It is frequently repeated in
certain quarters that αρσενοκοιται
(“sodomites” [NKJV]; “homosexual offenders” [NIV]) refers only to certain pagan
practices, and therefore does not include all forms of homosexual activity.
This assertion is based upon the claim that αρσενοκοιται has a narrower semantic field than
is generally accepted.
The difficulty in resolving on a
translation of this word is not because its etymology is unclear. It is derived
from the compound of two words, αρρην
(“male”) and κοιτη (“bed”,
euphemistically “sexual intercourse”), and thus could be literally under “males
who lie with males.” The difficulty concerns the fact that αρσενοκοιται is not
widely attested, and is not known at all before the first century AD. Since
some later writers appear to use the word, or its cognates, in the context of
male prostitution or pedastry, it has been proposed that one or other of these
might be its meaning in 1 Cor 6:9. Without considering these usages in detail,
it is apparent that unless all these references can be shown to refer solely to
male prostitution or pedastry then the argument for restricting the semantic
field fails. The fact that αρσενοκοιται is used to refer male prostitution and pedastry, and other
homosexual activity (as indeed it is) demonstrates that these term as wide
semantic field and can be (and is) used generically to refer to all forms of
homosexual activity.
Perhaps more significantly for
the understanding of 1 Cor 6:9 are the linguistic parallels in Leviticus [LXX],
where the command against homosexual activity is given:
και μετα αρσενος ου κοιμηθηση κοιτην γυναικος βδελυγμα γαρ εστιν (Lev 18:22)
και ος αν κοιμητη μετα αρσεος κοιτην γυναικος (Lev 20:13)
The parallels between these verses
and αρσενοκοιται are unmistakably as in both cases the root words αρρην and κοιτη occur. The suggestion that has met with scholarly support is
that αρσενοκοιται came into usage by Jewish writers, influenced by the Septuagint,
looking for a word to condemn the homosexual activity of the Greek world. These
are a variety of Greek words available for various forms of homosexual
activity. The only reason to coin a new term like αρσενοκοιται would be to
refer more generally about homosexual activity, reflecting the prohibitions
made in Leviticus.
Returning then to 1 Cor 6:9, the
meaning of αρσενοκοιται seems determined by several considerations: 1) Paul, steeped in
the Old Testament, is likely to have categorized sins based upon the framework of
the Mosaic Law, even if he did not accept that all its prohibits were
applicable to the Chrisitan believer; 2) there are better alternatives that
Paul could have used had intended to refer to either male prostitution or pedastry;
3) Latin, Syriac and Coptic translations of the Pauline writings all attest to
a general translation of this term.
In sum, we can have confidence
that 1 Cor 6:9 refers generically to all homosexual activity. The remaining
issue is whether the English word “homosexual” (NASB; HCSB) is a suitable
translation. Since in common usage “homosexual” often refers to a sexual
orientation rather than sexual activity, a more literal translation such as “men
who practice homosexuality” (ESV) or “men who lie with men” (NWT) is
preferable. (Thomas Gaston, “Marginal Notes: 1 Cor 6:9—Sodomites,” Christadelphian
Ejournal of Biblical Interpretation [January 2010]: 52-54)
