Is homosexuality and being gay a greater "abomination" or sin than other sins mentioned the Old Testament and in Leviticus?
The term for "lie" in Lev. 18:22"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" Lev. 18:22 ESV. and Lev. 20:13"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them" Lev. 20:13 ESV. is derived from the ancient Hebrew word shâkab which meant, "to lie down (for rest, sexual connection, decease or any other purpose)."1 Furthermore, the term "lieth" in Lev. 20:13 KJV is derived from the ancient Hebrew word mishkâb which meant, "a bed; abstractly sleep; by euphemism carnal intercourse: -bed, -chamber, couch, lieth (lying) with."2 It is generally understood that Lev. 18:22"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" Lev. 18:22 ESV. and Lev. 20:13"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them" Lev. 20:13 ESV. condemn a man who lies with another man in a sexual sense, although some people disagree with this translationSome people believe that Lev. 18:22 and 20:13 are mistranslated in the Bible and that the verses mean, "And with a male thou shalt not lie down in a woman's bed; it is an abomination."
These people believe that the verses prohibit a man from lying with another man on a woman's bed. In ancient times, a woman's bed was her own bed, two men were forbidden from lying on a woman's bed for whatever reason.
Nevertheless, I was unable to find any research outside of the internet to support this translation, and I cannot read ancient or modern Hebrew. Most ancient Hebrew Bibles translate the verses as the King Jame's Version translates them: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." Therefore, I will not further explore this argument.. The word "abomination" is used to describe this sexual act. Some Christians believe that the word "abomination" makes the sin described in Lev. 18:22"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" Lev. 18:22 ESV. and Lev. 20:13"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them" Lev. 20:13 ESV. greater than other sins listed in the Torah. Thus, in order to determine if these Christians are correct with this assessment, we examine the question posted above.
In Lev. 18:22"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" Lev. 18:22 ESV. and Lev. 20:13"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them" Lev. 20:13 ESV., a homosexual act is viewed as an abomination or tô‛êbah. Some people believe that that since the Bible states that homosexual acts were an abomination, they were considered to be more evil than other sins cited within the Mosaic law. The Old Testament refers to abominations with two different words: tô‛êbah and sheqets. Lev. 11:10-12 ESV states, "But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins and scales . . . is detestable (sheqets) to you. You shall regard them as detestable (sheqets); you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest (sheqets) their carcasses. Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable (sheqets) to you." Compare the verse with the King James Version: Lev. 11:10-12 KJV "And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers . . . they shall be an abomination (sheqets) unto you: They shall be even an abomination (sheqets) unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcasses in abomination (sheqets). Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination (sheqets) unto you."
Notice that Lev. 11:10-12 ESV substitutes the words "detest" and "detestable" for sheqets, and Lev. 11:10-12 KJV uses the word "abomination" for sheqets. Yet, both detestable things and abominations are referred to by the same word: sheqets. However, Lev. 18:22 ESV states, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." Compare the verse to the King James Version: Lev. 18:22 KJV "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. . . ." Notice that Lev. 18:22 ESV keeps the same word for "abomination" as Lev. 18:22 KJV. Both of these translations use the word tô‛êbah when referencing abominations in these passages.
Some people argue that the ancient Hebrew word for "abomination," tô‛êbah, in Lev. 18:22"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" Lev. 18:22 ESV. has a different meaning than the ancient Hebrew word for "abomination," sheqets, in Lev. 11:10-22. According to Strong's Concordance, tô‛êbah means "something disgusting (morally), that is, (as noun) an abhorrence; especially idolatry or (concretely) an idol,"3 and shequets means "filth, that is, (figuratively and specifically) an idolatrous object."4 For their argument to be true, then tô‛êbah would have to be used in the Old Testament only when referring to morally objectionable customs, and sheqets would have to be used in the Old Testament only when referring to "unclean" or "filthy" things. However, these words are used interchangeably in the Old Testament.
In Lev. 18:22"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" Lev. 18:22 ESV. and Lev. 20:13"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them" Lev. 20:13 ESV., a homosexual act was viewed as an abomination, or tô‛êbah. Some people may point out that other passages in Leviticus state that other Jewish customs were also viewed as an abomination, such as Lev. 11:10-12"And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcasses in abomination. Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you" Lev. 11:10-12 KJV. which forbids people from eating anything in the sea that does not have fins and scales, like shrimp, lobster, crab, octopus, and squid. However, the ancient Hebrew word for "abomination" in this passage, sheqets (see Lev. 11:10-13"And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination (sheqets) unto you: They shall be even an abomination (sheqets) unto you; ye shall not eat of (w)hatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination (sheqets) unto you. And these are they which ye shall have in abomination (sheqets) among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination (sheqets): the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray . . . " Lev. 11:10-13 KJV.), is different that the ancient Hebrew word that is used for "abomination," which is tô‛êbah, in Lev. 18:22"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination (tô‛êbah)" Lev. 18:22 ESV.. According to Strong's Concordance, sheqets means "filth, that is (specifically and figuratively) an idolatrous object."1 However, according to Strong's Concordance, tô‛êbah means "something disgusting (morally), that is, (as noun) an abhorrence; especially idolatry or (concretely) an idol."2 Thus, the sexual sins listed in Lev. 18:6-24 have a moral component to them, which makes them different from the customs listed in Lev. 11:10-12.
Tô‛êbah is translated as "abomination" in Deut. 14:3 ESV, "You shall not eat any abomination" and also in Deut. 17:1 ESV, "You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep in which is a blemish, any defect whatever, for that is an abomination to the LORD your God." Likewise, Gen. 46:34 ESV uses the word tô‛êbah for "abomination" in the passage, "(Y)ou shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,' in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians." Moreover, Exod. 8:26 ESV uses the word tô‛êbah for "abomination" in the passage, "But Moses said, 'It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the LORD our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us?'" In fact, according to Strong's Concordance, tô‛êbah is used in the Old Testament 117 times in 112 verses!5
Clearly, the Hebrew word tô‛êbah in Lev. 18:22"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" Lev. 18:22 ESV. has no bearing as to the importance that the Lord places on certain customs over others. One cannot state that it is more of an abomination for a man to have sexual relations with another man than it is for a person to eat shrimp based on how the word tô‛êbah is used in the Bible because the Bible uses the term tô‛êbah to describe sexual acts in Lev. 18:22"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" Lev. 18:22 ESV. and also to describe forbidden foods, such as fin-less, scale-less sea creatures, in Deut. 14:3, 7-10"You shall not eat any abomination (tô‛êbah). Yet of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cloven you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger, because they chew the cud but do not part the hoof, are unclean for you. And the pig, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. Of all that are in the waters you may eat these: whatever has fins and scales you may eat. And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you" Deut. 14:3, 7-10 ESV.. In fact, Lev. 11:2-13 repeats the same vices that are lised in Deut. 14:3-10. However, instead of using the word tô‛êbah to refer to all of the vices as abominations, in general, as Deut. 14:3"You shall not eat any abomination (tô‛êbah" Deut. 14:3 ESV. does, Lev. 11:10-13"And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination (sheqets) unto you: They shall be even an abomination (sheqets) unto you; ye shall not eat of (w)hatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination (sheqets) unto you. And these are they which ye shall have in abomination (sheqets) among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination (sheqets): the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray . . . " Lev. 11:10-13 KJV. uses the word sheqets to refer to certain vices, which are also the same vices listed in Deut. 14:10-12"And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you. And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you. Of all clean birds ye shall eat. But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray . . ." Deut. 14:12 KJV.. Once again, these passages prove that both sheqets and tô‛êbah were used interchangeably to mean "abomination," and the term tô‛êbah does not refer to a greater evil or "abomination" compared to the term sheqets.
The English Standard Version of the Bible translates Lev. 11:10-12 differently than the King James Version of the Bible. Lev. 11:10-12 ESV states, "But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins and scales . . . is detestable to you. You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you." Compare the verse with Lev. 11:10-12 KJV, "And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers . . . they shall be an abomination unto you: They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcasses in abomination. Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you."
Notice that Lev. 11:10-12 ESV substitutes the words "detest" and "detestable" for sheqets and Lev. 11:10-12 KJV uses the word "abomination" for sheqets. However, Lev. 18:22 ESV states, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." Compare the verse to Lev. 18:22 KJV, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." Lev. 18:22 ESV keeps the same word for "abomination" as Lev. 18:22 KJV. Both Lev. 18:22 ESV and Lev. 18:22 KJV use the word tô‛êbah to describe an abomination, which simply shows that one act (a man lying with another man) is more reprehensible than the other (a man eating a forbidden creature).
1"shâkab." Strong, 1995/1996, Hebrew section p. 141, entry 7901 Return
2"mishkâb." Strong, 1995/1996, Hebrew section p. 87, entry 4904 Return
3"tô‛êbah." Strong, 1995/1996, Hebrew section p. 151, entry 8441 Return
4"sheqets." Strong, 1995/1996, Hebrew section p. 148, entry 8263 Return
5"tô‛êbah." Strong, 1995/1996, Hebrew section p. 151, entry 8441 and see E-sword, KJV+ Bible version, search results for H8441 in Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries Return
1"sheqets." Strong, 1995/1996, Hebrew section p. 148, entry 8263 Return
2"tô‛êbah." Strong, 1995/1996, Hebrew section p. 151, entry 8441 Return
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