Does Arsenokotai mean lover of boys?

Arsenokotai doesnt mean lover of boys

Re: Arsenokotai (ie. homosexuality in Scripture)

So...I’m a biblical languages guy who pores over the Hebrew, Greek, and even occasionally Luther’s German text. 

Unfortunately the whole “it’s about pedophiles not homosexuality” is bad scholarship and fake news. 

This argument has cropped up a lot in super progressive circles and it’s just not accurate. 

Arsenokoitai is a hybrid word for man bedding. Man in the sense of male and bedding in the sense of having sex. 

The word arsenokotai is also not even used in the verse most frequently quoted (Leviticus 18:22). (1)

Leviticus was originally in Hebrew and it breaks the elements up instead of using a single word. It reads trans literally as V’et-zakar Lo tis-kab v’et mishkabe ishah towabah hi. 

Or “with a male (negative) you lie down in the act of lying down sexually as lying (with) a wife an abomination that (is).”

All standard words for male, is same word used to distinguish between male and female animals. 

There was a Greek translation done years later called the septuigint. It also doesn’t use the word arsenokotai. 

Because the Hebrew doesn’t smush it together, neither does the Greek, which reads 

“Kai meta arsenos ou koimAthAsA koitAn gunaikos bdelugma gar estin” which means 

“And with a male (not) you shall sleep sexually as with a woman, detestable that is.”

As for why Paul uses arsenokotai in the New Testament, it’s likely because because this term can be found separated in the septuigint translation (LXX) as arsenos koitAn in Leviticus 20:13 which reads “And whoever shall lie with a male as with a woman, they have both wrought abomination; let them die the death, they are guilty.”  Paul appears to be directly referencing this verse by word choice. 

Post script note

It’s important to note that Scripture doesn’t buy into the worldview of orientation. The sin is same sex sexual activity. Scripture is also clear on issues with effeminate sin, and that theres only 2 genders. 

For all of human history until a pervy German doctor, “being straight” and “being gay” weren’t a thing. Honestly the clue that sexual identity is a whack idea is pretty obvious when their list keeps expanding and even contradicting itself.

Related Resources

LGBT+ Answers

Elementary Greek or Hebrew 

Paul Answers

What is the Gospel 

Cr Alex Cook

Footnotes

(1) Expanding on this with Verses 

In 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 Paul lists some sinful lifestyles that give evidence that a person is not saved: “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men . . . will inherit the kingdom of God.” In other words, a practicing, unrepentant idolater, adulterer, or homosexual is fooling himself if he thinks he is going to Heaven. Christians were saved from such sins, and do not practice them.

There are some interpreters today who object to lumping homosexuals in with the other sinners listed in this passage. They say  wording “men who have sex with men” is unclear, and should not be construed as a condemnation of all same-sex activity. In an attempt to make homosexual behavior compatible with Christianity, they attempt to redefine the Greek word, so they can live in sin.  

The phrase “men who have sex with men” (translated “homosexuals” in the NASB) is a translation of the Greek word arsenokoitai. Those who object to this translation say that arsenokoitai does not refer to all homosexual relationships but only to those involving abuse, coercion, or unfaithfulness. They say the word does not refer to “loving, faithful” same-sex relationships.

Arsenokoitai is a compound word: arseno is the word for “a male,” and koitai is the word for “mat” or “bed.” Put the two halves together, and the word means “a male bed”—that is, a person who makes use of a “male-only bed” or a “bed for males.” And, truthfully, that’s all the information we need to understand the intent of 1 Corinthians 6:9.

The word meaning “bed” carries a sexual connotation in this context—the Greek koitai is the source of our English word coitus (“sexual intercourse”). The conclusion is that the word arsenokoitai is referring to homosexuals—men who are in bed with other men, engaging in same-gender sexual activity.

The notion that some homosexual relationships are accepted is not even hinted at in this passage. The men’s commitment level or the presence of “love” is not addressed. The idea that the condemned same-sex activity is linked to economic exploitation or abuse is also a forced reading with no textual basis.

Paul’s reference to “homosexuals,” together with a reference to “effeminate” men in the same verse (in the NASB), effectively covers both active and passive homosexual behavior. God’s Word is not open to personal interpretation in this matter. Homosexuality is wrong; it always has been, and it always will be. 

Just two verses later, 1 Corinthians 6:11 says, “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”.  This statement negates the idea of “homosexual Christianity” being acceptable to God. Paul tells the Corinthian believers that practices such as homosexuality were evidences of their former life before Christ. Now they have been born again, and they have a new nature and new desires. The old nature remains, and the temptations continue, but child of God has been called to fight against sin, not live in it any longer. By the life-changing grace of God, the Corinthians’ new life stands in opposition to the way they used to live.

The first mention of not inheriting the kingdom of God is found in Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth. “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

By saying the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God, Paul is stating that the wicked are not children of God, nor are they heirs of eternal life (Romans 8:17). This does not mean that anybody who has ever committed one of these sins will be denied entrance to heaven. What differentiates a Christian’s life from that of a non-Christian is the struggle against sin and the ability to overcome it. A true Christian will always repent, will obey God, and will always resume the struggle against sin. But the Bible gives no support for the idea that a person who perpetually and unrepentantly engages in sin can indeed be a Christian. The 1 Corinthians passage lists sins that, if indulged in continuously, identify a person as not being redeemed by Christ.

The Christian’s response to sin is to hate it, repent of it, and forsake it. We still struggle with sin, but by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us, we are able to resist and overcome sin. The hallmark of a true Christian is the decreasing presence of sin in his life. As Christians grow and mature in the faith, sin has less and less of a hold on us. Of course, sinless perfection is impossible in this life, but our hatred for sin becomes greater as we mature. Like Paul, we are distressed that sin still exists in our flesh, causing us at times to do what we don’t want to do and looking to Christ for relief from this “body of death” (Romans 7:18-25).

If a person actively, perpetually, and unrepentantly lives a homosexual lifestyle, the lifestyle of a thief, a greedy lifestyle, a drunken lifestyle, etc., that person is showing himself to be unsaved, and such a person will definitely not inherit the kingdom of God.

Look at Man. 

Leviticus 18:22 in Greek. “Arsenos(A Man). Arsenos is a man or mankind. It’s not boy it’s man. Using the original Hebrew  Zakar is the word used. It’s also Man or mankind. One would have argue why everyone has misunderstood Hebrew and Greek for centuries in order for it to mean little boys. They would also have to explain the church history and Talmudic midrashes clearly referring to it as homosexuality. 

Zakar and Arsen is subsequently used in the Original Hebrew and Greek to describe Adam in Genesis 1:27. Very clearly Adam was not a little boy, it means Male. So, it’s accurate to say it’s “and with men no sex with them like you would with a woman” 

Side note Paul also didn’t invent Arsenokoitai, he’s writing to people who would clearly understand that 

Note what Paul writes is not of himself, but of God. As all Scripture is. God has spoken. 

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness." 2 Timothy 3:16 

"Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by ones own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:20-21