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1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Summary: The traditional translations of arsenokoites and malakoi as homoesxual acts are most likely incorrect:
arsenokoitai probably refers to a type of exploitation involving sex, not active homosexual sex. malakoi may refer to a heterosexual sensualist, someone who indulges to excess.
The insistence on using homosexual interpretations indicates an agenda other than good scholarship.
Context: Paul speaks to a situation which has arisen in the Corinthian church. One of their number is having a sexual relationship with his father's wife (stepmother) (5:1). Paul is appalled at this - not even the pagans do this - but he is just as appalled at the Corinthians' attitude. They have been boasting; what they have been saying is unclear, but it is probable that they have been bragging about their character as Christians, while tolerating such sin (5:2, 6). Paul admonishes them not to tolerate immoral people within the gathering of Christians, not just the sexually immoral but the greedy, the abusive, drunkard or the thief. (5:9-11).
Paul is horrified by the fact that Christians are suing each other in the secular courts, rather than sorting out their problems amongst themselves. He asks, why should these people judge Christians? Look at the terrible things they do. But you people are beyond this, through Jesus changing your status before God.
Paul's comments on the sexually immoral etc in 5:9-11 are relevant to 6:9-11. People who claim to be followers of Christ and who do the things in this "vice list" are not to be allowed to stay among them (5:13) or to be associated with (5:11). Paul offers two reasons. One involves the wellbeing of the fellowship: undesirable elements can ruin the church like yeast in a batch of dough (5:6-7). The other is a theological explanation: people who do these things (presumably unrepentantly) do not have the changed life of those who have changed in status before God (6:11). Therefore it is illogical to have them within the fellowship; they do not have the "membership qualifications".
Text: e ouk oidate hoti adikoi theo basileian ou kleronomesousin? Me planasthe: oute pornoi oute eidololatrai oute moichoi oute malachoi oute arsenokoitai oute kleptai oute pleonektai, ou methisoi, ou loidoroi, ouch haroages basileaian theou kleronomesousin. kai tauta tinesete; alla apelousasthe, alla hegiasthete, alla edikaiothete en to onomati tou kyriou Iesou Christou kai en to pneumati tou theo hemon.
Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be misled; neither the sexually immoral nor idolators nor adulterers nor malakoi nor arsenokoitai nor thieves nor greedy people nor drunkards nor abusive people nor grasping people will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were; but you have had yourselves washed, you have been consecrated, you have been justified in the name of the lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God.
Terminology: There has been much variety in how the relevant words have been translated:
http://members.aol.com/hansss/1-Corinthians-6_9-10.htm (accessed 25/3/02)
The placement of the words arsenokoitai and malakoi within the list of vices may be significant. They sit between a group of mainly sexual sins and “economic” sins: sexually immoral, idolators, adulterers, malakoi, arsenokoitai, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, abusive people, grasping people.
But this is merely speculative. The lack of context within the list means that we can’t tell exactly what Paul understood the words to mean. We don’t know if the list was borrowed from another source, created as written, or written then rearranged to reflect a particular order. Each of these possibilities could be evidence for a different understanding.
arsenokoites The word arsenokoites is a masculine noun derived from arseno- meaning "male", and koita- from keimai "lie, be laid".
Occurrences of arsenokoites in the literature are rare. Sibylline Oracles 2.73 has the infinitive arsenokoitein; while the original material was probably written by 30BCE at the latest, this section is most likely a Christian interpolation and therefore would postdate Paul. (In any case a “homosexual” interpretation in 2.73 is suspect; see below.) The arsenokoit- group of words appears to be a coinage of, if not Paul and Hellenistic Jewish Christianity, then Hellenistic Judaism. The paucity of references means that we have no clear indication of what it actually meant at the time Paul wrote it, especially if he coined it.
1. The active partner? Wright (1984: 126, 137) identifies a probable influence in the LXX of Leviticus:
Leviticus 18:22 kai meta arsenos ou koimethese koiten gynikaian
Leviticus 20:13 kai hos an koimethe meta arsenos koiten gynaikos
This is significant. If the word was coined on the basis of the LXX, it is possible that the context of those words was carried over with the lexical material. The apparent lack of usage before Paul makes this possibility all the more likely. Paull appears to be referring to Leviticus , with its cultic implications. Turner (1997:442 n 28) describes Paul’s use of arsenokoites as “a deliberate, conscious back-reference” to the Holiness Code.
(Note: Paul’s “coinage” of arsenokoitai depended on his readers understanding the reference back to the LXX – it is more likely that someone else had already coined the word.)
Should arsenokoitai be translated with an active meaning? Such translations are based on the assumption that malakoi equals passive, therefore arsenokoitai equals active. This is erroneous on two grounds. As demonstrated below, malakoi does not necessarily denote homoerotic activity. And as discussed in the section on Leviticus, the expression from which arsenokoites is derived most likely describes the passive partner. It is possible that by Paul’s time the original concept may have reversed to denote that active partner, however there is no evidence available for this, especially in the absence of examples of usage predating Paul. The active translation of arsenokoitai is untenable in the face of the currently-available evidence.
2. Exploitation by means of sex Dale Martin argues that on the basis opf usage elsewehere, it is unlikely that arsenokoitai refers to homosexual activity at all. Arsenokoites refers not to male homosexuality but to "some kind of economic exploitation by means of sex, perhpas but not necessarily homosexual sex." (Martin 1996:120)
Sib.Or. 2.70-77 (previously cited) – Oddly arsenokoitein appears in this "vice list" of economic sins, the only sexual reference, if it is sexual. Sexual sins are denounced elsewhere (2.279-82) with no mention of arsenokoites.
C2 CE Acts of John 2.279-82 – economic meaning, with no sexual reference.
"So also the poisoner, sorcerer, robber, swindler, and arsenokoites, the thief and all of this band..." (section 36; Hennecke Schneelmacher). Denounces sexual sins in section 35, but like Sib.Or. 2 there is no mention of arsenokoites.
Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus (using Robert M. Grant's edition [Oxford: Clarendon, 1970]. Wright 1984:134-5 uses Bardy's Greek text, for which there is no textual evidence) (Martin 1996:133 n 13)
To Autolycus (after Martin 1996:121-2)
Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heretics, 5.26.22-23 -a Gnostic myth about the seduction of Eve and Adam by the evil Naas. Naas deceived Eve and committed adultery with her. Then he went to Adam and "possessed him like a boy (slave)". Note the elements of deception and possibly coercion. (Martin 1996:122)
C2-3 Bardesanes, quoted in Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel – appears to equate arsenokites with homosexuality, but is doubtful (Martin 1996:123)
(Arsenokoiten is also used in 1 Timothy 1:10. An examination of the text does not add anything to this discussion.)
The usage of arsenokoites in other texts suggests that a homoerotic connotation is inaccurate and unlikely.
malakos Lee, Malakos (www.princeton.edu/~clee/paper.html): “Tracing the chronology of malakos is much like driving in fog. It involves a great deal of uncertainty and requires extreme caution.”
Malakoi is the masculine nominative plural of malakos, which is usually defined as “soft”. Two of the three NT uses of malakos (Mt 11:8, Luke 7:25) demonstrate the original application of the word to objects or things.
How should it be translated in 1 Cor 6:9? Traditionally it is translated as having the sense of "passive homosexual".
1. Male prostitutes? Should it be translated as “male prostitutes”? Fee suggests so, on the basis that malakoi is immediately followed by arsenokoitai. (Fee 1987:243) Fee appears to mean that the latter word represents the role of the active client, who engages the passive malakos. But as Fee notes, there is an alternative word for prostitutes (pornos), and it is unlikely that Paul would use a colloquial word "soft" or "effeminate" when there was a more accurate word available.
2. "Effeminacy" and sensuality A strong argument against reading the "passive homosexual" sense in Paul's use of malakos can be found in its usage outside the NT. Malakos developed a wide range of meanings – cowardice, physical weakness, moral weakness, effeminate characteristics, sexual deviancy:
The moral and sensual meanings were used well into C2 CE. Thereafter the sexual sense predominated.
The concept emerged of the malakos as a sensualist. The “soft”, non-active behaviour was negatively compared to the hard, brutal behaviour expected of men – the man of sensuality and pleasure versus the man of war, business and politics. This was applicable not merely to someone who liked men, but a man who womanised, who undermined his virility by seeking pleasure. “…they deviated from the masculine gender norms insofar as they preferred the soft option of love to the hard option of war.” (Halperin 2000:93)
Examples:
Aristophanes, Wasps 1455 (late C5 BCE) – an old man rejects his hard lifestyle for a more luxurious one.
Chariton, Chaereas and Callirhoe (1.4 (C2 CE) – an adulterer:
His hair was gleaming and heavily scented; his eyes were made up; he had a soft cloak and fine shoes; heavy rings gleamed on his fingers. (tr. B.P. Reardon, in B.P. Reardon (ed.), Collected Ancient Greek Novels [Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989])
Pseudo-Lucian, Amores 9 (C2 CE):
… Charicles a young man from Corinth who is not only handsome but shows some evidence of skilful use of cosmetics, because, I imagine, he wishes to attract the women,… (tr. A.M. Harmon, Loeb edition) http://www.well.com/user/aquarius/lucian-amores.htm
In this sense malakos referred to the whole complex of femininity, not just being penetrated.
… in the ancient world a man could be condemned as being effeminate for, among many other things, eating or drinking too much, enjoying gourmet cooking, wearing nice underwear or shoes, wearing much of anything on his head, having long hair, shaving, caring for his skin, wearing cologne or aftershave, dancing too much, laughing too much, or gesticulating too much. Keeping one’s knees together is effeminate, as well as swaying when walking, or bowing the head. And of course there are the sexual acts and positions: being penetrated (by a man or a woman), enjoying sex with women too much, or masturbating. The list could go on – and that contributed to the usefulness of the word as a weapon. It was a malleable condemnation. (Martin 1996:128)
Rather than condemning homoerotic behaviour, Paul may be describing “effeminate” behaviour simply because it doesn’t fit the accepted gender roles. These are a major consideration for Paul cf 1 Cor 11:3-16.
Is a clear translation possible? Not with complete accuracy. The history of the word would suggest a meaning somewhere in the region of sensualist/deviant. Perhaps “sensually excessive” would be the clearest way of expressing it.
At the least we can state that there is much evidence to suggest that malakos does not describe passive homoerotic behaviour; in fact, the majority of uses point to it being used of heterosexual subjects.
Why homosexuality? Martin’s comment on interpretations of arsenokoitai raises a serious point:
I am not claiming to know what arsenokoites meant, I am claiming that no one knows what it meant. I freely admit that it could have been taken as a reference to homosexual sex. But given the scarcity of evidence and the several contexts just analyzed, in which arsenokoites appears to refer to some particular kind of economic exploitation, no one should be allowed to get away with claiming that “of course” the term refers to “men who have sex with other men.” It is certainly possible, I think probable, that arsenokoites referred to a particular role of exploiting others by means of sex, perhaps but not necessarily by homosexual sex. The more important question, I think, is why some scholars are certain it refers to simple male-male sex in the face of evidence to the contrary. Perhaps ideology has been more important than philology. (Martin 1996:123)
Paul’s main point in this passage is that he expects that Christians will not sue each other, or anyone else (vv 6-8). Modern Christians ignore this yet uphold the perceived prohibition of homosexuality two verses later, a prohibition mentioned in passing. This convenient selection is hypocritical. As is the poor scholarship driving the translations of these words: “… we discover that interpretations of arsenokoites and malakos as condemning modern homosexuality have been driven more by ideological interests in marginalizing gay and lesbian people than by the general strictures of historical criticism.” (Martin 1996:117)
“How can you say, ‘We are wise, for we have the law of God,’ when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely?” Jeremiah 8:8 (NIV) |