The word, “ἀρσενοκοῖται,” in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and transliterated “arsenokoitai,” is a first declension nominative plural noun. Its variant, “ἀρσενοκοίταις,” is a first declension dative plural noun located in I Timothy 1:10 and is transliterated “arsenokoitais.”
Each of these words occurs only once in the Bible. Etymologically, they derive from “ἄρρην” (male) and “κοίτη” (bed). Because the definite article is missing from “ἀρσενοκοῖται” and “ἀρσενοκοίταις” and there are no other instances of these words, or their variants, in Scripture, only their declension, number and case can be deduced. It is impossible to conclusively determine the gender of these of these nouns.
Furthermore, since the terms appear in no other literary references that predate, or are coeval with, the Greek NT, the claim that they can be defined with the degree of precision that some contend is unwarranted.
Despite who these “man-bedders” actually may have been, your contention that it refers to “men who practice homosexuality” is not only presumptuous, it is inaccurate.
--ez
--------------------
Sources:
“The New Analytical Greek Lexicon” W J Perschbacher (2006) Pp 54, 243
“The Greek New Testament” Nestle-Aland 26. Available online.
© Copyright, 14 January 2011, ez duz it
No comments:
Post a Comment