Translating Words – Does It Really Mean “Homosexual”?

Post 1: Context, Context, Context

“Clobber Passages” in Context

Marriage Equality Decision Day Rally in front of the US Supreme Court, June 26, 2015, by Elvert Barnes Protest Photography.  Creative Commons.

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If the first three conditions for a successful new business are “location, location, location,” then “context, context, context” is essential for a fair reading of a biblical passage. Even with the best tools of biblical scholarship, some biblical passages are ambiguous. Understanding verses and passages in context is important as we interpret biblical writings.

In this first of three posts, we will see three aspects of context that make a difference for our understanding of some passages often referred to as the “clobber passages.” These are passages often interpreted to condemn same-sex relationships and LGBTQ+ people. Context is significant for how words in the passages are translated. This post will discuss the importance of context for translating words from the original biblical texts into English.

Context and Translating Words

The Bible was not written in English. What Christians call the Old Testament was mostly written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek with material from spoken Aramaic. Translating ancient languages is not a mechanical exercise as though there is a correct English equivalent for every ancient word.

For example, in Matthew 18:23–34, Jesus tells a parable in which a king forgives a servant a debt of 10,000 talents. This sounds like a high number, but the casual reader really does not know. Some translations add notes, like this one: “A talent was worth more than fifteen years’ wages of a laborer” (See HarperCollins Study Bible). That’s some pretty steep math hidden behind the literally correct translation! Knowing the context makes a difference. If you mentally do the math, consider what this could mean for how you would translate “talent.”

Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13

At first sight these passages appear to be straightforward prohibitions of same-gender sex between men. However, the actual Hebrew is odd, and its meaning is unclear. Both verses prohibit a man from “the lying downs of a woman with a man.” But what does the “lying downs of a woman” mean? This odd construction does not occur elsewhere. The closest parallel is Genesis 49:4, where Reuben is chastised because of “the lying downs of your father.” The context of this one is pretty clear. Reuben has had sexual intercourse with one of Jacob’s wives. Thus, the “lying downs of your father” has the sense of “incest with the (step)mother.” Leviticus 20:13 is situated among several other prohibitions of incestuous acts. This suggests to some scholars that Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 are prohibitions of sex with one’s male relatives. In other words, the prohibition is not against “homosexuality,” but against sex with one’s male relatives.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 and 1 Timothy 1:10

Words in these verses illustrate a classic example of the difficulty of translation. Two Greek terms in 1 Corinthians 6:9 are part of a long list of groups of people who will not “inherit the Empire of God” (SV). The Greek terms are malakos and arsenokoitês. The second term also occurs in 1 Timothy 1:10.

Translations vary:

• The New International Version translates these two terms together as “men who have sex with men.”

• God’s Word translation translates the two together as “homosexuals.”

• The New Living Translation provides “male prostitutes, or [those who] practice homosexuality.”

• New Revised Standard Version translates them as “male prostitutes, sodomites.”

Ordinarily, words derived their meaning from how they are used, but these terms occur in lists. There is little context from these two letters themselves.

~ Malakos (a word in Greek)

The Greek term translated as “male prostitutes” in two of the above translations literally means “soft ones.” It is a very common word, and like the English word “soft” has a variety of meanings. A soft-hearted person is compassionate and empathetic, but a soft athlete does not play his or her sport with the necessary intensity. In ancient Greek, a soft person might refer to a ruler who was kind and merciful; or it could refer to a person who was too fond of expensive foods and clothes; or to people who engaged in too much sex with either gender. In some contexts, it could refer to an effeminate male, which is behind the “male prostitutes” translation above. Notice that all of the above translations regard these “soft men” as one half of a homosexual couple or as a male who prostitutes himself to other men.

~ Arsenokoitês (a word in Greek)

The second Greek term is very rare. In fact, Paul’s use of it is the earliest example we have. The word derives from two words that roughly mean “to bed a male.” Such analysis is not always a reliable guide to a word’s meaning, however. Think of the term “lady-killer.” Is this a person who kills women or a woman who murders others? Actually, it is neither; it refers to a male who is irresistibly charming and attractive to women.

Most of the other examples of the Greek term also occur in lists like this. Translators have to decide whether there is any relationship between individual terms in these lists. Maybe, maybe not. We cannot be certain.

~ Words in Social Context

In addition to the linguistic issues involved, the translation of these two terms also must give attention to the social practices of Paul’s day. Assuming that “to bed a male” refers to some kind of sex act between males, what kind of act might Paul have had in mind?

A major form of male-on-male sex in the Graeco-Roman world was pederasty. This involved a sexual relationship between an older male and an adolescent male. Modern readers would be shocked to learn that the “noble” version of this practice required the older male to receive the permission of the youth’s father! To safeguard the youth’s budding manhood, the ideal type of sexual act was “between the thighs.” That is, the older male was not supposed to anally penetrate the youth because anyone penetrated anally was considered less than a man. Another surprising aspect of this ancient practice is that the pederastic couple was expected to eventually marry females and sire children!

In addition to the practice of pederasty, Paul knew that free-born male citizens could command sexual favors from their enslaved people, male or female, adults and children. They could also expect favors from their freedmen and freedwomen, formerly enslaved persons. And there was no law or social censure for men who hired male or female prostitutes.

In the light of these broader cultural contexts, Paul may be referring to some kind of male-on-male sexual act that was abusive of the socially inferior person. We should remember that many of the early Jesus people were enslaved persons or freed people. As such they were vulnerable to the sexual appetites of their male masters.

The Scholars Version includes this understanding of the context:

Don’t you know that wrongdoers are not going to inherit the Empire of God? Don’t let anyone mislead you; neither those who consort with prostitutes nor those who follow phony gods, neither adulterers nor promiscuous people, nor pederasts…are going to inherit the Empire of God.

Do the words translated as “homosexual” mean what the term is understood to mean today?

While we could answer the question by setting the Rescue Meter at “not really,” we have added a question mark this time to indicate that these words remain ambiguous.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Forthcoming published results of Bible and Human Sexuality Seminar:

• Tamar Kamionkowski, “Sex or Sexuality: Revisiting Leviticus 18-20.”

• Perry Kea, “Malakoi and Arsenokoitai: 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10.”