The Hebrew noun tebel refers to confusion, perversion, or a mixing of what God has separated. In Leviticus, it is used as a moral term for sexual sins that violate the created order — the Hebrew concept of 'confusion' or crossing boundaries set by God in creation.
Tebel is used in Leviticus 18:23 and 20:12 for specific sexual perversions condemned under the holiness code. The word conveys that these acts are not merely prohibited behaviors but violations of God's created distinctions — they bring disorder (tebel) into the fabric of creation.
Theologically, tebel reflects the Bible's understanding that creation has moral order built into it. Violations of this order are not just rule-breaking but cosmological confusion — an assault on the structure God declared 'good.'