The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother - [wª-, which is rendered "or", means here, "namely", that is, "to wit"; for the last clause of the verse clearly shows that the interdicted incest is with a mother; and, besides, to uncover the nakedness of a man, when the act is done by the hand of another, denotes invariably, in the Scripture use of the phrase, to uncover the nakedness of his wife (Leviticus 18:14; Leviticus 18:16; Leviticus 20:11; Leviticus 20:20-21)], Thus interpreted, the law prohibits the marriage of a son with his mother, whether she be his own or his stepmother (cf. Genesis 35:22; Genesis 49:4; 1 Corinthians 5:1). This revolting custom, which prevailed among the ancient Egyptians and Canaanites, as well as other Pagan nations, continued to linger among the Persians even after the commencement of the Christian era, (Theodoret, 'Quaest.' 24:)