Statistikhengst
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On this thread:
http://www.usmessageboard.com/politics/347434-various-thoughts-on-the-issues-of-homosexuality.html
There has been an unbelievably active conversation about Homosexuality, and invariably, some people have quoted scripture in order to make their point.
I want to clarify some things.
The Holy Book(s) of Judiasm, called the "Tanakh" is comprised of:
the Pentateuch (the five books attributed to Moshe), called the "Torah"
the Prophets, known as "Neviim"
the histories, or "writings", known as "Ketuvim"
Torah + Neviim + Ketuvim = T + N + K = TANAKH.
So, the word that describes the "jewish Bible", if you will, is an acronym.
The Tanach is known in Christianity as the Old Testament and was written in both Aramaic and old Hebrew. The Tanakh has been passed down over the last 3,300+ years through scribes who have spent their entire lives copying the holy texts, letter for letter, with perfect accuracy. In fact, the rules for scribes and Torah calligraphy are long and extensive. A copied Torah scroll with so much as even one error must be burned and cannot be kept.
So far, so good.
The Tanakh, esp. the Pentateuch, is also a compendium of Jewish Law (Halakha), and in Judaism, there are 613 (SIX HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN) laws, also known as commandments. The Hebrew for commandment is "Mitzvah" (plural: "Mitzvoteem").
Those commandments are supposed to cover every conceivable aspect of Jewish Life, from the agrarian to the cosmopolitan. There are especially many laws governing the family unit.
Of those 613 Mitzvoteem, there are exactly two which deal specifically with homosexual acts. Notice that I did not write the word "Homosexuality", for two reasons:
1.) The term did not exist then, and even if it did
2.) that would be a state of being, but the verses deal with acts and deeds, not a state of being.
Both of those verses are within the third book of the Pentateuch, called "Va'yikra" ("HE called", known in English as "Leviticus", referring to the Levi's, who, along with the Kohen (Cohens) were and are entrusted to be the High Priests (V'hakohaneem) of the Temple).
The first verse is from Lev 18:22:
Leviticus 18 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre
Here is a screenshot of that verse:
Here is a transliteration of the Hebrew you see:
ve’et za’khar lo tish’kav, mish’ke’vey i’shah to’ey’vah hi
Word for word:
ve'et = an
za'khar = male
lo = no, not, do not
tish'kav = sleep (verb)
mish'ke'vey = delight (a word used to describe sex)
i'shah = woman
to'ey'vah = an abomination
hi = is
Of course, Hebrew/Aramaic sentence construction is different than in English. But the point is there.
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Here is the second verse, Lev. 20:12
Leviticus 20 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre
Here is a screenshot of that verse, in both English and Hebrew:
ve’ish a’sher yish’kav et za’khar
mish’ke’vey i’shah to’ey’vah a’su she’ney’hem mot yu’ma’tu de’mey’hem bam
Word for word:
ve'ish = And man
asher = which (could also be who)
yish'kav = sleeps
et = the
za'khar = male
mish'ke'vey = delight
I'sha = woman
to'ey'vah = An abomination
a'su = did (past tense of to do)
she'ney'hem = both
mot = die (from to die)
yu'ma'tu = often
de'mey'hem =four who are (yes, "de" literally means "4")
bam = (shall) do
Same deal here: different sentence construction, but the meaning can be seen.
Some like to translate the word for "delight" to mean "bed". This is not uncommon.
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Of the two verses, Lev. 20:13 is longer and carries the death penalty explicitly with it.
Not all Mitzvoteem carry the word for "Abomination" (to'evah) and this is one of the rare cases in the Tanakh where an article (to = an) is used instead of just being inferred. For the most severe of all sins, "to'evah" (an abomination) is used twice in a row. Here, this is not the case.
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Hebrew scholars over the years also developed a catalog of sorts as to how death penalty punishment for homosexual acts should be carried out, you can read them:
Issurei Biah - Chapter One - Texts & Writings
Issurei Biah - Chapter Twenty One - Texts & Writings
(if you want to see how anal retentive those scholars were back then, take a look at Halacha 19)
Also as applies to women:
Issurei Biah - Chapter Twenty One - Texts & Writings
(Halacha 8)
It should be noted that only a very small percentage of Jews actually adhere to the "Issure Biah" - lectures from another time in history, to say the least.
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So, of 613 Mitzvoteem, exactly 2 have to do with homosexual acts. That is 0.33% of all commandments. Notice that the commandments against homosexual acts is also placed next to things like adultery or sleeping with a woman while she is on her period.
What is NOT indicated anywhere in the Tanakh are homosexual thoughts or feelings. They are not prohibited:
Homosexuality and Jewish Law - My Jewish Learning
An important point to make from the outset is that Jewish law does not teach that it is forbidden to be a homosexual. On the contrary, Jewish law is concerned not with the source of a person’s erotic urges nor with inner feelings, but with acts. The Torah forbids the homosexual act, known as mishkav zakhar, but has nothing to say about homosexuality as a state of being or a personal inclination.
In other words, traditionally, a person with a homosexual inclination can be an entirely observant Jew as long as he or she does not act out that inclination.
Also:
A more likely explanation for the ban against homosexual behavior is given in the Talmud by Bar Kapparah, who makes a play on the word to’evah (“abomination”, claiming that it means to’eh atah ba (“you go astray because of it”. Both Tosefot and the Asheri (medieval commentators) comment on this passage that a man will leave his wife and family to pursue a relationship with another man. In other words, homosexuality undermines and threatens the Jewish ideal of family life, of marriage and children, articulated in the Torah. Heterosexuality is the communal norm for Jews; homosexuality, a perversion of that norm.
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Now, I am not indicating my personal feelings on this. I am simply reporting EXACTLY what is found within the Tanakh as pertains to homosexual acts, nothing less and nothing more. I am neither advocating nor condemning Homosexuals or Homosexuality, or for that part, even Homosexual acts. All I'm doing is to get the information out there.
How does this tie in to Christianity?
Well, I am hoping that our Christian members will now pipe up and give us some knowledge, but one thing I know for sure:
Yeshuah (Jesus), according to the Christian New Testament (which I have read in full six times so far in my life), was never even once quoted as having said anything at all about a homosexual act, homosexuals or homosexuality.
That can lead one to one of three possible conclusions:
1.) He was unaware of this issue (doubtful)
2.) He didn't know what to say about it (very, very doubtful)
3.) It was not important enough for him to speak about it (the most likely of the three).
You can read through all of the NT, you will not find one quote where Jeshuah specifically talks about this.
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The largest complaint I have about SOME Christians is with those who claim to know their theology in and out and proclaim that the "blood of Christ" renders the 613 Mitzvoteem null and void, and yet, when it comes to gays, all of a sudden they are very interested in two verses from Leviticus.
I find that hypocritical and lacking in a solid basis. And that could be a good starting point for this thread.
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Sources, for any in doubt, in case you want to do this stuff on your own:
Complete hebrew transliteration of the Tanakh:
http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/docs/17_xlit.pdf
Hebrew/English - English/Hebrew translator:
Free Online Hebrew Dictionary. Type in Hebrew/English. Translate Hebrew or Phonetic Hebrew.
I did most of the word for word in my head, and double checked 4 words, just to be safe.
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