Leviticus 18:23 Commentary: The Meaning of 'Tevel'

This verse sits at the climax of Leviticus 18, a chapter that lists sexual prohibitions distinguishing Israel from the nations. God tells Moses to say to the people, 'You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan' (Lev 18:3). The context reveals that these practices were part of Canaanite religious rites. Gill, drawing on classical sources, states that at Mendes in Egypt, a goat was worshipped and women engaged in bestiality as a cult act. Herodotus reported seeing such an act publicly. The Hebrew term 'tevel' (from H8397) means 'confusion', a violation of the natural order that blurs the distinction between humans and animals. The land itself is said to be defiled by these acts (Lev 18:24-25, 27-28), and God threatens to 'vomit out' its inhabitants if they persist. This shows that sexual sin has cosmic consequences; it stains the earth. The law mandates the death penalty for both parties (Lev 20:15-16), and even the animal is to be killed, underscoring the seriousness of the offense. This prohibition is not just for Israel, 'the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you' (v26) must also obey, because such acts violate universal moral standards rooted in creation. The Holiness Code calls Israel to be holy as God is holy, and sexual purity is central to that calling.

The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Leviticus 18:23. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. The only variation is in English translations of the key term tevel, rendered as 'confusion' (KJV, ASV, YLT, Darby), 'perversion' (WEB, BSB), or 'heinous crime' (Douay-Rheims). These reflect the semantic range of the Hebrew word rather than differences in the underlying text.

Early Christian writers, such as Clement of Alexandria and Augustine, condemned bestiality as contrary to nature and the image of God in humanity. Medieval penitentials prescribed severe fasting and exclusion from communion for those who committed this sin. The Reformers, including Calvin and Luther, upheld the Old Testament prohibition as binding, though they generally did not enforce the death penalty in civil law. In modern times, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that bestiality is a sin against the complementarity of man and woman (Catechism §2357). Protestant and Orthodox traditions likewise maintain that it violates the created order. The verse has been used to argue for the uniqueness of human dignity and the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman.

Three-point outline

1. God’s design for sex is ordered and beautiful. The prohibition against bestiality protects the boundary between the human and animal kingdoms. Sexual union is meant for male and female within the covenant of marriage. When that boundary is crossed, confusion (tevel) results.
2. Perversion distorts God’s good creation. Bestiality is not a harmless deviation; it is a deep violation of the image of God in humanity. It reduces the sacred act of intimacy to mere instinct, rejecting the Creator’s purpose.
3. Sin defiles the land and brings judgment. In the Old Testament, sexual sin had public consequences. The land itself groaned under such practices. Israel was called to be a holy people, distinct from the surrounding nations, and to avoid the judgments that fell on Canaan.

Five-point outline

1. The command: “You shall not lie with any animal”, a clear, unqualified prohibition.
2. The reason given: “to defile yourself with it”, such acts render a person unclean before God.
3. The extension to women: “No woman may give herself to an animal”, the law applies equally to both sexes.
4. The evaluation: “It is a perversion”, the Hebrew word tevel means confusion, a mixing of what God has separated.
5. The seriousness: this sin is grouped with idolatry (Molech) and incest, showing it is not a minor offense but a capital crime in ancient Israel.

Illustration hooks

• Natural revulsion. Most people feel an instinctive horror at the thought of sexual acts with animals. That reaction is not merely cultural; it reflects the created order. God placed within us a sense of what is fitting.
• Consent and vulnerability. Animals cannot consent to sexual acts. The law’s prohibition protects the vulnerable from exploitation. Even in modern society, bestiality is considered animal abuse, a recognition that it harms the creature.
• Boundaries in other areas. Every healthy relationship has boundaries. Marriage has boundaries. Friendship has boundaries. When boundaries are erased, especially between humans and animals, chaos follows. This law teaches us that God’s boundaries are good.

Questions your congregation is asking

• Why does the Bible include such an explicit prohibition? Because Israel lived surrounded by nations where this was practiced. The Bible addresses real situations. And it affirms that all sexual sin matters to God.
• What does “perversion” mean exactly? The Hebrew tevel suggests a mixing that results in confusion, like a blurring of categories. It is not a minor slip but a fundamental disorder.
• How does this apply to Christians today? While the civil penalty of death is not carried out by the church, the moral principle remains: sexual intimacy is reserved for marriage between a man and a woman. Any practice outside that design distorts God’s gift.

When we read Leviticus 18:23, it is easy to feel that this belongs to a different world. But this law speaks to God’s character and His design for creation. The prohibition against bestiality is not arbitrary; it is rooted in the order God established when He made humanity in His image, male and female. In a culture that increasingly blurs boundaries, this verse reminds us that God defines the limits of sexual expression. Use the following questions to explore the meaning and relevance of this text for today.

Discussion questions

1. Read Leviticus 18:23 in several translations. What words or phrases stand out? How do different English versions render the final word (perversion, confusion, abomination)?
2. What does the Hebrew word tevel mean, according to the lexicon? Why do you think the Bible chooses this particular word to describe bestiality?
3. Look at the cross-references: Exodus 22:19, Leviticus 20:15-16, Deuteronomy 27:21. What do these verses add to our understanding of the seriousness of this prohibition?
4. How does the surrounding context (Leviticus 18:1-5, 24-30) help explain why this sin is so strongly condemned? What does the land being defiled mean?
5. Some people argue that Old Testament sexual laws are outdated. How would you respond using this passage? Is the principle behind the law still valid today?
6. How does the prohibition of bestiality connect to the broader biblical theme of holiness? What does it tell us about the kind of people God calls us to be?
7. In what ways does our modern culture also blur God’s boundaries for sexuality? How can Christians uphold the goodness of God’s design without being harsh or condemning?