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ἀρσενοκοίτης

arsenokoítēs

G733 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A male who engages in sexual activity with another male; in broader contexts, one who practices sexual relations between men. Core meaning pertains to male-male sexual behavior, with contextual extensions toward labeling those who participate in such acts, particularly in legalistic or moral admonitions. The semantic range is limited to this sphere and does not include other types of sexual or social deviance.

Semantic Range

male who has sexual intercourse with another male, one who engages in same-sex male relations, practitioner of male-male intercourse as prohibited in certain legal or moral texts

Root / Etymology

Compound of ἄρσην (ársēn, 'male') and κοίτη (koítē, 'bed'—especially in the sense of sexual intercourse), thus 'male-bed' or 'one who beds males.' There is no evidence of usage prior to Hellenistic/Jewish literature; possible calque of phrases found in the Septuagint (e.g., Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13) where 'lying with a male as with a woman' is condemned.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Attested in early Christian sources (e.g., 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Timothy 1:10) and in some later patristic writings. The word does not occur in extant classical Greek literature predating the Pauline corpus. Likely coined within Hellenistic Jewish or early Christian Greek as a technical or legal term reflecting Levitical prohibitions from the Hebrew scriptures, translated in the LXX as 'lying with a male.' Standard English translations, especially 'sodomite,' are anachronistic or culturally specific, sometimes misleadingly connected to the story of Sodom. The term's application centers specifically on male-male sexual acts, without reference to female same-sex relations or broader understandings of sexual identity as in modern terms. Distinct from broader terms like πορνεία (porneia, 'sexual immorality') and not equivalent to catamite or pederast, though some later interpretive traditions conflated these. The semantic scope is narrower than many later translations or interpretations.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from ἄῤῥην and κοίτη; a sodomite:--abuser of (that defile) self with mankind.

Root Family

ἀρσενοκοίτης (arsenokoitēs) — male, bed, to have sexual relations with a male

Root ἀρσενοκοιτ- male, bed, to have sexual relations (esp. with a male)

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G733-01 ἀρσενοκοῖται arsenokoitai N NOM M PL men who practice homosexuality men who bed males men who bed males 1
G733-02 ἀρσενοκοίταις arsenokoitais ADJ.S DAT M PL for sodomites to male-bedders to male-bedders 1

Occurrences in Scripture

2 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G733-01 1 Corinthians 6:9 ἀρσενοκοῖται arsenokoitai N NOM M PL men who practice homosexuality men who bed males men who bed males
G733-02 1 Timothy 1:10 ἀρσενοκοίταις arsenokoitais ADJ.S DAT M PL for sodomites to male-bedders to male-bedders
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