The New Testament Greek Lexicon<\/a><\/em>]<\/p>\nPorneia<\/em>\u00a0(fornication) “is used of illicit sexual intercourse….” [W. E. Vine,\u00a0Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words<\/em>]<\/p>\nFornication: “illicit sexual intercourse in general … distinguished from adultery (moicheia<\/em>) in Matthew 15:19 … used of adultery … in Matthew 5:32; 19:9 [Henry Thayer,\u00a0Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon<\/em>, pg. 532].<\/p>\nFornication: “The New Testament is characterized by an unconditional repudiation of all extra-marital and unnatural intercourse” [Theological Dictionary of the New Testament<\/em>, Vol. 6, pg. 590].<\/p><\/blockquote>\nYou can also go through the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament to see what Hebrew words were translated to\u00a0porneia<\/em>\u00a0to get an idea of what the word meant. You will find:<\/p>\n\n- zanah<\/em>\u00a0– to lie down like a prostitute (Jeremiah 2:20; Micah 1:7)<\/li>\n
- zenunim<\/em>\u00a0– Harlotry, prostitution (Hosea 1:2; Nahum 3:4)<\/li>\n
- zenuth<\/em>\u00a0– Unfaithfulness, prostitution (Numbers 14:33; Jeremiah 3:2; Hosea 4:11)<\/li>\n
- taznuth<\/em>\u00a0– Harlotry, lust (Ezekiel 16:15; 23:7, 11)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Notice that the dictionaries include homosexuality and lesbianism under the category of\u00a0porneia<\/em>. That is because if anal sex is involved with homosexual men, the penis is entering the anus. If oral sex is involved, then the penis is entering the mouth or the tongue is entering the vagina. That is why in English “sex” is included in the description of oral and anal sex.<\/p>\nUse (chresis<\/em>):<\/h3>\n“For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural\u00a0use<\/strong>\u00a0for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural\u00a0use<\/strong>\u00a0of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due<\/em>” (Romans 1:26-27).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nChresis<\/em>\u00a0started out as a general meaning of use. But in Aristotle and Polybius’ usages “chresis<\/em>\u00a0is ‘intimacy’ or ‘acquaintance;’ and Isocrates (Fourth Century B.C.) where literally\u00a0hai oikoi chresis<\/em>, “the use of houses,” means practically sexual ‘intercourse’ with women.” [The Complete Biblical Library Greek – English Dictionary<\/em>]. The was the meaning commonly used at the time of the New Testament.<\/p>\nSexual Relations (koite<\/em>):<\/h3>\n“Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in\u00a0lewdness<\/strong>\u00a0and lust, not in strife and envy<\/em>” (Romans 13:13).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nKoite\u00a0<\/em>is the Greek word for bed, but it is also the word for what takes place in bed. It was used in a way similar to how we say that Jack was sleeping with Pam. Thus this is a word for sexual intercourse. It is where we get the English word “coitus” which means the act of the penis entering the vagina.<\/p>\nLay with (shakhav<\/em>):<\/h3>\n“And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and\u00a0lay with<\/strong>\u00a0her, and violated her<\/em>” (Genesis 34:2).<\/p>\n“Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he\u00a0lay with<\/strong>\u00a0her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house<\/em>” (II Samuel 11:4).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nShakhav<\/em> primarily means to lie down to sleep. As we do in English, this becomes a euphemism for having sex since that is typically done while lying down in a bed.<\/p>\nTo humble (‘anah<\/em>)<\/h3>\n“And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and\u00a0violated<\/strong>\u00a0her<\/em>” (Genesis 34:2).<\/p>\n“If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife because he has\u00a0humbled<\/strong>\u00a0her; he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 22:28-29).<\/p>\n“She shall put off the clothes of her captivity, remain in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a full month; after that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free, but you certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her brutally, because you have\u00a0humbled<\/strong>\u00a0her<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 21:13-14).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe word\u00a0‘anah<\/em>\u00a0means to cause affliction. It refers to ruining a woman’s reputation or her self-worth.<\/p>\nSins where sex takes place where at least one party is married<\/h2>\nAdultery (moicheia<\/em>):<\/h3>\n“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are:\u00a0adultery<\/strong>, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, …<\/em>” (Galatians 5:19).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n“Moicheia\u00a0<\/em>is the word for ‘adultery’; i.e., ‘illicit intercourse in which one of the parties is married.'” [The Complete Biblical Library Greek – English Dictionary<\/em>]<\/p>\nSex for payment<\/h2>\nHarlot, Whore, Prostitute\u00a0(qadeshah<\/em>,\u00a0zanah<\/em>)<\/strong><\/h3>\n“There shall be no\u00a0ritual harlot<\/strong>\u00a0of the daughters of Israel, or a perverted one of the sons of Israel. You shall not bring the wages of a\u00a0harlot<\/strong>\u00a0or the price of a dog to the house of the LORD your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 23:17-18).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nMale Prostitute (keleb<\/em>):<\/h3>\n“There shall be no ritual harlot of the daughters of Israel, or a perverted one of the sons of Israel. You shall not bring the wages of a harlot or the price of a\u00a0dog<\/strong>\u00a0to the house of the LORD your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 23:17-18).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe word literally means “dog” but in this context, it is referring to how a male dog behaves — willing to have sex with anyone.<\/p>\n
Sins where sex takes place with members of the same gender<\/h2>\nEffeminate (malkos):<\/em><\/h3>\n“Classical Greek:<\/strong>\u00a0This is the word for “soft” or “soft to the touch.” Throughout classical Greek\u00a0malakos<\/em>\u00a0is used (1) of this, such as clothes, and (2) of persons, especially to denote catamites, those who allow themselves passively to be used homosexually.\u00a0New Testament Usage:<\/strong>\u00a0Both classical senses are employed in the New Testament. Matthew 11:8 (twice) and Luke 7:25 use\u00a0malakos<\/em>\u00a0when speaking of clothing. The Baptist’s clothes were not of a soft texture like the raiment of the rich. In I Corinthians 6:9\u00a0malakos<\/em>\u00a0is used in the metaphoric sense. Here it refers to persons who are “soft.” The rendering “effeminate” (malakos<\/em>) designates the passive partner of a homosexual relationship, and “abusers of themselves with mankind” (malakos<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0arsenokoites<\/em>) denotes both the passive and active homosexual partners.” [The Complete Biblical Library Greek – English Dictionary<\/em>].<\/p><\/blockquote>\nDionysius Halicarnassus Book VII, 2, 4: “At that time, the tyrant of Cumae was Aristodemos, the son of Aristocrates, a man, not of the common men in birth, who was called Malakos (effeminate) by his townsmen. In time, he held a nickname more notable than his original name. He was called Malakos either because as a child, he was effeminate and suffered that which is fitting for women, as some narrate, or because he was tame by nature and was soft in temperament, as others write.”<\/p>\n
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor\u00a0homosexuals<\/strong>, nor sodomites<\/em>,\u00a0nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God<\/em>” (I Corinthians 6:9-10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nHomosexual (arsenokoites<\/em>):<\/h3>\nArsenokoites<\/em>\u00a0is a compound Greek word. It doesn’t appear often in Greek literature, but it is meaning is quite clear.\u00a0Arsen<\/em>\u00a0is the Greek word for “male” and\u00a0koites<\/em> is the Greek word for “bed”. The latter is where English gets its word “cot.” Koites<\/em> is a euphemism in Greek for sexual intercourse, sexual excesses, and seminal emission. (English also gets its word “coitus” from this Greek word.) Examples of this can be found in Hebrews 13:4; Romans 9:10; and Romans 13:13. It doesn’t take deep scholarship to understand to what arsenokoiths<\/em>\u00a0is referring.<\/p>\n“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor\u00a0sodomites<\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God<\/em>” (I Corinthians 6:9-10).<\/p>\n“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.<\/em>” (Leviticus 18:22).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nHomosexual (qedesh<\/em>):<\/h3>\n“And there were also\u00a0perverted persons<\/strong>\u00a0in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel<\/em>” (I Kings 14:24).<\/p>\nLesbian:<\/h3>\n“For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature<\/em>” (Romans 1:26).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nSee the word “use” (chresis<\/em>) above.<\/p>\nSins where sex takes place with animals<\/h2>\nBestiality:<\/h3>\n“Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion<\/em>” (Leviticus 18:23).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nSins where sex is accompanied by violence<\/h2>\nRape:<\/h3>\n“Now when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” And she answered him, “No, my brother, do not\u00a0