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A message to the Beloved…..
There are few wounds deeper than those inflicted by religion. For countless people, these wounds were carved into their hearts using verses like Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 as weapons. They were told they were an abomination. They were made to feel that their very existence stood in opposition to God. But the truth — the breathtaking, liberating truth — is that when the Word of God is examined in its original language, with its full historical and cultural context, these verses reveal a far different reality. They were never about innate biological same‑sex attraction. They were never about love. They were about abuse, domination, and the twisting of God-given authority to harm the vulnerable.
This study will take you into the depths of the Hebrew text, through the letter‑by‑letter cube-form breakdown, the pictographs, the gematria, and into the Greek translations that flattened the nuances of the original words. We will follow this thread into Paul’s letters, where terms like arsenokoitai and malakoi have been misinterpreted for centuries. When the layers are peeled back, one message emerges consistently: these passages were written to protect, not to condemn. They were written to shield the powerless from exploitation, not to cast out those created in the image of God. And we will not simply summarize this conclusion — we will show every reconstructed verse and validate it with receipts.
When we come to Leviticus 18:22, the NASB translation reads, “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.” But this English rendering, based on the Greek Septuagint, fails to capture the Hebrew depth. The Hebrew text reads: וְאֶת־זָכָר לֹא תִשְׁכַּב מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה תּוֹעֵבָה הִוא. The word וְאֶת־ (ve’et) carries the meaning of “and with,” but its letters reveal more: ו (Vav) represents a nail, hook, or connection, א (Aleph) means strength and authority, and ת (Tav) is the covenant, mark, or sign. The combined cube meaning is the connection of covenantal weight—“joined with.” Its numeric value in Hebrew gematria is ו (6) + א (1) + ת (400) = 407, with the four symbolizing covenant and the seven symbolizing connection, setting the covenantal context of the verse. The next word, זָכָר (zakar), translated “male,” is much richer in Hebrew. ז (Zayin) is a weapon that can cut off or protect, כ (Kaf) is the open hand that allows or covers, and ר (Resh) is the head, the authority, the chief. The cube meaning of zakar is one who carries authority and can either cut or protect those under his care. Its numeric value is ז (7) + כ (20) + ר (200) = 227. This number is tied to the household structure because the number two, which represents the household (Bet), appears twice, and the seven ties it to covenant and potential division if misused. The pictograph narrative for zakar is that the male is the head who governs and protects the household.
The next term, לֹא (lo), is the Hebrew negative “not,” but again the letters paint the full picture. ל (Lamed) is the shepherd’s staff, symbolizing authority, and א (Aleph) is strength and leadership. The cube meaning is “do not allow under authority.” Its numeric value is ל (30) + א (1) = 31, with three (Gimel) representing movement and one (Aleph) representing authority. This is a command to restrain action under authority. Then we see the word תִּשְׁכַּב (tishkav), which means “lie with” but more accurately in Hebrew means to press into. ת (Tav) is covenant, ש (Shin) is to consume or press, כ (Kaf) is the palm that presses down or allows, and ב (Bet) is the house or household. The cube meaning reveals this is not casual lying down; it is pressing into the house, describing sexual penetration. The numeric value of this word is ת (400) + ש (300) + כ (20) + ב (2) = 722. This is the reverse of zakar’s 227, which shows the flipping of authority into a tool of domination. The pictograph narrative of tishkav is a twisting of covenant into a consumptive act in the household.
Next is מִשְׁכְּבֵי (mishkevei), which refers to “the lyings of.” Its letters, מ (Mem), ש (Shin), כ (Kaf), and ב (Bet), symbolize waters and flow, consume and press, palm and press, and house respectively. The cube meaning is sexual intimacy that is part of the household covenantal pattern. Its numeric value is מ (40) + ש (300) + כ (20) + ב (2) = 362, with the three (movement), six (connection), and two (household) pointing to the natural joining that continues the household. Then we have אִשָּׁה (ishah), meaning “woman” or “wife.” א (Aleph) means strong or first, ש (Shin) means to press or consume, and ה (Hey) means to behold or reveal. The cube meaning is that she is the life-revealer in covenant, the counterpart who reveals life through union. Its numeric value is א (1) + ש (300) + ה (5) = 306, where the numbers three and six tie back to movement and connection, pointing again to the life-giving household. The pictograph narrative shows that she reveals life and maintains the household covenant. Finally, we come to תּוֹעֵבָה (toevah), translated “abomination,” but in Hebrew it is the twisting of covenant. ת (Tav) is covenant, ע (Ayin) is the eye that sees or perverted vision, ב (Bet) is the house, and ה (Hey) is to reveal. The cube meaning is what is seen as twisting and desecrating the covenantal household order. Its numeric value is ת (400) + ע (70) + ב (2) + ה (5) = 477, with the four (covenant), seven (division), and two (household) showing that the covenantal household is perverted and exposed. The pictograph narrative is that covenant is twisted into violation within the household and revealed before God.
The integrated reconstruction of Leviticus 18:22, using all these meanings and numeric confirmations, reads as follows: “You, as one who carries covenantal authority (זָכָר – 227), must not weaponize that position by pressing yourself into a male (תִשְׁכַּב – 722) in the same manner you would press into the life-revealer (אִשָּׁה – 306). Such an act overturns the household covenant, desecrates its order (תּוֹעֵבָה – 477), and twists your God-given role as protector into one of domination.” The numbers themselves reinforce this narrative: 227 (zakar) is reversed into 722 (tishkav); the life-revealer (306) is displaced; and the household covenant (477) is desecrated. This verse was never about mutual, innate biological same-sex attraction between two adults, it was about the abuse of power within the covenant household.
This reconstruction is verified by receipts from Hebrew tradition. Gematria, the numeric values of the letters, is not modern invention; it is part of how the Hebrew language itself functioned because Hebrew letters doubled as numbers. There was no separate numbering system. Archaeological inscriptions like the Gezer Calendar and Mesha Stele confirm this reality, and lexicons such as Jeff A. Benner’s Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible explain it plainly: א is 1, ב is 2, ר is 200, ש is 300, and ת is 400. These match exactly the totals for zakar (227), tishkav (722), and toevah (477). Hebrew letters were originally pictographs — simple drawings representing an object, idea, or function — as confirmed by Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions like Sinai 345 (c. 1500 BC). The pictograph for tav was a crossmark meaning covenant, ayin was an eye for twisted vision, and bet was a house. Words were understood as combinations of these pictures. This explains why Scripture itself uses alphabetic acrostics like Psalm 119 and numeric wordplay in genealogies. These receipts show the reconstructed meaning is fully consistent with the ancient Hebrew understanding, not a reinterpretation.
When we move to Leviticus 20:13, we see this same theme repeated with additional penalties. The NASB translation reads: “If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.” The Hebrew text reads: וְאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁכַּב אֶת־זָכָר מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה תּוֹעֵבָה עָשׂוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם מוֹת יוּמָתוּ דְּמֵיהֶם בָּם. The word וְאִישׁ (ve’ish) is “and a man,” but its letters reveal that it is a man in authority tied to action. ו (Vav) is connection, א (Aleph) is strength, י (Yod) is hand or deed, and ש (Shin) is press or consume. Its numeric value is 317. Then אֲשֶׁר (asher), meaning “who,” points to the head acting under pressure and responsibility. Its numeric value is א (1) + ש (300) + ר (200) = 501. The word יִשְׁכַּב (yishkav), meaning “lies with,” is the same root as tishkav and again denotes penetrative domination. Its numeric value is י (10) + ש (300) + כ (20) + ב (2) = 332. We then see זָכָר (zakar – 227) again, maintaining its meaning of household headship. מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה (mishkevei ishah) is “as the lyings of a woman,” combining 362 and 306. תּוֹעֵבָה (toevah – 477) repeats its covenantal violation meaning. עָשׂוּ (asu – 376) means “they have committed,” actively carrying out the act. The phrase מוֹת יוּמָתוּ (mot yumatu – 446 and 456) is “shall surely be put to death,” referring to the severing of covenantal life. דְּמֵיהֶם בָּם (demeihem bam – 44 and 42) means “their bloodguiltiness is upon them,” placing accountability squarely on the perpetrators.
The integrated reconstruction of Leviticus 20:13 is: “When a man in covenantal authority (317) presses himself into a male (זָכָר – 227) as he would join with the life-revealer (אִשָּׁה – 306), he desecrates the household covenant (תּוֹעֵבָה – 477). Both participants have actively carried out (376) this twisting of authority, and their bloodguilt (44) remains upon them—they bear full accountability for corrupting the covenant household and overturning its divine design.”
This verse mirrors Leviticus 18:22 and adds accountability and punishment. In the ancient covenantal culture of Israel, the household was the backbone of society. Violating its sacred trust by sexually abusing a male under one’s authority was an offense so grave that it required the severest penalty. This was not a condemnation of attraction but a denunciation of sexual exploitation and betrayal by those entrusted with power.
When the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek for the Septuagint, much of this covenantal nuance was lost. זָכָר (zakar) was flattened to ἄρσενος (arsenos), a Greek word that simply means “male,” without the embedded sense of household headship and protection. תּוֹעֵבָה (toevah) was translated as βδέλυγμα (bdelygma), which means “abomination” but lacks the Hebrew connection to covenantal household desecration. The phrase “μετὰ ἄρσενος κοίτην” (meta arsenos koiten), “with a male in the bed,” used in Leviticus 20:13 in the Septuagint, directly influenced later interpretations. This flattening of the text allowed it to be read as a blanket prohibition of male‑male sexual intimacy rather than a condemnation of the abuse of authority. Scholars agree that Paul later coined the Greek word ἀρσενοκοῖται (arsenokoitai) from this very phrasing. Lexicons such as Strong’s, Thayer’s, and Mounce’s confirm this derivation.
When we come to Paul’s letters, we see this linguistic thread continue. In 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10, Paul uses arsenokoitai, literally “male‑bedder,” directly derived from the Septuagint’s phrase meta arsenos koiten. Without the Hebrew background of zakar, arsenokoitai can be misread as condemning all male‑male intimacy. But when the Hebrew context is restored, it becomes clear that arsenokoitai refers to men in positions of covenantal authority weaponizing the covenant bed to exploit others sexually. Paul also uses the word μαλακοί (malakoi) in 1 Corinthians 6:9, often mistranslated as “effeminate” or “homosexuals.” Yet Yehoshua Himself used malakoi in Matthew 11:8 and Luke 7:25 to describe soft, pampered clothing and by extension a life of indulgence and moral weakness. In classical Greek, malakoi referred to those who were self-indulgent or morally pliable. It had nothing to do with innate biological same sex attraction.
The fully reconstructed 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 reads: “Do you not understand that those who twist what is right and corrupt justice will not inherit the kingdom of God? Stop allowing yourselves to be led astray: neither those who prostitute themselves in sexual immorality, nor those who worship false gods, nor those who violate the marriage covenant, nor those who morally weaken themselves in indulgence (malakoi), nor men in positions of covenantal authority who weaponize the covenant bed to exploit and dominate others (arsenokoitai), nor thieves, nor the greedy who are never satisfied, nor those enslaved by drunkenness, nor those who revile and verbally abuse, nor those who plunder and defraud others will inherit the kingdom of God.”
Likewise, the fully reconstructed 1 Timothy 1:9–10 is: “Recognize this: the law is not laid down for those walking rightly before God, but for the lawless who reject God’s rule, the defiant who refuse submission, the ungodly who despise Him, the sinners who miss His mark, the unholy who profane what is sacred, and the worldly who trample on holy things. It is for those who murder their fathers, those who murder their mothers, murderers of any kind, those who are sexually immoral, and men in positions of covenantal authority who weaponize the covenant bed to violate and dominate others (arsenokoitai), kidnappers who enslave, liars who deceive, perjurers who swear falsely, and for whatever else stands in direct opposition to sound, life-giving teaching.”
These Greek term receipts confirm that arsenokoitai was formed directly from the Septuagint’s wording in Leviticus 20:13 and that it inherited the Greek text’s loss of nuance. The Hebrew covenantal context had been stripped away by the time Paul wrote in Greek. Malakoi, as Yehoshua used it, described softness and indulgence, not innate orientation. The pairing of malakoi and arsenokoitai in Paul’s vice list condemns those who exploit others through the covenant bed and those who indulge in moral weakness, not people who experience same‑sex attraction.
When we examine the original Hebrew and follow the thread through the Septuagint and Paul’s letters, a unified message emerges. These passages address the desecration of household covenant through the abuse of authority. They condemn men who, instead of protecting those under their care, used their power to dominate and exploit. This could include slaves, servants, children, or any male who had no power to resist. It was detestable because it twisted the God‑given structure of the household and destroyed the trust it was meant to embody.
At no point do these verses condemn people for the way they were created. They do not target mutual, loving relationships between consenting adults. They do not condemn biological same‑sex attraction. The abomination was never love; it was exploitation.
Over centuries, as translations moved further from the Hebrew roots, these texts were weaponized against same‑sex attracted people. The loss of nuance from zakar to arsenos, from tishkav to koitē, allowed fear and misunderstanding to take root. Institutions found it convenient to use these misinterpretations as tools of control, shaming people into conformity and using fear of rejection from God to enforce submission.
This weaponization has caused untold suffering. People who bear the image of God have been shunned, condemned, and driven to despair because of something they never chose: the way they were created. They were told they were unworthy, unlovable, abominations before God. But the God revealed in Scripture — the God who knit each person together in the womb — never said that.
If you have felt shunned, shut out, or branded an abomination because of your attraction, hear this clearly: God does not despise you. The verses used against you were never about you. They were about protecting the vulnerable from those who would use power to harm. They were about justice, not rejection.
The beauty of returning to the original language is that it restores the heart of God’s Word. It shows that Scripture was never meant to be a weapon to crush you. It was meant to be a refuge for the oppressed.
