Claim: The Word “Homosexual” Did Not Appear in Any Bible Until 1946

This claim originated primarily from revisionist theology and gained traction from the documentary “1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture,” which asserts that the word “homosexual” was wrongly inserted into the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of 1946.

Linguistic vs. Theological Issue

The term “homosexual” is a modern coinage, derived from Greek homos (same) and Latin sexus (sex), first appearing in the late 19th century.

It was not part of any ancient vocabulary, including biblical Hebrew or Koine Greek, so obviously it would not appear in early Bible translations like the KJV (1611).

Copyright, RCR

What The Historical Evidence Proves

The RSV (1946) translated 1 Corinthians 6:9 as:

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals…”

• This was the first English translation to use the word “homosexuals”, a term only coined in the late 19th century:
• The First recorded use in German: Homosexualität in 1869 (by Karl-Maria Kertbeny)
• The First known English usage: in 1892 (C.G. Chaddock translation of Krafft-Ebing’s Psychopathia Sexualis)

Before 1946, what did English Bibles say about Homosexuality?

• KJV (1611): “abusers of themselves with mankind” (1 Cor. 6:9)
• ASV (1901): “abusers of themselves with men”

Biblical Prohibitions Pre-date the Word “Homosexual”

The behavior, not the word, is what Scripture addresses:

Hebrew (Old Testament): Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 prohibit a man “lying with a male as with a woman.” These laws are specific about acts, not identity categories.

The Hebrew “mishkav zakur” expresses the concept clearly, centuries before any English terminology existed.

The Greek (New Testament)

Romans 1:26–27 describes both male and female same-sex acts, labeling them “against nature” (para physin).

1 Corinthians 6:9 uses the Greek terms: malakoi (μαλακοί) – literally “soft,” interpreted as passive partners in same-sex relations. arsenokoitai (ἀρσενοκοῖται) – a compound of arsēn (male) + koitē (bed), widely interpreted as referring to male-male intercourse.

The term arsenokoitai is possibly Paul’s own coinage, drawing from Leviticus 20:13 in the Greek Septuagint: καὶ ὃς ἂν κοιμηθῇ μετὰ ἄρσενος κοίτην γυναικός

(“And whoever lies with a male as with the bed of a woman…”)

These are literal renderings of the Greek term ἀρσενοκοῖται (arsenokoitai).

What Does the Greek Word Actually Mean?

Arsenokoitai (ἀρσενοκοῖται) – a compound word:

• arsēn (ἄρσην) = male
• koitē (κοίτη) = bed (i.e., sexual intercourse)

The modern word, “Arse,” is a derivative of the Greek, arsen. An Arse is the buttocks of a person. Thus the Greek “arsen,” is descriptive of Sodomy between two men.

Literal meaning: “male-bedder” or “one who lies with males.”

This term does not appear in any known Greek literature prior to Paul, suggesting he coined it directly from Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 in the Greek Septuagint:

Leviticus 18:22 (LXX): καὶ μετὰ ἄρσενος οὐ κοιμηθήσῃ κοίτην γυναικός· βδέλυγμα γάρ ἐστιν.

Leviticus 18:21-23 “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.”

Leviticus 20:13: “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”

Paul combines arsēn and koitē to form a term explicitly referring to men who engage in same-sex relations. This supports the idea that the meaning of 1 Cor. 6:9 is about male same-sex acts, not “abuse,” “exploitation,” or general immorality.

1 Corinthians 6:9, states that homosexuals, and sodomites will not inherit the kingdom of God (heaven).

malakos (transgender), arsenokoitēs (sodomites) like the men of Sodom whom Jesus destroyed in Genesis 19:24, because they would not repent.

Translators Of The Early Koine Greek Texts Of The New Testament, Understood That Jesus Was Yahweh/Jehovah Of The Old Testament

Jesus as The LORD-Yahweh, in Genesis 19:24, destroyed all of the men of Sodom for their Sodomy, because they wouldn’t repent.

It Was Jesus Who Destroyed Sodom And Gomorrah

• Jesus did not begin at Bethlehem. He has always been Yahweh, the Eternal God.
• Jesus, as Yahweh, destroyed Sodom, the origin of the word for “Sodomy,” same-sex sin.

“Then the LORD (Yahweh-Jesus) rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. He utterly destroyed them.” Genesis 19:24-25

Historical Jewish and Early Christian Conclusions In Jewish Intertestamental and Rabbinic Literature:

The Book of Jubilees 16:5–6 and Testament of Naphtali 3:4–5 describe the sin of Sodom as unnatural sexual relations, not inhospitality.

Philo of Alexandria (1st century Jewish philosopher) writes that the Sodomites “lusted after one another” and engaged in shameless acts of sodomy.

Modern Scholarly Consensus

Most lexicons and Bible scholars affirm that arsenokoitai refers to male same-sex intercourse, including:

•  BDAG Greek Lexicon: “A male who engages in sexual activity with a person of his own sex.”
• Louw-Nida Greek Lexicon: “A male who has sexual intercourse with another male.”
• Josephus, Antiquities 1.194–195: Sodom was destroyed because of “practices of unnatural lust.”
• Tertullian, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine – all refer to Sodom as punished for sexual sin, not social misconduct.

Refuting the Argument: “The Bible Never Condemned Homosexuality Until 1946”

1. Language evolves, but the underlying meaning of Scripture does not depend on modern English words, but on the original Hebrew and Greek texts.
2. The biblical condemnation of same-sex acts has always been present, even if the English term homosexual did not appear until later.
3. The Septuagint (Greek OT used by Paul) and the Masoretic Hebrew Text both clearly prohibit same-sex behavior.

The Final Conclusion:

The word “homosexual” is modern, but the concept being condemned in Scripture is ancient.

The claim that the Bible only began condemning homosexuality in 1946 is based on a linguistic misunderstanding, not textual truth.

Paul’s arsenokoitai was a clear reference to the same behavior condemned in Leviticus.

If the sin of Sodom was only inhospitality, then why did Yahweh come personally to Sodom and incinerate all the men of the city? The idea that God would destroy all the men of several cities simply because they were inhospitable is preposterous.

The New Testament book of Jude confirms that this event that took place in Genesis 19:24-25, was Jesus as Yahweh, and that the sin that caused the destruction of these cities was unrepentant Sodomy. The very word “Sodomy,” defines the behavior of the men who lived in this city: anal sex between two men.

It was this sin that caused Yahweh to destroy all the men of Sodom, not inhospitality.

Further, we can conclude from the text of Genesis 19 that describes the men of Sodom demanding that Lot bring out the two angels that were staying in his house, “so we can have sex with them.”

Genesis 19:1-5 “That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. “My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.”

“Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.”
But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate. But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”

This verse makes the sin of Sodom clear: “Bring them out so we can have sex with them.” The sin of Sodom, was unrepentant Sodomy.

Sources and Citations:

• Gagnon, Robert A. J., The Bible and Homosexual Practice (Abingdon Press, 2001).
• Wright, N. T., Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians (SPCK, 2003).
• BDAG Lexicon, 3rd ed., under “ἀρσενοκοίτης.”
• Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon, 88.281.
• Septuagint: Leviticus 18:22, Brenton Translation.
• Revised Standard Version Bible, 1946 edition.

Categories: Robert Clifton Robinson