1. Leviticus 20:17 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What does it mean for this act to be a “disgrace”?

Leviticus 20:17 (ESV)

17 “If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity.

The word disgrace is the Hebrew word ḥěsěḏ. The term usually means steadfast love. Here it is used as a homonym, carrying the opposite meaning. A homonym refers to two words that have the same spelling but have different meanings. The wordplay demonstrates a move from good, brotherly love to one that is perverse and degenerate.