Inbreeding is discouraged in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament. God set clear boundaries for relationships, prohibiting close familial marriages. These guidelines aimed to protect family integrity and ensure the health and well-being of future generations.
Also Read: What Does The Bible Say About Split Families
What Does The Bible Say About Inbreeding
Genesis 19:31
One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children – as is the custom all over the earth.”
This verse speaks of Lot’s daughters resorting to questionable means to ensure their family line continues, highlighting the consequences of isolation and desperation.
However, it is essential to note that inbreeding is generally discouraged in the Bible due to the potential genetic risks and harmful effects it can have on offspring.
Leviticus 18:6
No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the Lord.
This verse from Leviticus represents the clear prohibition against engaging in incestuous relationships, emphasizing the importance of maintaining healthy family dynamics.
God’s commandments concerning sexual relations designed to promote well-being within the family unit, ensuring moral and physical integrity.
Leviticus 20:17
If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They are to be publicly cut off from their people. He has dishonored his sister and will be held responsible.
This verse underscores the severe consequences and societal repercussions of engaging in incestuous relationships, highlighting the importance of preserving purity and honoring familial bonds.
God’s intention for family relationships discourages any form of sexual immorality within the family unit, emphasizing the need for healthy boundaries.
Deuteronomy 27:22
Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.
This verse presents a clear curse upon anyone who engages in incestuous relationships, emphasizing the serious spiritual consequences of such actions.
God’s commandments aim to protect individuals and families from the harmful effects of violating natural boundaries and relationships.
2 Samuel 13:12
“Don’t, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing.”
This verse depicts Tamar’s plea to her brother Amnon, rejecting his advances and affirming the moral and ethical standards of the Israelite community.
This story serves as a cautionary tale, illustrating the destructive consequences that can arise from incestuous desires and actions.
Acts 15:20
Instead, we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.
This verse highlights the early church’s emphasis on abstaining from sexual immorality, included among the specific behaviors to be avoided in the Gentile Christian community.
The New Testament reiterates the prohibition against incestuous relationships, emphasizing the importance of maintaining moral purity and obedience to God’s commands.
1 Corinthians 5:1
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife.
This verse exposes the Corinthian church’s failure to address and condemn a case of incestuous behavior within their community.
The passage emphasizes the need for repentance and discipline in cases of sexual immorality, reinforcing the biblical stance against incestuous relationships.
1 Corinthians 5:5
Hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
This verse demonstrates the severity of the consequences for engaging in sinful behavior such as incest, reflecting the church’s responsibility to discipline and restore individuals to righteousness.
God’s desire is for sinners to repent, be restored, and find salvation through the transformative work of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
This verse encourages believers to actively avoid and flee from sexual immorality, acknowledging the unique and significant consequences it has on one’s own body.
Sexual purity is a significant aspect of Christian living, encompassing both physical and spiritual well-being.
1 Corinthians 10:8
We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did – and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.
This verse references the severe consequences faced by the Israelites in the wilderness due to engaging in sexual immorality and idolatry.
God’s judgment serves as a warning against the destructive nature of incestuous relationships and the importance of maintaining sexual purity.
Galatians 5:19
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
This verse categorizes incestuous relationships as acts of the flesh, highlighting their contrary nature to the fruit of the Spirit.
Walking in the Spirit involves rejecting such immoral behaviors and living in accordance with God’s moral standards.
Ephesians 5:3
But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.
This verse emphasizes the high moral standard to which believers are called, discouraging any form of sexual immorality, including incest.
Christians are called to live lives that reflect their identity as children of God, full of purity, holiness, and integrity.
Colossians 3:5
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
This verse highlights the need for believers to consciously put to death their sinful desires and inclinations, including any involvement in sexual immorality.
By doing so, Christians can pursue a life marked by purity, righteousness, and freedom from the bondage of sin.
1 Thessalonians 4:3
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
This verse underscores God’s desire for believers to pursue sanctification by abstaining from any form of sexual immorality, including incest.
In following God’s will, Christians can experience the transformative work of the Holy Spirit and grow in holiness.
Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
This verse emphasizes the importance of upholding the sanctity of marriage and maintaining purity in all aspects of sexual relations.
Christians are called to honor and respect the divine institution of marriage, refraining from any form of sexual immorality that defiles it.
1 Peter 4:3
For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do – living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
This verse reminds believers that their former way of life, including various forms of sexual immorality, should no longer have a place in their present walk with Christ.
Transformation through the gospel demands a complete abandonment of sinful practices, including incestuous relationships.
2 Peter 2:10
This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings;
This verse warns against those who indulge in corrupt desires of the flesh, demonstrating a disdain for authority and engaging in immoral actions such as incest.
Following God’s moral guidelines requires humility, submission to authority, and a rejection of sinful desires.
Jude 1:7
In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
This verse references the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah due to their rampant sexual immorality and perversion, serving as a warning against participating in similar sinful behaviors.
God’s judgment against these cities underscores the seriousness of sexual immorality, including incestuous relationships, and points to the eternal consequences of such actions.
Matthew 15:19
For out of the heart come evil thoughts – murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
This verse reveals that incestuous relationships are products of evil thoughts originating from the heart, highlighting the need for inner transformation and purity.
As believers, it is crucial to allow God to renew our hearts and minds, enabling us to live according to His righteous standards.
Matthew 19:9
I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
This verse acknowledges the devastating impact of sexual immorality on the institution of marriage, highlighting the gravity of engaging in any form of sexual immorality, including incest.
God’s original design for marriage is a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman, which should be guarded and protected.
Mark 7:21
For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come – sexual immorality, theft, murder,
This verse affirms that incestuous desires and actions stem from the sinful nature residing within a person’s heart, highlighting the inherent brokenness of humanity.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, believers are called to overcome these sinful inclinations and live lives of righteousness.
1 Corinthians 7:2
But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband.
This verse emphasizes the importance of sexual relations occurring exclusively within the context of marriage, further discouraging any form of sexual immorality, including incest.
God’s design for sexual intimacy is within the boundaries of a committed marital relationship, promoting love, trust, and mutual respect.
Revelation 21:8
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
This verse mentions that the sexually immoral will face eternal consequences, emphasizing the severity of engaging in incestuous relationships or any form of sexual immorality.
The ultimate destination for unrepentant sinners serves as a sobering reminder of the importance of living in obedience to God’s commands, including sexual purity.