Here are texts that use this language: Of all, which of them indicates explicitly sexual intercourse?

Gen 42:9 And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, "You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land."

Lev 20:17 "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.

Deu 23:14 Because the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you. (indecent is same word for naked)

Isa 47:3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one. (here, the terms are disjunctive, but appear in parallel)

Lam 1:8 Jerusalem sinned grievously; therefore she became filthy; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns her face away.

Eze 16:37 therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from every side and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness.

Nah 3:5 Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts, and will lift up your skirts over your face; and I will make nations look at your nakedness and kingdoms at your shame. (different word for nakedness)

Hab 2:15 "Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink-- you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness! (different words for both gaze and nakedness)

Feel free to add to the list, but please note whether the language is identical or related.

My point is one that was made before by someone else:
One reference in Leviticus does not provide all you need to make Noah's a case of sexual assault, or incest. Beside which above, it was 20:11 that was appealed to, a verse using the active language of "uncovering", as it does numerous times in Lev. 18 & 20; but not using the language of "seeing" (as found ONLY in 20:17, out of the whole two chapters).

Several steps are being taken in the process of "correlation" with regard to the father's nakedness in Lev. 20:11. That "uncovering" is being put down in place of "seeing" (the word found in Gen. 9:22), as if it was just a synonym. Noah's wife is being gratuitously introduced into the whole affair. This, in my view, is not judicious "analogy of Scripture" interpretation, but emphasizing similarities (in two texts!) at the expense of marked differences, nor letting the entirety of the Scripture witness come to bear.

Gen 9:21 uses the "uncovered" term, but passively of Noah of himself. Here's another example of the word for "uncovered": Exo 20:26 "And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it." Here is "uncovered" being used simply for "exposure."

The point of nakedness in all these passages is the exposure of it. There is only a narrow range where this kind of exposure is not shameful. Otherwise it is shameful to everyone involved. But I cannot see any necessity of inferring a case of illicit sexual behavior in all of these instances, not even metaphorically. The "looking" seems sufficient, except where it clearly implies a prelude to sexual activity.

__________________
Rev. Bruce G. Buchanan
ChainOLakes Presbyterian Church, CentralLake, MI


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