Leviticus 18:22 – A Queer Hermeneutical Analysis

This blog entry addresses the problematic translation of Leviticus 18:22, a verse commonly used as a “clobber passage” to justify prejudice against LGBTQIA people.  A hegemonic interpretation of Leviticus 18:22 posits a strict prohibition of male-on-male sexual activity. This interpretation is problematic because it conforms to idiomatic rules that do not exist in the original Hebrew.  Three problems discussed in […]

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Lost in Translation: Alternative Meaning in Leviticus 18:22

Most traditional English translations interpret Leviticus 18:22 as a divine condemnation of erotic, same-sex relationships. However, careful philological, literary analysis of the original Hebrew shows another interpretation: a divine condemnation of same-sex rape. The original Hebrew is more ambiguous than the traditional English translation. Instead of practicing the principle of lectio difficilior probabilitor, “the more difficult reading and more likely […]

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Leviticus 18:22

“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”[1] It is not a surprise that this verse seems to say that gay male sex is forbidden in the eyes of God. The dominant view of western Christianity forbids same-sex relations. This verse is one of the clobber passages that people cite from the Bible […]

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