Leviticus 18:20 Meaning: Adultery Defiles the Marriage Bond

Three Hebrew words anchor this command. The first is natan, “to give.” Usually a generous word, here it is twisted: you do not give your seed to your neighbor’s wife. The verb implies a deliberate handing over, not a slip. The second word is zera, “seed.” It can mean offspring, but here it refers to semen, the life-giving power that belongs properly within marriage. To give it outside is to misplace something sacred. The third word is tame, “to be unclean.” This is not just a feeling of shame; it is the real stain of sin on a person. Adultery makes the body and soul impure in a way that requires cleansing. Later verses say the land itself becomes defiled by such acts. These words together show that adultery is not a victimless mistake. It is a willful giving of what is holy into a place where it does not belong, and it leaves a mark.

Christians across traditions have seen serious meaning in this verse. John Calvin, writing from a Reformed perspective, emphasized that adultery is a grosser impurity because the sanctity of marriage is violated and illegitimate offspring result. John Gill, a Baptist commentator, noted that adultery defiles both soul and body, bringing a blot on character that is not easily erased. The Geneva Bible notes frame the command as a call not to give oneself to a neighbor’s wife by carnal copulation. Keil and Delitzsch, from a Lutheran background, draw attention to the defilement from the emission of seed and the death penalty required in Leviticus 20. While traditions may express it differently, they converge on this: God takes adultery seriously because marriage is sacred, and the damage is both personal and communal.

Some assume the defilement mentioned here is only a ceremonial impurity, like the temporary uncleanness from touching a dead body. In fact, the context shows this defilement is moral and lasting. Leviticus 18:24, 30 says the land itself was defiled by these sins, and the nations were vomited out for them. The penalty in Leviticus 20:10 is death for both parties. This goes far beyond ritual washing. Adultery stains the soul and corrupts the covenant community.

This verse asks you to see marriage as a holy boundary. God placed each person within a covenant; to cross that line is to take something that is not yours. In a week where you might be tempted to look too long, to speak too freely, or to think that one small step does not matter, this command stands as a guard. It is also a call to honor your own marriage or to respect the marriages of those around you. If you have already crossed that line, the same God who commands also offers cleansing through confession. There is no sin so defiling that His mercy cannot wash it away.