomon and Naamah, married Maacah daughter of Absalom. 2 samuel 14 : 27 does not list Maacah as daughter of Absalom but Absalom seems having sex with wives of David, his father at the advice of Ahithophel. Notes ^ Jump up to : This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Singer, Isidore ; et al., eds. ( 1901 -- 1906 ). `` incest ''. Jewish Encyclopedia. New York : Funk & Wagnalls Company. ^ Jump up to : Genesis 20 : 12 Jump up ^ Leviticus 18 : 7 - 11 Jump up ^ Leviticus 20 : 11 - 21 Jump up ^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Singer, Isidore ; et al., eds. ( 1901 -- 1906 ). `` Leviticus ''. Jewish Encyclopedia. New York : Funk & Wagnalls Company. Jump up ^ Richard Elliott Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible ? ( 1987 ) Jump up ^ This article incorporates text from the 1903 Encyclopaedia Biblica article `` Leviticus '', a publication now in the public domain. Jump up ^ Deuteronomy 22 : 30 Jump up ^ Deuteronomy 27 : 20 - 23 Jump up ^ Leviticus 18 : 6 - 7 ; Deuteronomy 22 : 30 Jump up ^ Cf. the Revised Standard Version : Lev 18 : 6 Jump up ^ Yebamot 3a ^ Jump up to : This article incorporates text from the 1903 Encyclopaedia Biblica article `` marriage '', a publication now in the public domain. Jump up ^ Leviticus 18 : 17 Jump up ^ Cf. the footnote in the Revised Standard Version ( Lev 18 : 17 ) as well as the King James Version ( Lev 18 : 17 ) Jump up ^ John Calvin, Bible Commentary, Harmony of the Law ( Vol. 3 ), Leviticus 18 ( online version ) Jump up ^ Genesis 29 : 16 Jump up ^ Genesis 29 : 23 Jump up ^ Genesis 29 : 28 Jump up ^ Ezekiel 22 : 10 - 11 Jump up ^ Samuel ben Meir, Commentary, ad loc. Jump up ^ Frederick W. Bassett, `` Noah 's nakedness and the curse of Canaan : a case of incest ? '' VT 21 ( 1971 ) pp. 232 -- 237. John S. Bergsma and Scott Hahn, `` Noah 's nakedness and the curse on Canaan ( Genesis 9 : 20 - 27 ), '' JBL 124 ( 2005 ) pp. 25 -- 40. Jump up ^ Genesis 11 : 29 Jump up ^ Genesis 24 : 15 Jump up ^ Genesis 28 : 9 Jump up ^ Genesis 29 Jump up ^ Genesis 38 Jump up ^ Exodus 6 : 20 Jump up ^ 2 Samuel 13 Jump up ^ 2 Samuel 13 : 13 Jump up ^ `` 1 Kings 14 : 21 cev : Rehoboam son of Solomon, His mother Naamah ; 1 Chronicles 3 : 10 - 15 cev : Solomon 's descendants included the following kings : Rehoboam ''. Jump up ^ `` 2 Chronicles 11 : 20 cev : Then Rehoboam married Maacah the daughter of Absalom ''. Jump up ^ `` 2 Samuel 14 : 27 cev : 27 Absalom had three sons. He also had a daughter named Tamar, who grew up to be very beautiful ''. Jump up ^ `` 2 Samuel 16 cev : 22 Absalom had a tent set up on the flat roof of the palace, and everyone watched as he went into the tent with his father 's wives ''. References Akerly, Ben Edward, The X-Rated Bible : An Irreverent Survey of Sex in the Scriptures ( Feral House, 1998 ) ISBN 0 - 922915 - 55 - 5 ; pp. 1 -- 13 See also Incest Incest in Judaism Sex in the Bible Incest Type Accidental incest Avunculate marriage Child incestuous abuse Consanguine marriage Cousin marriage notable cases in the Middle East Covert incest Inbreeding Incest between twins Motherfucker Parallel and cross cousins Snokhachestvo Sibling incest Laws regarding incest Article 809 of the Korean Civil Code Consanguinity Cousin marriage law in the United States by state Cousin marriage court cases in the United States Mahram Muth v. Frank Laws regarding incest in the United States Prohibited degree of kinship Ten Abominations Culture Incest in the Bible Incest in folklore Incest in popular culture Incest in film and television Incest in literature Incest pornography Incest taboo Jewish views on incest Theory Science Coefficient of relationship Genetic sexual attraction Inbreeding depression Pedigree collapse Psychology Electra complex Jocasta complex Oedipus complex Phaedra complex Westermarck effect Cases Alvarez case Armando Lucero Colt clan incest case Fritzl case Goler clan Maria Ersdotter Moe incest case Mongelli case Patrick Stübing Sheffield incest case Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Incest_in_the_Bible&oldid=813187448 '' Categories : Incest Sexuality in the Bible Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia without a Wikisource reference Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1903 Encyclopaedia Biblica Pages with numeric Bible version references All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2012 Talk Contents About Wikipedia 日本 語 Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 2 December 2017, at 08 : 35. 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Question: who married their half sister in the bible
Answer: Abraham