Monday, July 11, 2011

Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13: A Condemnation of Incest, Not Homosexuality

Hi, bannorhill--

Regarding Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13.

Apart from 18:22 addressing the second person, and 20:13 addressing the third, the whole of the former is nearly identical with the first clause of the latter. Also, the subjunctive or conditional forms appearing in a number of the English translations relative to chapter 20 don’t appear in the Hebrew.

Chapter 20:11-21 deals primarily with incest, albeit prohibiting bestiality in 16-17. Though violating the commands in verses 11-17 result in the certain deaths of all parties concerned, the capital penalty seems to be withheld from those in 18-21.

A man, “אִישׁ” is commanded to refrain from “lying with” certain familial relations in verses 11-13 and 20 or, “taking” others in 14, 17 and 21. A complicated Hebrew grammatical construction more akin to the Latin dative versus any English convention is used to show acquaintance or relation. Without knowing Hebrew, but understanding it’s read right-to-left, the construction becomes apparent:

Verse 11: his father's wife :: “אֶת־אֵשֶׁת אָבִיו
Verse 12: his daughter-in-law :: “אֶת־כַּלָּתֹו
Verse 13: his man-child, i.e., son :: “אֶת־זָכָר
Verse 14: his wife and his mother-in-law :: “אֶת־אִשָּׁה וְאֶת־אִמָּהּ
Verse 17: his sister :: “אֶת־אֲחֹתֹו
Verse 20: his aunt, i.e., uncle's wife :: “אֶת־דֹּדָתֹו
Verse 21: his brother’s wife :: “אֶת־אֵשֶׁת אָחִיו

Your “proof text” doesn’t refute my claim: The Bible neither condemns Gay people nor the love to which same-sex couples commit themselves.

--ez duz it, © 11 July 2011

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