The Bible was written primarily in two languages: Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament). But we who speak English have to rely on interpretations of what Scripture says based on the translations used to define the terms. Unfortunately, many of the translations of these terms depart considerably from the exact meaning of the original words. Then we have new versions of the Bible that stray even further from the original text, giving the reader a totally different interpretation of what the scripture means.

The Hebrew and the Greek have precise meanings of the words they define. If the translations of these terms are not as accurate as the original words used, it leads to misinformation and misunderstanding of God’s word and entirely new doctrines arise that are antithetical to God’s original intent.

The other aspect of this is taking the translation of the terms out of the historical context. If God is providing information to us in precise terms within the historical context in which it was written, and you change the meaning of the words through an incorrect translation without regard to their historical context, you change the entire dynamic of that scripture and therefore Therefore, strange teachings arise. which forms the “traditions of men”.

Take, for example, the following passage of Scripture:

“There will be no harlot of the daughters of Israel, nor sodomite of the children of Israel.” -Deuteronomy 23:17-18

What does that mean? Using our language to decipher this scripture and not examining it with the historical context in which it was written, one would think that it says “no woman can be a prostitute if she is a daughter of Israel and no man can be a homosexual if he is a son of Israel”? TRUE?

But that is not the correct interpretation. The reason is because the term “bitch” and the term “Sodomite” are not translated correctly from the Hebrew.

How do you know what the correct definition of “bitch” Y “Sodomite” are? You would have to look up the Hebrew word for it. And the best place is Strong’s Numbers. Strong’s Numbers are an index to every word in the original biblical text.

Strong’s numbers for “bitch” in hebrew it is H6948 and the word is DYCWpronounced Ked-ay-shaw’ and means “temple prostitute, harlot”.

Strong’s number for “Sodomite” it is H6945 and the word is JOCpronounced Kaw-dash’ and means “male temple prostitute”.

So now, we have the correct passage as follows:

“There shall be no (female temple prostitute) from the daughters of Israel, nor (male temple prostitute) from the children of Israel.” -Deuteronomy 23:17-18

See the difference? And it also makes more sense within the historical context in which it was written. It’s not about whores in general or homosexuals.

If you were to take the first translation of this scripture, you would think that God did not want any prostitutes or homosexuals in Israel. But the second and more accurate translation specifically shows that there will be no TEMPLE PROSTITUTES. Why only temple prostitutes and not all prostitutes? Well, you find that in the historical context in which it was written. Deuteronomy 23 deals with instructions regarding the assembly of the congregation of Israel and various laws. And temple prostitutes are a form of pagan idol worship.

But the prostitutes themselves under certain conditions were not considered an abomination to God. In fact, many of the great men of the Bible went “to” prostitutes without consequence, as long as they were not married.

This begs the question why sex before marriage is not a sin. We have all been taught that it is. We even see the term fornication (sexual relations between couples who are not married to each other) used over 40 times in the New Testament where the apostle Paul tells us to “flee from fornication.” But guess that? Fornication is a substitution of the original Greek word, porneia.

Porneia it has a broader definition than fornication and means “sexual immortality”. But what is sexual immorality? According to God, all sins of sexual immorality are defined in Leviticus 18. You must remember that the New Testament was not even written until many years after Jesus’ death. So to find the laws regarding anything, the Apostle Paul would go back to the Torah. And premarital sex is not part of the definition of porneia.

Nowhere in Scripture is sex before marriage (outside of virgins in their father’s house) mentioned as sinful or sexually immoral. That doctrine has arisen either by falsely misrepresenting the truth based on incorrect substitution of terms, or by failing to examine the historical context and the Old Testament to see what God reveals about it.