Arsenokoites

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'''Arsenokoitēs''' (αρσενοκοίτης) is a [[Fun:Greek|Greek]] word found in the [[New Testament]], specifically in some verses that are generally considered a prohibition against [[homosexuality]]. It is a compound of ''arsēn'' (''ᾰ̓́ρσην'') , one of the Greek words for male, and ''koitēs'' (''κοιτης'') , a Greek word for "one who lays, lies", echoing the phrasing of the [[Septuagint]] rendering of {{bible|Leviticus|18|22}}.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150415021241/http://www.blueletterbible.org/bible.cfm?b=Lev&c=18&t=LXX The septuagint leviticus 18]</ref>

The verses in question are in [[Corinthians|1 Corinthians]] and [[Timothy|1 Timothy]], both thought to be part of [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]]'s writings (although there is some debate about this in the case of Timothy&nbsp;— see '{{sl|forgery}}', below). In context, the lines say "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither [[Sex|fornicators]], nor [[Idolatry|idolaters]], nor [[adulterer]]s, nor effeminate, nor ''malebedders''…"{{efn|English-language Bibles as a rule do not use the literal translation of ''arsenokoitēs''. The [[KJV]], for example uses the phrase "abusers of themselves with mankind".}}<ref>{{bible|1 Corinthians|6|9}}</ref> and "and immoral men and ''malebedders'' and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching..."<ref>{{bible|1 Timothy|1|10}}</ref>

''Arsenokoites'' is extremely rare in ancient Greek&nbsp;— so rare, there is no other extant use predating or contemporary to the Bible (a linguistic phenomenon known as a ''{{wpl|hapax legomenon||'').}} [[Philo]] is often claimed to have used the word around 35 [[CE]].<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20091203192041/http://www.stjohnsmcc.org/new/BibleAbuse/Arsenokoites.php</ref><ref>http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book29.html</ref> Some believe the claim to be false.<ref>http://www.peter-ould.net/2009/07/12/sexuality-and-slavery-part-three/</ref> The context in which it is used in Corinthians suggests that it is the dominant partner of a homosexual relationship<ref>Louw & Nida, ‘Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains’, volume 1, p. 771 (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition 1996)</ref> (of one who assumes the dominant role in same-sex activity, opp. μαλακός)<ref>Brown, ‘New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology’, volume 2, p. 562 (1986)</ref>. Some liberal Christians insist it refers specifically to pimps or pederasts, but there's no more evidence to support this meaning than any other.

"''Malakoi''", (as used in 1 cor 6 6:9 just prior to "arsenokoites") means literally "squishy." Linguists generally understand this word to be a form of showy effeminism; it may also indicate cowardice. Malakos is used in [[Matthew]] to describe the unnecessarily fine and showy clothing of the [[King]]. Unlike ''arsenokoites'', ''malakos'' is found in other writers of the time, indeed as an indictment of cowardice, or sometimes vanity, or other "feminine" vices; the sexual sense of effeminate is typically referred to not by this word, but by ''kinaidia''.

==Translations==
Over the centuries, there has also been a range of interpretation of how best to translate "arsenokoites" into the different European languages.

The medieval [[Latin]] translation in the {{wpl|Vulgata Clementina|''Vulgata Clementina''}} was ''masculorum concubitoribus'', implying concubinage or pimping, not homosexuality specifically. [[Martin Luther]]'s 1545 German translation employs the word ''Knabenschänder'' (from ''Knaben'', boys or young children), implying that ''arsenokoites'' was interpreted as [[pedophilia]] as early as the 16<sup>th</sup> century. A modern German translation speaks of "''Kinder sexuell missbrauchen''" ("to abuse children sexually"). The 1649 Giovanni Deodati Bible in Italian refers to "''quelli che usano co' maschi''". The term "''maschi''" refers to males, either to men or boys, and doesn't have a more general sense of boys. ''Maschi'' is for instance used in the traditional Italian expression "''Auguri e figli maschi''" (literally, "Congratulations and male&nbsp;— ''maschi'') children&nbsp;— ''figli''.").

Though no European translator before the 20<sup>th</sup> century approved of homosexuality (least of all Martin Luther), the rendering of the word "arsenokoites" into modern European languages clearly does not imply a clear consensus on whether this specific term covers homosexuality in general. Yet the avoidance of the term "homosexual" might also have been merely to provide [[euphemism]]s for something considered "unspeakable" by many, and thus might have been a form of mere bowdlerism on the translators' part:

*Danish:  "Syndere imod Naturen" (sins against nature)
*French (Martin, 1744):  "ceux qui commettent des péchés contre nature" (those who commit sins against nature)
*French (Ostervald, 1744):  "les abominables" (the abominables)
*French (Louis Segon, 1910):  "les infâmes" (the infamous)
*Irish (William O'Domhnuill, 1602): "dáoine míonadúrtha" (unnatural people)
*Spanish (Sagradas Escrituras, 1569):  "los que fe echá con machos” (those that lay with males)
*Spanish (Reina Valera, 1909):  "los sodomitas" (sodomites, a term that in itself is open to wide interpretation)
*Swedish (1917):  "för dem som... onaturlig vällustsynd" (those who sin unnaturally)
*English (Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible, Challoner Revision, 1749): "they who defile themselves with mankind"

The variety of translations made across time and place have helped to shape contemporary perceptions of homosexuality, and these translations were clearly products of their time, struggling against the strictures and limitations of any given language.  Regardless, the original Greek word remains ambiguous.

===''Arsenokoitia'' for male-female sodomy===
In a penitential by Saint John the Faster, there is a section of penances for certain sexual acts, and he says, "If any man perform arsenokoitia upon his wife, he shall be penanced for eight years, faring the while with xerophagy after the ninth hour and doing two hundred metanies daily." While he does mention ''arsenokoites'' between males, it's not exclusive to male-male sex.<ref>[http://www.holytrinitymission.org/books/english/canons_fathers_rudder.htm#_Toc78634065 Canons of the Holy Fathers: John the Faster] ''Holy Trinity Orthodox School''.</ref>

==Forgery==
Some scholars consider 1 Timothy to be a forgery. It disagrees with other letters that Paul wrote, and 1 Timothy tries to refute 'false teachings' that became important with the [[Gnostic]]s well after Paul's time.<ref>[http://www.newsweek.com/2015/01/02/thats-not-what-bible-says-294018.html The Bible: So Misunderstood It's a Sin] by Kurt Eichenwald (12/23/14 at 6:54 AM EST) ''Newsweek''.</ref>

The genuineness of Pauline authorship was accepted by Church orthodoxy as early as c. 180 CE, as evidenced by the surviving testimony of {{wpl|Irenaeus}} and the author of the {{wpl|Muratorian||.}} Possible allusions are found in the letters from [[Pope Clement I|Clement of Rome]] to the Corinthians (c. 95), {{wpl|Ignatius of Antioch}} to the Ephesians (c. 110) and {{wpl|Polycarp}} to the Philippians (c. 130).<ref name=Holmes2005>Holmes, MW, "Polycarp's 'Letter to the Philippians' and the Writings that later formed the NT," in Gregory & Tuckett, (2005), ''The Reception of the NT in the Apostolic Fathers'' OUP, p.226 ISBN 978-0-19-926782-8</ref><ref name=Berding1999>{{cite journal |last=Berding |first=K. |title=Polycarp of Smyrna's View of the Authorship of 1 and 2 Timothy |journal=Vigiliae Christianae |volume=53 |issue=4 |year=1999 |pages=349–360}}</ref>

==External links==
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-30222550 School apologises over Bible and homosexuality worksheet] This deals with how a school approached 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11.

==Notes==
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==References==
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[[Category:Bible analysis]]
[[Category:Euphemisms]]
[[Category:Homophobia]]

Categories: Bible analysis, Euphemisms, Homophobia