Arsenokoitai & Malakoi: The Most Debated Translation

The traditional reading holds that arsenokoitai refers broadly to men who engage in same-sex intercourse, coined from the Septuagint of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 where arsenos and koiten appear in close proximity. Robert Gagnon argues this is a deliberate intertextual signal: Paul is citing the Levitical prohibition in compressed form. The companion word malakoi refers to the passive partner, completing an active/passive pair.

David Wright's 1984 study in Vigiliae Christianae demonstrated that every early use of arsenokoitai in Greek literature refers to male same-sex intercourse without restriction to exploitation or pederasty.

Dale Martin demonstrated that arsenokoitai in post-biblical vice lists consistently appears alongside economic sins rather than sexual sins, suggesting it denotes sexual-economic exploitation rather than consensual same-sex relations. Robin Scroggs argued the only form of same-sex behavior widely known was pederasty, and that Paul targets this exploitative institution specifically. John Boswell noted the word was never used in Greek erotic literature to describe same-sex love.

The RSV's 1946 "homosexuals" was the first appearance of this modern word in any Bible, reflecting mid-20th century anxieties more than careful lexicography.

Ancient Mediterranean sexuality was organized around active/passive, dominant/submissive hierarchies rather than sexual orientation. Craig Williams (Roman Homosexuality, 2010) shows Roman sexual categories were about power and status, not the gender of one's partner. The question of whether Paul is condemning "homosexuality" becomes anachronistic: he is condemning specific behaviors within a cultural framework that had no concept of sexual orientation.

Arsenokoitai is a near-hapax: it appears in only two NT passages and a handful of later texts, making lexicographic analysis difficult. The Septuagintal derivation from Leviticus 18:22/20:13 is the strongest evidence for the traditional meaning, but William Loader cautions that even if the Levitical origin is granted, the word may have shifted in meaning by Paul's time. BDAG defines arsenokoites as "a male who engages in sexual activity with a person of his own sex," but this definition has been criticized as reflecting modern categories.

The vice list sits within Paul's argument about the body as temple of the Holy Spirit (6:19). The crucial verse 6:11 -- "and such were some of you, but you were washed" -- implies Corinthian church members had practiced these behaviors and been transformed. Richard Hays argues the NT witness on same-sex relations is consistently negative across multiple texts.

Luke Timothy Johnson counters that the church's experience of faithful same-sex relationships should challenge biblical texts, as Gentile inclusion challenged Torah food laws in Acts 10-15.