Content Warning: This post discusses biblical texts and historical interpretations related to sexuality, including references to anti-LGBTQ+ theology, exploitation, and spiritual harm. If you’ve experienced religious trauma, homophobia, or exclusion from faith communities, please proceed with care. You are not alone, and you are deeply loved.
If you’ve ever been in a conversation about what the Bible “really” says about homosexuality, someone has probably brought up the Greek word arsenokoitai.
It’s one of those words that seems to carry a lot of theological weight, but here’s the thing: it’s rare. Extremely rare. So rare, in fact, that it doesn’t appear anywhere in Greek literature before Paul uses it in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10.
Which means…it might be a made-up word. Paul did that sometimes. Like any passionate speaker trying to express something new, he would smash words together to capture a concept, especially if the concept didn’t have a neat Greek term already. That seems to be the case here.
What does arsenokoitai actually mean?
It’s a compound word:
- arsēn (ἄρσην) = male
- koitē (κοίτη) = bed (often with sexual connotations)
So literally, arsenokoitai means “male-bedder.”
But don’t let the simplicity fool you. Language is more than math. Compound words don’t always mean the sum of their parts. “Butterfly” has nothing to do with butter or flies, and “ladykiller” isn’t a murderer of women.
Context clues: Paul and Leviticus
Many scholars believe Paul may have pulled this term from the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. In Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, we find:
“You shall not lie with a male (arsēn) as with a woman; it is an abomination.”
(LXX: meta arsenos ou koimēthēsē koitēn gynaikos)
Those Greek words—arsēn and koitē—are sitting right next to each other. It’s plausible Paul coined arsenokoitai by fusing those two terms together.
So far, so good. But here’s the twist.
The problem of interpretation
Even if Paul meant to echo Leviticus, we have to ask: What was he condemning? And what did his audience hear?
In the ancient Greco-Roman world, same-sex behavior was complex, often tied to power, status, exploitation, and social roles…NOT identity. Relationships between adult men and adolescent boys (pederasty) were common and widely accepted, though not universally endorsed.
It’s entirely possible Paul was referencing exploitative sexual relationships—like temple prostitution, abuse of enslaved people, or coercive practices—that had nothing to do with modern, loving, consensual same-sex relationships. In fact, that’s how some early Christian writers and later translators interpreted it.
Here’s the bigger issue: Paul didn’t explain what he meant by arsenokoitai, and because the word is so rare, we don’t have other examples to help us out. That leaves modern translators and interpreters to fill in the blanks—often with their own biases.
From mystery to weapon
It wasn’t until the 20th century that English Bibles started translating arsenokoitai as “homosexuals”. Earlier versions used vague or different terms: “abusers of themselves with mankind,” “sodomites,” “perverts,” “sexual offenders.”
In 1946, the Revised Standard Version was the first major translation to use “homosexuals” in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and that choice radically changed the conversation. It gave modern anti-LGBTQ theology a foothold it never had before.
But if Paul didn’t have modern sexual identity in mind, and if arsenokoitai had more to do with exploitation than orientation, then using this one strange word to condemn LGBTQ+ people today is not just unfaithful. It’s dangerous.
So what do we do with it?
Let’s be clear: Paul’s words matter. But they deserve care, context, and curiosity. When we turn mystery into a blunt instrument, we betray the spirit of the gospel—which is always about mercy, not fear. What’s more, the Bible is a wisdom book…not a rule book, or a textbook, or even a book written to our 2025 sensibilities.
If you’re LGBTQ+ and have been hurt by this verse, let me say plainly: You are not an abomination. You are not a mistranslation. You are not a mistake. You are beloved.
And if you’re a Christian who believes in the authority of Scripture, take heart: there is room for deep, honest engagement with these texts that does not require you to close your heart or mind. Biblical Scholars are debating this term and its usage even now.
Paul wrote in a time and culture very different from ours. We honor his words not by blindly applying them like a rubber stamp, but by wrestling with them in the light of Jesus’s radical grace.
Check out these scholars and sources:
- David Bentley Hart’s New Testament (a fresh and controversial translation)
- Kathy Baldock’s work on Bible translation and LGBTQ+ inclusion
- UnClobber by Colby Martin, a powerful book that unpacks the so-called “clobber passages”
- Cross-Examined: Reading the Bible in Times of Division by Josh Scott
Jesus never said a word about homosexuality but he said a lot about grace, mercy, and not using religion to exclude people.
Rowdy and Redeemed 