Strange Flesh: Sex, Semiotics and the Construction of Deviancy in Biblical Law.

This article takes a semiotic approach to Leviticus 20, focusing on vv. 9-16. It argues that Leviticus 20 expands on narrative typifications of idolatry, honouring parents and adultery found in the Ten Commandments. The result is an elaborate reworking of literary themes from the Decalogue. The offences listed in vv. 10-16 are a more detailed elaboration of what it means to dishonour parents. Adultery (v. 10) is presented as the narrative typification of sexual wrongdoing, and the offences in vv. I 1-16 are presented as further negations of a normal sexual relationship. These 'forms of adultery' are developed through an extended series of binary oppositions. There is also a set of binary oppositions regarding the legal effects of these cases. These binary oppositional structures appear to serve a number of functions in Leviticus 20, including: educating in wisdom, resolving ambiguity, identifying special cases and constructing identity. These findings are consistent with literary presentation and sense construction elsewhere in biblical law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]