Homosexuality in the Hebrew and Greek texts

The words "homosexual" and "homosexuality" did not exist in the original
Greek and Hebrew texts of the Bible, and their later appearance in some versions of the
Bible is largely owing to inexact translations of language that was often
figurative, further complicating matters.

The Greek phrase malakoi
arsenokoitai
, for instance, which appears as part of a list
in 1-Corinthians 6:9 of those who will not "inherit the kingdom of God,"
has been translated variously as "homosexuals," "male prostitutes" and
"effeminate."

In fact, malakoiliterally means "soft," and the meaning of
arsenokoitai has been lost, leaving scholars to debate exactly how the
phrase should be understood.

The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) contains
less ambiguous references to homosexual acts, two of the most cited being
Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13, which says, "If a man also lie with mankind, as
he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they
shall surely be put to death."

In the New Testament, Paul apparently
condemns homosexuality: In Romans 1:27, he says, "And likewise also the
men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward
another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in
themselves that recompense of their error which was meet."

Jesus, however,
does not address the issue directly anywhere in the Bible, leaving his
take open to interpretation.

Do the Scriptures contain any defense of homosexuality?

Though the Bible never openly advocates homosexuality, it does contain examples of same-sex relationships that appear to go beyond friendship, notably that between David and Jonathan, the eldest son of Saul.

1-Samuel 18:3, for instance, says that "Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul," and 1-Samuel 20:41 says the men "kissed one another, and wept with one another."

Later, in 2-Samuel 1:26, David laments Jonathan's death, saying "very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women." While some think these passages indicate a gay relationship, others contend that they in no way imply a sexual affair and attribute such an interpretation to misreading.

In fact, there are no explicit examples of romantic same-sex partnerships in the Bible, even though homosexuality was common in Roman culture at the time.

Gay-rights proponents often find support instead in verses about withholding judgment, such as "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matthew 7:1), or the so-called Golden Rule, "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them" (Matthew 7:12).

Comments (5)

Friend_Of_Jonathan:

Regarding Mark 10:5-9

I'm kinda curious why anyone would post a passage that, in context, is strictly about heterosexuality, as if it somehow constituted a condemnation of homosexuality.

The prior verses make it clear what the actual subject is:
1Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.
2Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"

3"What did Moses command you?" he replied.

4They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away."

This is not a passage about homosexuality, Jesus is answering a question specifically about divorce within a male/female relationship.

And to conveniently leave off Christ's summation, is peculiar at best.

"10When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery."

Yet, the majority of Christian denominations that condemn homosexuality, allow remarriage after divorce to a new partner. Jesus said that is adultery.

Here's the real twist. Verse 6
"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female."

This just points out gender, not sexual orientation. And it specifically draws our attention to the created world - and Paul, by the way, declares that the creation declares God's invisible qualities. The very same creation, in which more than 450 species of animals have individuals who form pair-bonds, sexually expressed relationships that endure, with others of their own gender.


Given that condemnation of homosexuality would sunder many people relationships, which they experience as God joined, what category of sin is it, when conservative Christians try to sunder what God has joined?

Mark 10:5-9:

And Jesus answered and said unto them,

But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;

And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Bill L:

Many different translations put it slightly different, but the Church has held from the begining that homosexuality is evil.If you read the early Church fathers from the first century on { those who learned from the Apostles} they translated it at homosexuality.

John Conolley:

I don't know either, but I know that a number of English Bibles read "Bring them out that we may know them," or something close to it. This seems like an entirely reasonable request.

In those days, having a group of strangers come to your town and disappear into a house without being introduced to anyone would be highly suspicious. You could reasonably expect the townsmen to gather around and say, "Who are these men? Bring them out and let us talk to them."

Of course, other translations make it, "Bring them out so we can have sex with them," or "Bring them out so we can take our pleasure with them."

Can anyone here tell us which is the accurate translation?

Tonio:

I have read two claims about the context regarding the Old Testament's language about homosexuality:

First, apparently Israelite/Jewish religious thought paid no attention to the topic until the rise of classical Greek culture, where homosexuality was a fairly open issue. As the theory went, the language in Leviticus originated as a reaction to the Greeks.

Second, allegedly Genesis 19:5 doesn't refer to homosexuality itself. Instead, the episode with Lot apparently refers to the practice by some ancient cultures of homosexual rape as a punishment for intruding outsiders.

I don't know enough about Biblical textual criticism or about the cultures of the ancient Middle East to know if these claims are accurate. Does anyone here have more information?

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