What does the original hebrew bible say about homosexuality
Lost in Translation: Alternative Sense in Leviticus
Most traditional English translations interpret Leviticus as a divine condemnation of erotic, same-sex relationships. However, careful philological, literary analysis of the first Hebrew shows another interpretation: a divine condemnation of same-sex rape. The imaginative Hebrew is more ambiguous than the traditional English translation. Instead of practicing the principle of lectio difficilior probabilitor, “the more difficult reading and more likely reading,” modern translators dispel ambiguity by making the translation as straightforward as possible.[1] However, the translators’ attempts to clarify the Hebrew text presents a reading that is not only harmful, but incongruent to the context of Leviticus. This essay focuses on three main points in K. Renato Ling’s literary analysis of Lev. that provides a holistic interpretation. First, the addition of propositions within Lev. by English translators alters the verse’s sense. Second, the reoccurrence of the rare Hebrew pos miškevēwithin Gen. presents a philological nuance that i
Leviticus
“You shall not lie down with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”[1] It is not a surprise that this verse seems to say that queer male sex is forbidden in the eyes of God. The dominant view of western Christianity forbids same-sex relations. This verse is one of the clobber passages that people cite from the Bible to condemn homosexuality. This essay first looks at the various ways the verse is translated into the English Bible and then explores some of the strategies used to create an affirming understanding of what this route means for the LGBTQ community. More specifically, it presents the interpretation of K. Renato Lings in which Lev. refers to male-on-male incest.
While Lev. is used to condemn homosexuality, we must realize that the term “homosexuality” was only recently coined in the English language. So did this term endure in ancient Israel? Charles D. Myers, Jr. confirms that none of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible mention homosexuality.[2] He also contends that in ancient Israel same-sex relations were viewed as an ancient Near East challenge. The anc
What the Bible Says, or Doesn&#;t Express, About Homosexuality
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Within Christian circles, the debate about homosexuality has been at the forefront over the past not many decades. It is not that this issue was unheard of until recently, but that it was not the focus of so much attention. Much like the civil rights movement and the women’s movement, there was no problem as drawn-out as those in the GLBT society kept their place within a heterosexist religious system. Only when GLBT persons began to demand for equal rights did the church make it such a hot topic.
The fodder for many of the arguments against homosexuality has been a handful of biblical texts, which own been interpreted historically by modern scholars as condemning of intimate relationships between two persons of the same sex. In fact, some of the more modern translations of the bible contributed to the church’s anti-gay teachings (e.g., the New Revised Standard Version translation of 1 Cor and 1 Tim used the pos, “sodomites,” to translate a Greek synonyms that had no e
The Bible on Homosexual Behavior
One way to argue against these passages is to make what I call the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, stop wearing poly-cotton T-shirts, and stone to death their wayward offspring, there is no obligation to listen to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).
In other words, if we can disregard rules like the bar on eating shellfish in Leviticus , then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Old Testament. But this argument confuses the Elderly Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its permanent moral laws.
Here’s an analogy to help understand this distinction.
I remember two rules my mom gave me when I was young: hold her hand when I cross the highway and don’t drink what’s under the sink. Today, I possess to follow only the latter rule, since the former is no longer needed to shield me. In fact, it would now do me more injure than good.
Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were like mom’s handholding principle. The rea