Leviticus 20 in the early church
55 passages quote, allude to, or echo Leviticus 20, grouped by verse; passages on the same verse are in date order. Verse text from the Berean Standard Bible (public domain). References use the Protestant English Bible's numbering, with a writer's own numbering in brackets where it differs.
Verses: 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 20 · 21 · 22 · 24 · 25 · 26 · 27
Leviticus 20:6
Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:6 | On the Witch of Endor 11 · Eustathius of Antioch | quotation, high confidence | ca. 324–337 |
Leviticus 20:7
Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:7 | Homilies on Leviticus 11.1 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) |
| Lev 20:7 | Letter 1 to Himerius of Tarragona, chapter 7 · Siricius, bishop of Rome | quotation, high confidence | 385 |
| Lev 20:7 | Letter 6 to Exsuperius, chapter 1 · Innocent I, bishop of Rome | quotation, medium confidence | 401–417 |
Leviticus 20:8
And you shall keep My statutes and practice them. I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:8 | Homilies on Leviticus 11.2 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) |
| Lev 20:8 | On the Spirit and the Letter 45 · Augustine of Hippo | echo, medium confidence | 412 |
Leviticus 20:9
If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:9 | Homilies on Leviticus 11.2 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) |
| Lev 20:9 | Homilies on Leviticus 11.3 · Origen | allusion, high confidence | ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) |
| Lev 20:9 | Commentary on Matthew 11.9 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | ca. 246–248 |
| Lev 20:9 | Commentary on Matthew 11.10 · Origen | allusion, high confidence | ca. 246–248 |
Leviticus 20:10
If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.
Leviticus 20:11
If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:11 | Homilies on Leviticus 11.2 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) |
Leviticus 20:12
If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both must surely be put to death. They have acted perversely; their blood is upon them.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:12 | Homilies on Leviticus 11.2 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) |
Leviticus 20:13
If a man lies with a man as with a woman, they have both committed an abomination. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:13 | Against Marcion 1.29 · Tertullian | allusion, high confidence | 207/208 (third edition, completed later) |
| Lev 20:13 | Preparation for the Gospel 8.7.1 · Eusebius of Caesarea | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 313–324 |
| Lev 20:13 | Preparation for the Gospel 8.8.32 · Eusebius of Caesarea | allusion, high confidence | ca. 313–324 |
| Lev 20:13 | Preparation for the Gospel 8.8.48 · Eusebius of Caesarea | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 313–324 |
| Lev 20:13 | Preparation for the Gospel 13.20.7 · Eusebius of Caesarea | quotation, high confidence | ca. 313–324 |
| Lev 20:13 | Demonstration of the Gospel 1.6.67 · Eusebius of Caesarea | allusion, high confidence | ca. 314–324 |
| Lev 20:13 | Apostolic Constitutions 6.28.4 · Anonymous | quotation, high confidence | ca. 380 |
Leviticus 20:15
If a man lies carnally with an animal, he must be put to death. And you are also to kill the animal.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:15 | Against Marcion 1.29 · Tertullian | allusion, high confidence | 207/208 (third edition, completed later) |
| Lev 20:15 | Letter 78.1 · Jerome | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 370–419 |
| Lev 20:15 | Apostolic Constitutions 6.28.4 · Anonymous | quotation, high confidence | ca. 380 |
Leviticus 20:16
If a woman approaches any animal to mate with it, you must kill both the woman and the animal. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:16 | On First Principles 1.8.4 · Origen | allusion, high confidence | ca. 220–230 (Rufinus's translation 398) |
Leviticus 20:17
If a man marries his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered the nakedness of his sister; he shall bear his iniquity.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:17 | Symposium 1.2 · Methodius of Olympus | allusion, high confidence | late 3rd century |
| Lev 20:17 | Against Helvidius 17 · Jerome | quotation, high confidence | ca. 383 |
Leviticus 20:18
If a man lies with a menstruating woman and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has uncovered the source of her blood. Both of them must be cut off from among their people.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:18 | Recognitions 6.10 · Anonymous | allusion, medium confidence | Greek original 3rd–4th century; Rufinus's Latin translation before 407 |
Leviticus 20:20
If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered the nakedness of his uncle. They will bear their sin; they shall die childless.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:20 | Letter 10, canons of the Roman synod to the bishops of Gaul, chapter 14 · Siricius, bishop of Rome | allusion, medium confidence | 385 |
Leviticus 20:21
If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity. He has uncovered the nakedness of his brother; they shall be childless.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:21 | On Monogamy 7 · Tertullian | quotation, high confidence | ca. 210–217 |
Leviticus 20:22
You are therefore to keep all My statutes and ordinances, so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:22 | Homilies on Leviticus 11.2 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) |
Leviticus 20:24
But I have told you that you will inherit their land, since I will give it to you as an inheritance—a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the peoples.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:24 | Epistle of Barnabas 6.8 · Anonymous | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 70–135 (often ca. 130) |
Leviticus 20:25
You are therefore to distinguish between clean and unclean animals and birds. Do not become contaminated by any animal or bird, or by anything that crawls on the ground; I have set these apart as unclean for you.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:25 | Against Adimantus, a Disciple of Mani 15 · Augustine of Hippo | quotation, high confidence | ca. 394 |
Leviticus 20:26
You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:26 | Book 1, chapter 5 · Anonymous | quotation, high confidence | ca. 440-450 |
Leviticus 20:27
A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.’”
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:27 | On the Witch of Endor 24 · Eustathius of Antioch | quotation, high confidence | ca. 324–337 |
| Lev 20:27 | On the Witch of Endor 25 · Eustathius of Antioch | allusion, high confidence | ca. 324–337 |