Language Studies

Hebrew Thoughts

tô‘êbhâh ''abomination'' - תּוֹעֵבָה (Strong's #8441)
Abomination

"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination." (Lev. 18:22, NKJV)

The word תּוֹעֵבַָה tô‘êbhâh "abomination" (Strong's #8441, x117) comes from תָּעַב tâ‘abh "to abhor, shame, detest" (Strong's #8581, x22). Abhor is perhaps too strong a word and the Tongan word tabu and Polynesian concept of taboo may be closer. Taboo is first used in English in 1777 after Cook's voyage to the Pacific where taboo was explained to him as "consecrated, inviolable, forbidden, unclean or cursed", possibly from the Tongan ta "mark" and bu "especially". Interestingly, the Hebrew letter ת pronounced תָּו tâw (Strong's #8420) means a "mark, cross or sign".

The earliest uses of תּוֹעֵבַָה tô‘êbhâh are in Genesis, the first in 43:32 says that it was an abomination for an Egyptian to eat with a Hebrew and in 46:34 that "every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians", the shepherd reference possibly being to the Hyksos "shepherd" king rulers over Egypt or a vague reference to the Egyptian deification of rams. Indeed, Exodus 8:26 (Heb.v22) describes Moses’ response to Pharaoh that he couldn't sacrifice, presumably a sheep (as the Targum of Jonathan believed), to God since to do so would be to sacrifice the very thing the Egyptians held as a god but which was an abomination/idol to the Jews.

It is especially, but not exclusively, used of cultic associations, i.e., those things which should not be done because they are associated with idolatry, other religions and their practices. In Isaiah 44:19 it is even used as a synonym for "idol" to fall down before, or for specific pagan deities as in 2 Kings 23:13 where Milcom is called "the abomination of the Ammonites". Cf. Ezek. 7:20; 16:36; Jer. 16:18).To demonstrate that neither the person, nor sometimes even the act, is necessarily a תּוֹעֵבַָה tô‘êbhâh "abomination", but the context of it is, even prayer is an abomination if it is offered by one who refuses to obey God's Word (Prov. 28:9).

The word's usage ranges from the detestable to all interpreters - human sacrifice (Deut. 12:31) to the relatively inane eating of forbidden foods (Deut. 14:3), cf. the usage of the synonym שֶׁקֶץ sheqets (Strong's #8263, x15) mainly in Leviticus 11 (10-23, 41-42)'s list of unclean creatures. In between lie occult practices (Deut. 18:9-14), pride, lies, discord (Prov. 6:16-19), dishonest business (Deut. 25:13-16), economic oppression of the poor (Ezek. 18:12,13) and the thorny contemporary issue of same sex practices (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13) whether seemingly undefined, or, contextualised as male cult prostitutes קָדֵשׁ qâdêsh (Strong's #6945, x6) in 1 Kings 14:24.

Proverbs uses the word 20x., Deuteronomy 16x, Leviticus just 6 but the most (43x), over a third of its occurrences, are in the book of Ezekiel showing how many of its uses are about the sanctity and separation of the temple, physical or spiritual, from that which defiles it. In Ezekiel 5:11; 7:20 and 11:18,21 it is paralleled with its synonym שִׁקּוּץ shiqqûwts (Strong's #8251, x28) "detestable abomination", especially an idol. Again it appears with גִּלּוּל gillûwl (Strong's #1544, x48) "idol" four times in Ezekiel (6:9; 14:6; 16:36; 18:12). Ezekiel 8:6-17 uses תּוֹעֵבַָה tô‘êbhâh frequently and refers to "even greater abominations" - all of which turn out to be about idols and false worship, not diet, garments or sex.

Nonetheless, a lot of the language concerning idols and abominations is coined in sexual metaphor here, e.g., "which go a whoring after their idols", (Ezekiel 6:9). The word "whoring" here is זָנָה zânâh (Strong's #2181, x93), a more intense word, aurally at least, is זָנַח zânach (Strong's #2186, x20) which can mean "to cast off, forcefully separate, emit a stench" and "be abominable". Ezekiel 16:36-38 completely contextualises and compares idolatry and adultery with idols and lovers. Ezekiel 22:10-11 is a bit of a compressed quote of Leviticus 18 and yet in choosing which sexual abominations to highlight it omits the language of Lev. 18:22 preferring that of 18:7 "uncovering their father's nakedness", which if sexual condemns male-male intimacy with one's father.

The infamous verses in Leviticus (18:22; 20:13) refer specifically to lying with "men as women" perhaps hinting at how elsewhere this language describes the activities of idolatrous temple prostitution which would often involve men dressed as women for the purpose of cultic worship through sex. The preceding verse 18:21 refers to banned Molech practices and in chapter 20 various forms of incest, a common practice in the Egyptian cult of Osiris, are banned along with the specific prohibition of 20:13. The Hebrew here is actually very brief and quite difficult to translate without inserting some level of personal interpretation:

"And-with a male not you lie beds-of woman, abomination it". (Leviticus 18:22)
"And-man who lies with a male beds-of woman, abomination". (Leviticus 20:13)

The only other place מִשְׁכָּב "bed, lying-places" mishkâbh (Strong's #4904, x46) occurs in the plural construct form is in Genesis 49:4 referring to 35:22 where Reuben has slept with his father's concubine in the marital bed. The words in most English translations, "as with", do not occur in the Hebrew. It has been argued recently that the Leviticus passages refer to male-male incest since most of the surrounding material refers to incest.

Leviticus 18:23 goes on to proscribe bestiality taking pains to explicitly include women, yet v22 does not mention women other than the use of their beds by two men. In fact, the Hebrew could be saying that it is תּוֹעֵבַָה tô‘êbhâh to use a woman's bed (particularly that of a close female family member) for male-male sex, assuming from the context that "lying" with is to be taken carnally rather than casually. Not only a woman's bed, perhaps, for "woman" could be translated "wife" as the same word אִשָּׁה ’ishshâh (Strong's #802, x780) is in 18:20 and in approximately half its hundreds of instances. Thus, if anything it is prohibiting male-male sex perhaps even by a married heterosexual upon a marital bed, thus insulting his wife. As the literally translated Hebrew is difficult, all interpretations are just that, interpretations...

Another supposedly classic "abomination" is in Deuteronomy 22:5, "A woman shall not wear that which pertains to a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto God" - "that which pertains" is actually the Hebrew כְּלִי k^eliy (Strong's #3627, x325) usually translated by "vessel, instrument, weapon, armour", not so much signifying male apparel but quite specifically something significantly male perhaps even that of a warrior. Indeed, most rabbinic sources go with that idea. The Jewish scholar Rashi, a 1000 years after Jesus, interpreted it as not being wrong in itself, but its aim was the issue, if it was disguise "for the purpose of adultery", then it was wrong. In the same way, Rashi interprets the second phrase שִׂמְלַת אִשָּׁה simlath ’ishshâh "clothes of a woman" (Strong's #8071, x29) as prohibiting male to female crossdressing "so he can go and be among the women" hence "the Torah forbids only garments that may lead to tô‘êbhâh/abhorrence". Later Jewish commentaries clarified this further as dependant upon the "local fashion" and that the act of deceit leading to adultery was the תּוֹעֵבַָה tô‘êbhâh not the person.

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