HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE BIBLE
DEUTERONOMY
Deuteronomy 23:17 (KJV)
There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
Deuteronomy 23:17 (NIV)
No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute.
In our study of Leviticus you found the comment that the Canaanite agricultural religion revolved around the fertility of the land as well as the people, and that the expression of that fertility involved going to the shrine or temple of the god or goddess and engaging in sexual activity with a (often same-sex) priest or priestess employed there. Where is the evidence of that activity? If that is true, why doesn’t that information show up in scripture? Why does it seem that the bible treats the passages as having to do with homosexuality and not idolatry?
In the passages shown above, note that the King James Version translates Deuteronomy 23:17 forbidding harlotry by the daughters of Israel, or sodomy of the sons of Israel. The KJV was written in 1611. However, the NIV which was produced in the twentieth century translates this same verse as forbidding shrine or temple prostitution. What caused the wording to change? When did a sodomite (assumed by many churches to mean homosexual), or a whore become a shrine–or cult–prostitute?
We have to remember that the Hebrew scriptures of the bible tell the story of the history of the Hebrews and their relationship with God. While there are many references to Canaan and the Canaanites in the bible, the bible is not their story. Nowhere in the bible does it tell us how the Canaanites lived–their history or what their practices were. Until the twentieth century, knowledge of the Canaanites was limited to three sources:
However, none of these sources could provide information on Canaanite philosophy, religious beliefs or practices.
In 1928 a Syrian peasant was tilling his field when his blade sliced off the top of an unusually large hole in the ground. That hole turned out to be the buried Canaanite city of Ugarit. In this city was a library, where were uncovered among other things what we know today about Canaanite religious practices. Not only was there a library, homes in Ugarit contained many texts. In one home alone were found over 80 texts dealing just with the Canaanite religious practices.
Students of the bible, even those with only a minor interest have heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but comparatively few have heard of the discoveries at Ugarit. However, go onto the internet and conduct a search of the word Ugarit and you will discover over 8500 websites and articles. Texts found in Ugarit were written in six languages. Only a relatively small part of the enormous amount of material there has been translated to date, but the material has had great impact on bible knowledge, reflected in changes in modern translations. Many obscure and confusing passages have in some instances been corrected; in others, the passages have been made clearer.
At the time the KJV was written, no one in those days had ever heard of cult prostitution. On the other hand the NIV, written after the discovery, demonstrates in the above verse just one of the changes made because of the findings in Ugarit.
The Bible Almanac copyrighted 1980 states:
Fertility religions such as Ugarit’s place great emphasis on reproduction in the land, in crops, and in the womb. This emphasis helps explain their stress on sexual unions. The Bible and the Canaanite texts at Ugarit use the words qadesh and qedesha, which mean "holy one"–the first masculine, the second feminine. At Ugarit these "holy ones" were homosexual priests and priestesses who acted as prostitutes. We find strong Hebrew reaction against this "cultic prostitution" in passages such as Leviticus 19:29, "Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a harlot," and Deuteronomy 23:17, "There shall be no whore (qedesha) of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite (qadesh) of the sons of Israel." (pp 146)
We have seen here in the modern translation of Deuteronomy 23:18, the condemnation was not a condemnation of homosexuality (sodomy), but of cultic prostitution. Now, when we remember the words which began Leviticus 18, “…do not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices,” and compare it with the above, it becomes clear that not only the condemnation of Deuteronomy 23:18, but also of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 are condemnations of idolatry, not homosexuality. In fact, as we soon will see, this theme of cultic prostitution will arise again in our study of the so-called clobber passages in the Christian scriptures.
This is the answer to the question, where is the evidence of that activity? Now, to answer the second question, if that is true, why doesn’t that information show up in scripture? As we have seen above, we find the evidence when we compare the KJV with the NIV, or with other modern-day translations. Please note that some modern bibles still use the word homosexual instead of cult prostitute. It is imperative, in order to know what the original writers were intending, that you use an exhaustive concordance/bible dictionary, so that you can look up the word(s) and their definitions in the original languages. You need not know the original language to use this tool, though it sometimes might mean having to read more than one translation to track down the original word.
Why does it seem that the bible treats the passages as having to do with homosexuality and not idolatry? As we have seen, it is various interpretations of the passages, as well as misinformed translations that lead us to believe that the passages address homosexuality. We must remember that scripture must be read in context, and context refers not only to keeping the passages in order in scripture, but they must be examined in the context of the times and the culture and the peoples addressed. Often, it is necessary to go to sources outside of the bible and having a willingness to do the research in order to know and understand what certain passages really mean. That is the purpose of bible studies.
If the Ugaritic texts show that the passages in question are about cultic prostitution and not about homosexuality, why do so many churches still hold onto their old condemnations? Tradition is the homage that we pay to the dead. It is very hard to convince some people to give up their time-honored, cherished beliefs, ideas or understandings. After all, they have spent years researching, studying and learning certain interpretations, and once they’ve come to a place of acceptance of what they consider is truth; the very idea of a contrary interpretation can seem a challenge to them of their very faith. Instead of being able to be open-minded to a new way of looking at things, they feel their faith is being threatened and often become angry and close their minds. (See hermeneutical circle in the fifth paragraph of the Overview of our study on Homosexuality and the Bible.) A new idea or interpretation might cause them to doubt what they’ve already accepted, and many feel that doubt is contrary to faith.
Yet, faith without healthy doubt is no faith at all. Faith grows through doubt–when you‘re willing to challenge the doubt, do the research, and trust in the Holy Spirit to guide you "into all the truth." (John 16:13). Remember that when Thomas expressed his doubts about the risen Christ, Jesus did not ridicule him or condemn him. Jesus opened His arms and invited Thomas to touch the wounds (John 20:29). Jesus offered the proof Thomas needed. Serious students should not be afraid to have their spiritual paradigms challenged. Trust the Holy Spirit to be there for you. Your faith will grow!
Deuteronomy 23:18 (KJV)
Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the Lord thy God.
Deuteronomy 23:18 (NIV)
You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute into the house of the Lord to pay any vow, because the Lord your God detests them both.
The term translated dog in the KJV, in the original language was keleb, which means to yelp or else to attack; a dog; hence (by euphemism) a male prostitute. (Strongs #3611) The question is: what kind of prostitute? Scholars differ in their opinions. In The Daily Study Bible Series the author of the study on Deuteronomy, David F Payne, writes of these passages only this:
"Verses 17-18 turn to the practice of religious rites, and prohibit the practice of religious prostitution in the name of Yahweh. (The word ‘dog’ is thought to mean a male sanctuary prostitute, familiar in Canaanite religion.)
On the other hand, the New Oxford Annotated Bible, writes for verses 17-18:
"These verses presuppose the inevitability of prostitution, while proscribing it for Israelites and regulating it in such a way as to preserve the Temple’s sanctity. (For verse 17) Temple prostitute (Hebrew "qedesha"), the translation reflects belief in the existence of sacred prostitution in Israel and in the ancient Near East, for which there is scant evidence; more likely "qedesha" is a standard euphemism for the coarser term for prostitute (vs. 18). The same alternation between the two terms appears in Gen. 38:15,21. The word might better be translated as "one set aside." (For verse 18) Prostitute (Hebrew "zonah,") closer to "whore". Male prostitute (literally "dog"), in context, the male counterpart to a common female prostitute. To maintain holiness, the law proscribes the donation of income from prostitution to the Temple.
It is interesting to note that while the Oxford appears to discount the information provided by the Ugaritic texts and presupposes that both verses 17 and 18 above refer only to common prostitutes (those with no connection to a temple), yet in its own translation of the verses it uses the phrase temple prostitute. One would find the same parallel of words (prostitute and temple (or shrine) prostitute) in Gen. 38:15, 21. More interesting is the comment above that the word "qedesha" might better be translated as "one set aside," which term commonly means "one set aside for the service of God or ‘the god.’" Do note especially that while the two schools of thought differ on what the verses represent, neither drew any conclusion that the subject was homosexuality.
I did not offer these two conflicting scholarly theories to confuse you, but to demonstrate that even the most learned of bible scholars, teachers and teaching institutions disagree on exactly what many scripture passages mean, and to note how the hermeneutical circle might be in play.
My own personal take on the subject of the two passages is as follows: Israelites are not to engage in temple prostitution because such practices are idolatrous (note: abomination); nor even is money to be received by the temple which comes from any wages earned as a result of prostitution of any kind. The temple must be kept ritually pure in every sense.
This ends this week’s study. Next week: Deuteronomy 22:5.