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logos27abd -> RE: Gay man sues Bible publishers for "emotional pain." (7/10/2008 7:17:34 PM)
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The two words in question in the vice list in 1 Cor 6:9 are "malakos" and "arsenokoites" (here in rough English transliteration).
"Malakos" in particular has an interesting translation history. It's an adjective meaning "soft"; however, used pejoratively in antiquity, "malakos" was often used in a manner similar to "sissy" and - in a sexual context - could refer to a male who is not the dominant partner in a relationship [there is a later play in which an old "hag" grabs a young man and leads him away, saying, "Come along my little malakos" -- with obviously heterosexual intentions in mind.] In secular antiquity, "malakos" was sometimes applied to men who liked to read too much (as opposed to physical or military training) or who enjoyed the company of women too much (even if their interest in the women was for heterosexual purposes). Its history of interpretation in 1 Cor 6:9 includes (not an exhaustive list): the morally lax, those who masturbate, effeminate (men), weaklings, catamites, and boy prostitutes.
"Arsenokoites" is a compound word consisting of "arsen" (male) and "koites" (bed; "lying [down]"). Paul's use of the term in 1 Cor 6:9 may be the earliest extant use of the term; one theory is that the combo is a reference to the LXX's Greek translation of Lev 18:22 (lit: "And with a male you shall not lie the lying of a woman") in which the two terms both appear and that perhaps Paul coined it himself since neither Philo or Josephus use this word (or show any knowledge that such a word exists) when they condemn same-sex male acts in their writings. Suggestions for its translation in 1 Cor 6:9 usually involve the word "sodomite" ("abusers of themselves with men/mankind" is another that was especially popular around the time the KJV was first translated). One problem is that in the Sibylline Oracles, arsenokoitia appears in a vice list that contains economic vices (e.g., theft) and murder, not sexual vices (there is a list for sexual vices later in the very same book and arsenokoitia is conspicuously missing).
One modern tendency among some translations (especially the looser kinds of translations) is to translate the two terms collectively as "homosexuals," or at least in one case as "homosexual perverts" ... since one term could have been used to refer to the passive partner in male homogenital relations and the other to the active partner. Of course, this translation is misleading for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that neither term in Greek can logically refer to women (whereas "homosexual" is inclusive of either gender). [The only possible "clear" reference to female same-sex acts in the entire Bible is in Rom 1:26 -- however, that particular intepretation of the women's activities is solely based on the subsequent verse in which male homogenital acts are discussed (and condemned).] Also, "homosexual" refers to an orientation whereas what is actually condemned are sexual acts between men (regardless of what we today would call a sexual orientation).
With regard to the gay man is trying to sue the two Bible publishers ... even though the history of translation of 1 Cor 6:9 is questionable (to put it mildly), the most often cited text against homosexuality is Lev 18:22 (and 20:13), followed by Rom 1:26-27 (which, like 1 Corinthians, was also written by Paul). Genesis 19 (note the similar // story in Judges 19) and, to some degree, Jude vv. 6-8 are some other popular passages, albeit more objectively problematic ones. Writings from other Jewish authors contemporary to Paul also clearly condemn male homogenital acts (not just pederasty), often again following Lev 18:22 in the Torah; the condemnation of male same-sex acts is something in which the ancient Jewish authors took great pride (including the prescribed death penalty for those who participate in such acts), citing it as an indication of moral superiority over the Gentiles. In other words, the problem isn't just with how some modern committees chose to translate 1 Cor 6:9 (which is not an easy task) and the problems that homosexuals face (esp. from fanatics like Fred Phelps) would not end even if there were to be a different translation for that one passage ...
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