אהיה אשר אהיה

Quintessentialist: Language as a Weapon of Mass Destruction: Episode Two, Homosexuality in the Bible

elebuufish:

quintessentialist:

Consider the following quote from Wycliffe’s English Bible: “If a man slepith with a man, bi letcherie of a womman, euer either hath wrouyt vnleueful thing, die thei bi deeth; her blood be on hem”. Lechery comes from the Old French lecherie, which is interestingly similar to the French le cher,…

Reblogging for Eric. I think you’ll find this interesting. »

Interesting as this is, we need to not look at the Latin version for the original meaning of lecherie, but the Hebrew.  The Latin is a translation of a translation; based on the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Tanakh.  That makes Wycliffe’s a translation of a translation of a translation.  Rationalizing your beliefs based on a translation, in which some words may have different connotations, is always bad.  Let’s take a look at the Hebrew.

(translations come from the Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh.)

First let’s look at the commandment against adultery: “You shall not commit adultery.” [Ex. 20.14]<1>  In Hebrew this commandment is לא תנאף (transliterated lo tna’ap).  It seems that it literally means “Do not commit,” which implies adultery.  The version in Deuteronomy uses the same word, tna’ap, although lo has a vav beforehand, so it is v’lo tna’ap.<2>  Means the same thing.  So for my commentary, we’ll say tna’ap is our word for adultery.

Let’s now take a look at the verse condemning homosexual relations: “If a man lies with a male as one lies with a woman, the two of them have done an abhorrent thing; they shall be put to death—their bloodguilt is upon them.” [Lev. 20.13]  In Hebrew this commandment is: וְאִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁכַּב אֶת-זָכָר מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה—תּוֹעֵבָה עָשׂוּ, שְׁנֵיהֶם; מוֹת יוּמָתוּ, דְּמֵיהֶם בָּם.  (Transliteration: we’ish asher yishkab et zakar mishkabe ish’shah towebah asu shanehem; mowt yumatu damehem bam.)<3>  The words in question are yishkab and mishkabe.  Yishkab means “to lie with,” as in, to have sex with.  Mishkabe means “bed,” once again the implication is sex.  So a more literal translation is: “If a man lies with a male as he beds a woman…”  The two words share the same synonymous connotations as in English: yishkabe can mean “lie down” as in literally sleeping, and mishkabe can mean literally a bed you sleep on.  The word for abomination is תּוֹעֵבָ֥ה (towebah)<3>, which means detestable.  It doesn’t mean unlawful. Furthermore, taking laws that God is giving and comparing them to a manmade law to lessen its severity is a bit silly, isn’t it?  The God of Israel is clearly issuing laws to the Hebrews in this section of Torah.

Although Wycliffe translated to letcherie where King James translated to adultery in several places throughout the Bible, it’s clear by looking at the Masoretic text that you cannot equate “sleeping with” as “adultery” in this verse.  “Bi letcherie of a womman” in the Masoretic text is “as one beds a woman”.  The word for adultery, tna’ap, is never mentioned.  Such is the problem when you try to rationalize based on connotations in translation that do not exist in the source material.

Sources for translation:

1.  Ex. 20.14: http://interlinearbible.org/exodus/20-14.htm
2. Deut. 5.18:  http://interlinearbible.org/deuteronomy/5-18.htm
3. Lev. 20.13:  http://interlinearbible.org/leviticus/20-13.htm