I want to study the background information in the Old Testament to see if I can understand what Jesus, Paul and the New Testament writers meant by πορνεία. Since I’m treating πορνεία like the unknown X, I’ll track the Hebrew word נָאַף (nā’ap̄), equivalent to μοιχάω in Greek, to commit adultery.
The first occurrence is Exodus 20:14 (NET) [Table]: You shall not commit adultery (nā’ap̄, תנאף). And the next is Leviticus 20:10 (NET Table) where the penalty for ינאף (nā’ap̄) is described:
If a man commits adultery (nā’ap̄, ינאף) with his neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer (nā’ap̄, הנאף) and the adulteress (nā’ap̄, והנאפת) must be put to death [See Addendum below].
What follows is a list of other capital offenses (Leviticus 20:11 NET Table):
If a man has sexual intercourse (šāḵaḇ, ישכב) with his father’s wife, he has exposed his father’s nakedness. Both of them must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves.
I assume that the father was already dead, otherwise the law is redundant and falls under נָאַף (nā’ap̄). Similarly in Leviticus 20:12 (NET) I assume that the son was dead:
If a man has sexual intercourse (šāḵaḇ, ישכב) with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed (ʿāśâ, עשׁו) perversion (teḇel, תבל); their blood guilt is on themselves.
The list continues (Leviticus 20:13-16 NET):
If a man has sexual intercourse (šāḵaḇ, ישכב) with a male as one has sexual intercourse (miškāḇ, משכבי) with a woman, the two of them have committed (ʿāśâ, עשׁו) an abomination (tôʿēḇâ, תועבה). They must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. If a man has sexual intercourse (lāqaḥ, יקח) with both a woman and her mother, it is lewdness (zimmâ, זמה). Both he and they must be burned to death, so there is no lewdness (zimmâ, זמה) in your midst [See Addendum below]. If a man has (nāṯan, יתן) sexual intercourse (šᵊḵōḇeṯ, שכבתו) with any animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal. If a woman approaches any animal to have sexual intercourse (rāḇaʿ, לרבעה) with it, you must kill the woman, and the animal must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves.
In Leviticus 20:17 (NET) offenders are to be cut off (probably executed) in the sight of the children of their people, and in verse 18 (NET), cut off from the midst of their people.
If a man has sexual intercourse (lāqaḥ, יקח) with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or his mother, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace (ḥeseḏ, חסד). They must be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has exposed his sister’s nakedness; he will bear his punishment for iniquity [Table]. If a man has sexual intercourse (šāḵaḇ, ישכב) with a menstruating woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her fountain of blood and she has exposed the fountain of her blood, so both of them must be cut off from the midst of their people.
Finally, the punishment incurred in Leviticus 20:19-21 was childlessness.
You must not expose the nakedness of your mother’s sister and your father’s sister, for such a person has laid bare his own close relative. They must bear their punishment for iniquity [Table]. If a man has sexual intercourse (šāḵaḇ, ישכב) with his aunt, he has exposed his uncle’s nakedness; they must bear responsibility for their sin, they will die childless [Table]. If a man has sexual intercourse with (lāqaḥ, יקח) his brother’s wife, it is indecency (nidâ, נדה). He has exposed his brother’s nakedness; they will be childless.
I assume that the execution of this sentence was intentionally left to God (in the form of reproductive issues) rather than to men (infanticide). But it would be difficult to demonstrate except in the most oblique way. Abraham (Abram) for instance married his niece1 Sarai more than four hundred thirty years2 before the law prohibited3 such marriage. What is intriguing about this is that until God intervened, fulfilling his promise to Abram, Sarai was barren; she had no children.4
Whether these sentences were ever actually executed in a systematic way in Israel is a question I’ll leave for others. My interest is simply to introduce the question: Is Leviticus 20:11-21 what Jesus, Paul and the New Testament writers meant by the Greek word πορνεία?
Addendum: January 16, 2019
A table comparing Galatians 3:17 in the NET and KJV follows.
|
Galatians 3:17 (KJV) |
|
| What I am saying is this: The law that came four hundred thirty years later does not cancel a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to invalidate the promise. | And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. |
| Stephanus Textus Receptus | ||
| τοῦτο δὲ λέγω· διαθήκην προκεκυρωμένην ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ μετὰ τετρακόσια καὶ τριάκοντα ἔτη γεγονὼς νόμος οὐκ ἀκυροῖ εἰς τὸ καταργῆσαι τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν | τουτο δε λεγω διαθηκην προκεκυρωμενην υπο του θεου εις χριστον ο μετα ετη τετρακοσια και τριακοντα γεγονως νομος ουκ ακυροι εις το καταργησαι την επαγγελιαν | τουτο δε λεγω διαθηκην προκεκυρωμενην υπο του θεου εις χριστον ο μετα ετη τετρακοσια και τριακοντα γεγονως νομος ουκ ακυροι εις το καταργησαι την επαγγελιαν |
Addendum: September 17, 2021
Note 21 in the NET reads:
The reading of the LXX minuscule mss has been followed here (see the BHS footnote a-a). The MT has a dittography, repeating “a man who commits adultery with the wife of” (see the explanation in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 328). The duplication found in the MT is reflected in some English versions, e.g., KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV.
Both versions of the Septuagint I’ve been using seem to confirm the Masoretic text here.
|
Masoretic Text |
Septuagint | ||
| Leviticus 20:10 (Tanakh/KJV) | Leviticus 20:10 (NET) | Leviticus 20:10 (NETS) |
Leviticus 20:10 (Elpenor English) |
| And the man that committeth adultery (יִנְאַף֙) with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery (יִנְאַ֖ף) with his neighbour’s wife, both the adulterer (הַנֹּאֵ֖ף) and the adulteress (וְהַנֹּאָֽפֶת) shall surely be put to death. | If a man commits adultery (nā’ap̄, ינאף) with his neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer (nā’ap̄, הנאף) and the adulteress (nā’ap̄, והנאפת) must be put to death. | A person who commits adultery (μοιχεύσηται) with the wife of a man or who commits adultery (μοιχεύσηται) with the wife of his neighbor—let both the adulterer (μοιχεύων) and the adulteress (μοιχευομένη) by death be put to death. | Whatever man shall commit adultery (μοιχεύσηται) with the wife of a man, or whoever shall commit adultery (μοιχεύσηται) with the wife of his neighbour, let them die the death, the adulterer (μοιχεύων) and the (μοιχευομένη) adulteress. |
The Greek translations of זִמָּ֖ה (zimmâ) in Leviticus 20:14 surprised me enough to be highlighted. I’m not grasping the general, specific, technical or emotional connotations of זִמָּ֖ה (zimmâ), ἀνόμημά or ἀνομία apparently.
|
Masoretic Text |
Septuagint | ||
| Leviticus 20:14 (Tanakh) | Leviticus 20:14 (NET) | Leviticus 20:14 (NETS) |
Leviticus 20:14 (Elpenor English) |
| And if a man take (יִקַּ֧ח) with his wife also her mother, it is wickedness (זִמָּ֣ה): they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness (זִמָּ֖ה) among you. | If a man has marital relations (lāqaḥ, יקח) with both a woman and her mother, it is lewdness (zimmâ, זמה). Both he and they must be burned to death, so there is no lewdness (zimmâ, זמה) in your midst. | He who takes (λάβῃ) a wife and her mother—it is transgression of the law (ἀνόμημά); they shall burn both him and them with fire, and there shall be no lawlessness (ἀνομία) among you. | Whosoever shall take (λάβῃ) a woman and her mother, it is iniquity (ἀνόμημά): they shall burn him and them with fire; so there shall not be iniquity (ἀνομία) among you. |
Tables comparing Leviticus 20:12; 20:13; 20:14; 20:15; 20:16; 20:18; 20:21 and Genesis 11:30 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Leviticus 20:12; 20:13; 20:14; 20:15; 20:16; 20:18; 20:21 and Genesis 11:30 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.
| Leviticus 20:12 (KJV) | ||
| And if a man lie with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have wrought corruption; their blood shall be upon them. | And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them. | If a man goes to bed with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed perversion; their blood guilt is on themselves. |
| καὶ ἐάν τις κοιμηθῇ μετὰ νύμφης αὐτοῦ θανάτῳ θανατούσθωσαν ἀμφότεροι ἠσεβήκασιν γάρ ἔνοχοί εἰσιν | καὶ ἐάν τις κοιμηθῇ μετὰ νύμφης αὐτοῦ, θανάτῳ θανατούσθωσαν ἀμφότεροι· ἠσεβήκασι γάρ, ἔνοχοί εἰσι |
| And if anyone lies with his daughter-in-law, let both of them by death be put to death, for they have behaved impiously; they are liable. | And if any one should lie with his daughter-in-law, let them both be put to death; for they have wrought impiety, they are guilty. |
| Leviticus 20:13 (KJV) | ||
| And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. | If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. | If a man goes to bed with a male as one goes to bed with a woman, the two of them have committed an abomination. They must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. |
| καὶ ὃς ἂν κοιμηθῇ μετὰ ἄρσενος κοίτην γυναικός βδέλυγμα ἐποίησαν ἀμφότεροι θανατούσθωσαν ἔνοχοί εἰσιν | καὶ ὃς ἂν κοιμηθῇ μετά ἄρσενος κοίτην γυναικός, βδέλυγμα ἐποίησαν ἀμφότεροι· θανάτῳ θανατούσθωσαν, ἔνοχοί εἰσιν |
| And he who lies with a male in a bed for a woman, both have committed an abomination; by death let them be put to death; they are liable. | And whoever shall lie with a male as with a woman, they have both wrought abomination; let them die the death, they are guilty. |
| Leviticus 20:14 (KJV) | ||
| And if a man take with his wife also her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you. | And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you. | If a man has marital relations with both a woman and her mother, it is lewdness. Both he and they must be burned to death, so there is no lewdness in your midst. |
| ὃς ἐὰν λάβῃ γυναῗκα καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτῆς ἀνόμημά ἐστιν ἐν πυρὶ κατακαύσουσιν αὐτὸν καὶ αὐτάς καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ἀνομία ἐν ὑμῗν | ὃς ἂν λάβῃ γυναῖκα καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτῆς, ἀνόμημά ἐστιν, ἐν πυρὶ κατακαύσουσιν αὐτὸν καὶ αὐτάς, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ἀνομία ἐν ὑμῖν |
| He who takes a wife and her mother—it is transgression of the law; they shall burn both him and them with fire, and there shall be no lawlessness among you. | Whosoever shall take a woman and her mother, it is iniquity: they shall burn him and them with fire; so there shall not be iniquity among you. |
| Leviticus 20:15 (KJV) | ||
| And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death; and ye shall slay the beast. | And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. | If a man has sexual relations with any animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal. |
| καὶ ὃς ἂν δῷ κοιτασίαν αὐτοῦ ἐν τετράποδι θανάτῳ θανατούσθω καὶ τὸ τετράπουν ἀποκτενεῗτε | καὶ ὃς ἂν δῷ κοιτασίαν αὐτοῦ ἐν τετράποδι, θανάτῳ θανατούσθω, καὶ τὸ τετράπουν ἀποκτενεῖτε |
| And he who gives his sleeping-with to a quadruped, by death let him be put to death, and you shall kill the quadruped. | And whosoever shall lie with a beast, let him die the death; and ye shall kill the beast. |
| Leviticus 20:16 (KJV) | ||
| And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. | And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. | If a woman approaches any animal to copulate with it, you must kill the woman, and the animal must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. |
| καὶ γυνή ἥτις προσελεύσεται πρὸς πᾶν κτῆνος βιβασθῆναι αὐτὴν ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἀποκτενεῗτε τὴν γυναῗκα καὶ τὸ κτῆνος θανάτῳ θανατούσθωσαν ἔνοχοί εἰσιν | καὶ γυνή, ἥτις προσελεύσεται πρὸς πᾶν κτῆνος βιβασθῆναι αὐτὴν ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, ἀποκτενεῖτε τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τὸ κτῆνος· θανάτῳ θανατούσθωσαν, ἔνοχοί εἰσιν |
| And a woman who shall approach any animal for her to be mounted by it—you shall kill the woman and the animal; by death the shall be put to death; they are liable. | And whatever woman shall approach any beast, so as to have connexion with it, ye shall kill the woman and the beast: let them die the death, they are guilty. |
| Leviticus 20:18 (KJV) | ||
| And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness–he hath made naked her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood–both of them shall be cut off from among their people. | And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people. | If a man goes to bed with a menstruating woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her fountain of blood, and she has exposed the fountain of her blood, so both of them must be cut off from the midst of their people. |
| καὶ ἀνήρ ὃς ἂν κοιμηθῇ μετὰ γυναικὸς ἀποκαθημένης καὶ ἀποκαλύψῃ τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην αὐτῆς τὴν πηγὴν αὐτῆς ἀπεκάλυψεν καὶ αὕτη ἀπεκάλυψεν τὴν ῥύσιν τοῦ αἵματος αὐτῆς ἐξολεθρευθήσονται ἀμφότεροι ἐκ τοῦ γένους αὐτῶν | καὶ ἀνήρ, ὃς ἂν κοιμηθῇ μετὰ γυναικὸς ἀποκαθημένης καὶ ἀποκαλύψῃ τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην αὐτῆς, τὴν πηγὴν αὐτῆς ἀπεκάλυψε, καὶ αὕτη ἀπεκάλυψε τὴν ῥύσιν τοῦ αἵματος αὐτῆς· ἐξολοθρευθήσονται ἀμφότεροι ἐκ τῆς γενεᾶς αὐτῶν |
| And a man who lies with a woman who sits apart and uncovers her shame—he has laid bare her spring, and she has laid bare her flow of blood; both of them shall be exterminated from their race. | And whatever man shall lie with a woman that is set apart [for a flux], and shall uncover her nakedness, he has uncovered her fountain, and she has uncovered the flux of her blood: they shall both be destroyed from among their generation. |
| Leviticus 20:21 (KJV) | ||
| And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is impurity: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless. | And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless. | If a man has marital relations with his brother’s wife, it is indecency. He has exposed his brother’s nakedness; they will be childless. |
| ὃς ἂν λάβῃ τὴν γυναῗκα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀκαθαρσία ἐστίν ἀσχημοσύνην τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀπεκάλυψεν ἄτεκνοι ἀποθανοῦνται | ὃς ἐὰν λάβῃ γυναῖκα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ, ἀκαθαρσία ἐστίν· ἀσχημοσύνην τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀπεκάλυψεν, ἄτεκνοι ἀποθανοῦνται |
| He who takes the wife of his brother—it is impurity; he has uncovered his brother’s shame; they shall die childless. | Whoever shall take his brother’s wife, it is uncleanness; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall die childless. |
| Genesis 11:30 (KJV) | ||
| And Sarai was barren; she had no child. | But Sarai was barren; she had no child. | But Sarai was barren; she had no children. |
| καὶ ἦν Σαρα στεῗρα καὶ οὐκ ἐτεκνοποίει | καὶ ἦν Σάρα στεῖρα καὶ οὐκ ἐτεκνοποίει |
| And Sara was barren, and she was not bearing children. | And Sara was barren, and did not bear children. |
1 Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran…. And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. (Genesis 11:27a, 29 NET) Was Sarah the Sister and Wife of Abraham?
2 Galatians 3:17
3 I am assuming that, You must not expose the nakedness of your father’s brother; you must not approach his wife to have sexual intercourse with her (Leviticus 18:14 NET), includes a niece (who literally exposes the nakedness of her father’s brother). Reversibility seems to be indicated in the command against sexual intercourse with a sister (Leviticus 20:17 NET): …so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace.
4 Genesis 11:30 NET
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