Sex is mentioned repeatedly in the Hebrew Bible. Some references provide unambiguous ethical regulations, such as the laws given in Leviticus or Deuteronomy. Others are more ambivalent, most famously the potentially homosexual actions of Ham with his father, Noah. Its depictions of homosexuality, rape, prostitution and incest have spurred considerable academic and theological attention.
Homosexuality
The Hebrew Bible possibly refers to homosexuality three times, though the word itself does not occur in many English translations. These passages are interpreted differently. Leviticus 18 says:"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination."Leviticus 20 says: "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them."Some recent interpretations focus on the passage's context as part of the Holiness code, a purity code meant to discern the behavior of the Israelites from the polytheistic Canaanites, and not as a catch-all condemnation of same-sex sexual activity.
Ham's actions in Genesis possibly refer to homosexual behavior with his father Noah, while the latter was passed out drunk in his tent.Genesis 9:20–23David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, Astrid B. Beck, Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible, (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing: 2000), p. 543
Rape Although the Hebrew Bible contains numerous references to rape, this was mostly unrecognized by commentators until the 20th century. It was not until the late 1970s, with the emergence of the anti-rape movement due to second-wave feminism, that feminist scholars reanalyzed Biblical scenarios in terms of sexual violence. Hebrew contains several verbs that can refer to rape, making interpretation difficult. A commonly-cited example of Biblical rape is the Levite's concubine found in Judges.
Incest
Lot's daughters had sex with him after they got him drunk for the purpose of becoming pregnant.Genesis 19:30-36
Prostitution Two different words for prostitute occur in the Hebrew Bible, zonah (זונה) and kedeshah (קדשה). This led to the belief that kedeshah were not ordinary prostitutes, but sacred harlots who worked in fertility temples. Tamar (Genesis) traded sex with her father-in-law Judah for ownership of a goat. Her motive was fulfilling what she saw as her family duty, namely producing offspring for Judah.Genesis 38:13-24 Samson sees a prostitute, and visits her.Judges 16:1 God tells the prophet Hosea to marry Gomer, a prostitute.Hosea 1:2 Deuteronomy prohibits cult prostitution.
Adultery Exodus , as the seventh commandment, prohibits adultery. Second Samuel describes King David's act of adultery with Bathsheba:
Miscellaneous The sin of Onan,Dancy, J. The Divine Drama: the Old Testament as Literature, (, ), 2002, p. 92Genesis 38:8-10 often misinterpreted as masturbation, was coitus interruptus. Onan was also violating the duty of yibbum. He was struck down by God because he "spilt his seed upon the ground" while he had a duty to impregnate his brother's wife. Proverbs claims that sexual sin causes scars and pain. It has been argued that multiorgasmic encounters in Biblical episodes as understood in rabbinic literature reflect the use of sex as a display of power.
See also Religious male circumcision
Notes Explanatory footnotes
Citations
References Akerly, Ben Edward, The X-Rated Bible: An Irreverent Survey of Sex in the Scriptures (American Atheist Press, 1985) Smith, Morton H., Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Confession Standards, (Escondido, CA: Ephesians Four Group) 1999.
Further reading