Gay Marriage

7. MARRIAGE:

In the Bible, God nowhere set up statutes for a priest to marry couples. In fact, any couple that was in a long lasting relationship was considered married. Generally, when it says a man married a woman, the Hebrew word used says the man took the woman. The Hebrew word la-qakh, which means “he took,” is underneath the words “he married” in the following verse: “Now afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was sixty years old; and she bore him Segub.” (1 Chronicles 2:21 NKJV). Also, other things the English reader doesn’t see is that in the Hebrew text, the words man & husband are from the same word (ish); and the words woman & wife are from the same word (ish-sha) in our English Bible. An example is in this verse: “Then Sarai, Abram’s wife (ish-sha-woman), took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband (ish - man) Abram to be his wife (woman), after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan." (Genesis 16:3 NKJV). No marriages in ancient societies closely match our modern equivalent.

The Bible does record a verse that shows that not all unions were between a man and a woman: “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or your lawful wife, or your friend, who is as your own soul, entices you secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which you have not known, you nor your fathers;” (Deuteronomy 13:6 Lamsa). The underlined words your friend, who is as your own soul in the Aramaic literally means: “your lover according to your soul [emotion(s)].” The word rakh-ma, translated here as “friend,” also means a lover (in a relationship), as shown here: “His mouth is like sweet honeycombs; his garments are lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.” (Song of Solomon 5:16 Lamsa). For some, it is hard to distinguish when the word rakh-ma is referring to a friend or when it is referring to a lover in a relationship. I believe the context gives the clue.

8. HOMOSEXUALS:

“Then Abimelech went to him from Gadar, and Ahuzzath [one of] his friends ( rakh-meh-his lover [singular]), and Phicol the general of his army.” (Genesis 26:26 Lamsa). The words [one of] are not in the Aramaic text. Also, the Aramaic OT says that Ahuzzath was Abimelech's lover. Abimelech and Ahuzzath were in a homosexual relationship, and Ahuzzath was his (Abimelech's) lover.

The Hebrew text has the word me-re-a, which literally means: “a made friend” or “ a made lover. Re-a is part of me-re-a, but there is an additional mem (i.e. “m”) at the front. The additional mem brings the meaning of “made” attached to the noun. The Aramaic text translated the word me-re-a, which literally means “a made lover” [probably from a wedding], as “a lover” here. Me-re-a, with a literal meaning of “a made friend” was translated as shawsh-wi-na (the bridegroom’s friend, groomsman) at Judges 14:20.