[ ]Mapping the FamilyIn the incest laws of Leviticus the term l’galot erva, “to u ncover na ked-
ness,” connotes sexual relations. At times, the addressee of Leviticus
is told not to uncover the nakedness of a female relative; at other times,
the “nakedness” under discussion is that of a male relative whose wife is
forbidden to the addressee. In rabbinic discussions, these prohibitions
are extended in some cases to additional generations; for example, a
man is forbidden to have sexual relations with his grandmothers. The
prohibition against intercourse with a parent’s sister or an uncle’s wife is
not extended to cousins; marriages between cousins are permitted.
Given the incest reg ulations in Lev iticus, the institution of lev irate in
ancient Israel presents a paradoxical situation. According to Leviticus, a
ma n is forbidden to have sex ua l relat ions w it h h is brot her’s w i fe; t he rep-
etition of the prohibition led exegetes to claim that it applies both dur-
ing the brother’s lifetime and after his death.^47 Lev it icus : wa r ns t hat
the union of a man and his brother’s wife will be childless. In contrast,
Deuteronomy expects a man to marry the wife of his late (childless)
brother for the express purpose of having a child who will carry on the
name of the deceased. Post-biblical commentators see a contradiction
between these two laws, acknowledging that contradiction in powerful
terms.^48 These two laws, Leviticus :, : and Deuteronomy : – ,
Figure 1. Prohibited sexual relationships (indicated by shading)
[Leviticus 18 and 20]