Arsenokoites - What Is The Historical Meaning Of This Rare Greek Word?

Now we examine an extremely rare Greek word which is used only twice in the New Testament.

In I Cor 6:9, Paul is the first writer we have on record as using the word.

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate [malakoi], nor abusers of themselves with mankind [arsenokoitai]"

Although scholars are unsure of its provenance, there are two reasonable possibilities for the origin of the Greek word, arsenokoitai or arsenokoites.

1. Hellenistic (Greek speaking) Jews coined the word from the Septuagint,

Leviticus 20:13 - hos an koimethe meta arsenos koiten gunaikos

arsenos koiten condemns shrine prostitution,

given the context of Leviticus 18 and 20.

Philo lived at the same time Jesus lived. During the life of Christ, Philo understood Moses, in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, to be condemning shrine prostitution.

Philo's understanding that the arsenokoit stem refers to shrine prostitution is 2000 years old. It is not a modern argument from gays and lesbians.

If the arsenokoit stem from Leviticus 20:13, arsenos koiten, gave us the Greek word Paul used in I Corinthians 6:9 (most anti-gay Christians believe Paul borrowed the word from the Septuagint translation of Lev 18:22 and 20:13),

then understanding arsenokoites as a reference to shrine prostitution was a common understanding in the first century, when Paul used the word in I Cor 6:9 and I Tim 1:10.

“(40) And I imagine that the cause of this is that among many nations there are actually rewards given for intemperance and effeminacy. At all events one may see men-women [androgynes] continually strutting through the market place at midday, and leading the processions in festivals;

and, impious men as they are, having received by lot the charge of the temple, and beginning the sacred and initiating rites, and concerned even in the holy mysteries of Ceres

[Ceres is another name for Cybele, the fertility goddess first century Romans referred to as the Mater Deum or Mother of the gods]. Remember, Philo lived from 20 BC to AD 40. He probably wrote this around AD 35.

(41) And some of these persons have even carried their admiration of these delicate pleasures of youth so far that they have desired wholly to change their condition for that of women, and have castrated themselves and have clothed themselves in purple robes...

[Philo here describes the castrated Galli priests who served Cybele or other fertility goddesses worshiped in Rome].

(42) But if there was a general indignation against those who venture to do such things, as was felt by our lawgiver..." [Moses was the Jewish Lawgiver. Philo refers to Moses' writings in Leviticus 18:22; 20:13 and Deuteronomy 23:17]

Philo, The Special Laws, III, VII, 40-42.

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The Jewish viewpoint, articulated by Philo is 2000 years old. It was not invented by gay people, attempting to excuse their "sin." Understanding arsenokoites to refer to shrine prostitution is a commonly accepted meaning of arsenokoites in the first century.

Arsenokoites also condemns pederasty and incest, given the interpretation of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 in Sanhedrin 54a and Philo.

Shrine prostitution, pederasty and incest are not analogs of a committed, faithful, monogamous partnership between two men or two women.

2. Paul coined the word, arsenokoites,

If this is true, arsenokoites must have indicated a sin which confronted Paul’s readers, with which they were so familiar that it was not necessary for him to define the word. The best historical possibility for its meaning is shrine prostitution.

Many modern scholars insist that shrine prostitution did not occur in ancient Corinth. Whatever the outcome of that argument, Philo, who was intimately familiar with cultic religion in the first century, identifies Cybele or Ceres worship with the shrine prostitution Moses referenced in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13.

Because Paul did not define the word arsenokoites when he used it, the meaning must have been clear to Paul’s first century readers.

This cultic sexual activity in worship of the fertility goddess is what God and Paul intended to forbid and what Philo decried.

Ashtoreth, Astarte, Isis, Ceres and Cybele were all fertility goddesses worshiped by our first century ancestors. The names are frequently interchangable (different names used by different cultures) to refer to the same goddess.

Philo linked Lev 18:22 & 20:13 to shrine prostitution.

Philo was a contemporary of Paul. These historical facts certainly influenced Paul’s use of arsenokoites, whether or not he coined the word.

There is no cultural, historical or scriptural reason to assume Paul intended to convey a twenty first century, conservative Christian viewpoint (universal proscription of all homosexual practice), to his first century readers.

Arsenokoites is a compound word, formed by joining arseno-man and koite-bed. A compound word does not always equal the sum of its parts.

James Barr, influential Bible scholar and linguist, was born on March 20, 1924 and died on October 14, 2006, aged 82, in Claremont, California.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Barr served as a pilot in the British Royal Navy, 1942-45, during World War II. He earned his doctorate from Oxford University where he later served as Professor.

Dr. Barr taught at Presbyterian College, Montreal (Professor of New Testament), Edinburgh University (Professor of Old Testament Literature and Theology), Princeton Theological Seminary, Manchester University (Chair, Department of Semitic Languages), Oxford University (Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture and later as the Regius Professor of Hebrew), the University of Chicago and Vanderbilt University (DIstinguished Professor of Hebrew Bible), until his retirement in 1998.

The Semantics of Biblical Language, 1961, was probably Dr. Barr’s most important book in that it successfully demolished a long and erroneous tradition of attributing to Biblical words and their etymologies, a linguistic significance and meaning the Biblical words themselves did not possess in actual historical usage.

The Times Online notes concerning Dr. Barr’s seminal work, The Semantics of Biblical Language:

“Theologians felt bereft having been deprived of that age-old prop of their profession, i.e., the exegesis of concepts by means of semantic images and speculations. Barr made some enemies with this book, but once its importance had been recognised his scholarly reputation was firmly established.”

Here is what Dr. Barr said about etymology.

“The main point is that the etymology of a word is not a statement about its meaning but about its history...

...it is quite wrong to suppose that the etymology of a word is necessarily a guide either to its ‘proper’ meaning in a later period or to its actual meaning in that period.”

James Barr, The Semantics of Biblical Language, Oxford University Press, New York, 1961, p. 109.

Thank you Dr. Barr. We cannot take the composite parts of arsenokoites and based on those parts, insist that arsenokoites means homosexual when the ancient Greeks rarely, if ever, used arsenokoites with that meaning.

Remember, it is intellectually dishonest to give words like arsenokoites a linguistic significance and meaning the Biblical word itself did not possess in actual historical usage.

There is not a shred of objective evidence that Paul used arsenokoites to mean homosexual.

Notice what happens when we attempt to define compound words based on the meaning of their individual parts.

1. Butterfly - A dairy product with the ability to defy gravity? A fly who hangs around the dairy?

   The definition of butterfly is not the sum of its parts.

2. Flywheel - A round piece of metal that flies through the air? A miniature wheel invented by a fly?

   The definition of flywheel is not the sum of its parts.

3. Ladybug - A strange creature, part etiquette-conscious woman and part insect? A lady who loves bugs? A lady who hates bugs? A bug who loves ladies?

   The definition of ladybug in not the sum of its parts.

4. Mankind - A male noted for his generous spirit? Tonto, describing the Lone Ranger?

   The definition of mankind is not the sum of its parts.

5. Chairman - A man who makes chairs? A chair for men only? A man who sells chairs? A man who sits in chairs?

   The definition of chairman is not the sum of its parts.

6. Ladykiller - A woman of impeccable manners who murders others? A man who kills ladies?

   The definition of ladykiller is not the sum of its parts.

The word ladykiller might mean precisely that when speaking of Aileen Wuornos, the female serial killer who literally killed men or Ted Bundy, the male serial killer who literally killed ladies.

But defining ladykiller by the meaning of its individual parts does not always provide an accurate definition.

When used to describe a movie star like Brad Pitt, ladykiller refers to a man who loves ladies and who is loved by ladies but who does not literally kill ladies.

This most common usage of ladykiller has nothing to do with the literal meaning of its parts.

Just so, interpreting the compound word arsenokoites, to mean homosexual, because arseno by itself means man and koite by itself, is a Greek euphemism for sex, is linguistically inaccurate. Ancient Greek writers did not use arsenokoites that way.

The modern tendency which assumes arsenokoites must mean homosexual, ignores historic usage of the word. The modern assumption is based on the wishful thinking of antigay Christians, not actual usage of arsenokoites in antiquity.

The fact that arsenokoites was never used in ancient times, to refer to male equals in homosexual partnership, provides a powerful clue that arsenokoites does not mean homosexual.

The following quotation is attributed to John the Faster, Patriarch of Constantinople, around AD 575. Here, the word arsenokoitia, refers to a man having sex with his wife.

“One must also ask about the perplexing, beguiling , and shadowy sin of incest, of which there are not just one or two varieties but a great many very different ones. One type is committed with two sisters of the same father or mother (or both). [Jacob with Leah and Rachel]

Another involves a cousin; another the daughter of a cousin; another the wife of one's son; another the wife of one's brother. It is one thing with a mother-in-law or the sister of a mother-in-law, another with a stepmother or a father's concubine.

Some even do it with their own mothers, and others with foster sisters or goddaughters. In fact, many men even commit the sin of arsenokoitia with their wives.”

John the Faster, Penitential, about AD 575. This quotation is ascribed to John the Faster although the provenance is disputed.

Arsenokoites and arsenokoitia were never used exclusively to refer to homosexuals. In 56 usages during the six hundred years after Paul first used the word, arsenokoites never refers to male equals in committed, faithful, homosexual partnership.

Deconstructing a word to obtain the meaning of its parts, and then assuming that the meaning of the parts equals the meaning of the whole, leads to linguistic error.

Defining arsenokoites based on the meaning of arseno and koite tells us nothing about the meaning as Paul and his readers understood it.

The common error, found even in Greek lexicons, that arsenokoites means “homosexual men who have sex with men” may explain the etymology of arseno and koites but does not explain their meaning when they form one word.

If you’ve bought into the false view promoted by so many anti-gay Christians today, study this interesting page on the historical meaning of malakoi.

Don’t let anyone tell you that the Greek word malakoi always means homosexual. In antiquity, malakoi was rarely, if ever, used to describe homosexuals.

Our helpful book, Gay Christian 101 - Spiritual Self-Defense For Gay Christians, contains additional information about the historical meaning of malakoi and arsenokoites.

There are four popular analogies which are used to validate Gay Relationships as blessed by God. Click here to examine these four popular analogies.

Here is a real-life example of a prominent gay partnership in scripture - the amazing true love story of Jonathan and David is the greatest human love story in the Bible.

Jesus identified the sin of Sodom and it was not homosexuality.

I am saying that the Holiness Code was aimed at Israel, (not at Gentile Christians in the age of grace), in a specific place, the land of Israel, in a specific time period, while Israel was in the land, living under the Law.

What was a sodomite in the Bible? Was it a homosexual, as many conservative preachers insist or was a sodomite in the Bible always a shrine prostitute who worshiped the Canaanite fertility goddess?

Those who believe that the Centurion’s pais was only a servant and not the same sex partner of the gay Centurion, cite Greek lexicons to prove their case. Since most Biblical Greek lexicons do not mention beloved or same sex lover as possible meanings of pais. most nongay Christians insist same sex lover could not possibly be the meaning of pais.

In Gay Christian 101: Spiritual Self-Defense For Gay Christians, I list 18 possible ways to interpret the Levitical Holiness Code, where it is alleged to deal with homosexuality.

Family Values in the Bible are so different from Traditional family values as taught by Focus On The Family that modern Christians would totally reject the "family values" practiced by Abraham and Sarah, Ruth and Boaz and many of the heroes of faith in the Old Testament.

Did you know that Christians are not required to keep the Old Testament Law to get saved, stay saved or to be in right relationship with God?

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