The word translated as 'know' (yadha') is used by itself in ten places in the Old Testament to denote heterosexual coition. In five additional texts it is used in conjunction with mishkabh (in this context, "to lie") to mean the same thing. But yadha' appears by itself no less than 943 times in a non sexual connotation, according to F. Brown, et al., in "A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford, 1952)."
There is no Old Testament text in which yadha' is said to refer to homosexual coitus, with the single exception of this disputed Sodom and Gomorra story in Genesis. The less ambiguous word shakhabh, however, is used for both homosexual and bestial intercourse, in addition to
coition between man and woman. Shakhabh appears fifty times in the Old Testament; if it had been used instead of yadha' in the Sodom story, the meaning of the text would have been unmistakable. As it is, we have no grounds to assume that the wrath of the Almighty was turned against these cities because homosexual practices occurred there.
With all that in mind, a far more consistent theory has been developed by Bible scholars. Since yadha' commonly means "to get acquainted with," the demand to "know" the visitors may well have implied some serious breach of the rules of hospitality. Several considerations provide
support for this view.
In the first place, Lot was not a native of Sodom, but had the status of a resident alien, or stranger As such, he may not have had the right to admit unidentified foreigners to the city. City gates were closed at night expressly to prevent lawless or subversive aliens from entering on unknown errands, and travelers carried credentials because they might at any time be asked to prove that they were abroad on legitimate business. Thus we might translate "Bring them out to us, that we may know them" as "We wish to know whom you are bringing as guests into our city." Lot's refusal to turn his visitors over to this horde of vigilantes is totally in keeping with the contemporary laws of etiquette, because in those days no civic police force protected strangers in a city. Any kind of robbery or physical abuse could have been meted out to the two angels if he had agreed to surrender them, but in his home they were safe. He was obliged to protect them as honored guests. It is certain that the Sodomites were demanding he violate the code of hospitality, but not at all clear from the text that they were inclined to indulge in homosexual acts.
Among the 23 other Biblical references to Sodom, none of which mention homosexuality, are the following.
"This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, surfeit of food and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy." Ezekiel 16:48-49
Wisdom 19:13 tells us that the sin of Sodom was a "bitter hatred of strangers" and "making slaves of guests who were benefactors".
But the most convincing evidence is the fact that "yadha" never means "same-gender sexual activity" in any of its mearly 1000 appearances in the Bible.
Copyright January 2, 2001, by MGGM All rights reserved, except that free distribution via any medium is permitted as long as author's credit is given and no profit is involved.
