Are the words gay or homosexual in the Bible?

Various other attempts are designed to justify homosexuality as acceptable with biblical morality. When it is shown that the passages that supposedly condemn homosexuality actually do condemn homosexuality, then the revisionists must find other ways to defend their preferences. The arguments that follow are those that did not fall precisely into our discussion of the various biblical texts that were surveyed. These arguments, as with the others we have considered, are also put forth as “biblical.” These are supposedly based upon the truths of Scripture when taken as a whole. To these we now turn.


Objection Stated

  The words “homosexual” and “homosexuality” are not found in the Bible.

This is one of the most common objections raised by those who teach the compatibility of homosexuality and the Bible. This statement has become mantra-like due to its frequency of utterance and is one of the first comments heard from those who argue for the Bible’s acceptance of homosexuality. It is presumed that if the Bible nowhere uses the word homosexuality, it is rather unlikely that the Bible condemns the practice. We have already seen that this claim is false (see chapter 7) and that the Bible repeatedly condemns homosexual orientation and acts. The Bible unquestionably refers to homosexuality and (this may sound silly) does so by referring to homosexuality. Consider these words from Scanzoni and Mollenkott:

The Bible does not have a great deal to say about homosexuality, and in the original languages the term itself is never used.1


Biblical Response

Frequency of occurrence or repetition does not make something increase in moral reprehensibility. If something is mentioned only one time in all of Scripture and it is labeled abhorrent in that single place, it would remain abhorrent. After all, as far as specific references are concerned, homosexuality is mentioned more often in the Bible than the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is known as the “unpardonable sin” and an “eternal sin” (Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:29). Homosexuality is referred to as sin in both the Old and the New Testaments.

Scanzoni and Mollenkott wrote that the term homosexuality is “never used” and “the Bible does not have a great deal to say” about homosexuality. Yet, these authors do admit that the Bible speaks of “homosexual acts.”

This is striking in its incongruity. Does the Bible have a little to say even if it does not have a “great deal” to say? If the Bible does speak of homosexuality, even a little bit, then the Bible speaks of homosexuality. Perhaps the authors of this apparent contradiction mean to speak of the distinction between act and orientation, between deed and desire. 

We do recognize a distinction—a functional distinction—between an act and an interest, but we do not recognize an ethical or moral distinction between a deed and the desire to perform such a deed. The act of adultery is immoral as well as the desire (lust, longing) to commit adultery (Leviticus 18:20; 20:10; Matthew 5:28; Genesis 39:7–10).3 The Bible does refer to homosexuality and presents it as something that is morally reprehensible.

Although we strenuously disagree, we are sure that Scanzoni and Mollenkott meant that an equivalent word for homosexuality is not found in the original languages when they write, “and in the original languages the term itself is never used.” Since the Bible was written in Hebrew4 and Greek it goes without saying that the English word homosexuality would not appear in the original languages.

Such a statement fails to recognize that the word used by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10 is a compound word that refers to males in bed. 

We understand that those who are attempting to revise the clear teaching of the Bible claim this word has been improperly translated, but they are incorrect. We have observed that Paul does use a word that is a legitimately translated by our present English words “homosexual” or “homosexuality.” 

However, there is more. The Bible more often describes the behavior that has come to be known as homosexuality. So, although a specific word may not be employed in the majority of the biblical passages, the description of homosexuality most certainly is. As a matter of fact, many early English Bible translations were content to use the word “sodomite” or “buggerer” (one who practices buggery) to refer to homosexuals.

Early English translations of the Bible also employed descriptive phraseology to refer to homosexuals. The Bishops Bible of 1575, the Collins Bible of 1791, and the Webster Bible of 1833 refer to homosexuals as “abusers of themselves with mankind” in 1 Corinthians and as those who “defile themselves with mankind” in 1 Timothy. 

It is granted, the precise word “homosexual” is not of ancient origin, however, there are plenty of other terms and descriptions that were employed.

Descriptions of homosexuality, rather than the employment of a single word, are found throughout the Bible. In Genesis 19 we find the men of Sodom desiring to have sexual relations with the male visitors in Lot’s house. The desire of these townsmen of Sodom is often translated by the words “to know,” and, as we saw in chapter 2, this descriptively translates the Hebrew word that refers to an intimate, sexual type of “knowing.” 

Furthermore, the book of Leviticus describes the sin of homosexuality as a male lying with a male as one would with a female. The Hebrew word for “lying” is the same word that is used for “bed” or for sexual intercourse elsewhere in the Hebrew Old Testament.7 Finally, Paul also describes the deeds of homosexuality, thus showing his variety of expression. While he did use a single term in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy for homosexuality, he employs descriptive terminology in Romans, chapter 1: “For their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error” (vv. 26–27).

Therefore it is not correct to assert that the Bible does not refer to homosexuality—it most clearly does. However, a final comment in this regard needs to be made. It must be noted that the Bible nowhere uses the word “trinity.” If, because of this, someone was to assert that the trinity is not biblical because the word “trinity” is not found in the pages of the Bible, we would immediately recognize the unbiblical thinking that was taking place and see an evident departure from the Christian faith.


White, J. R., & Niell, J. D. (2002). The Same Sex Controversy: Defending and Clarifying the Bible’s Message about Homosexuality (pp. 163–167). Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers.