The Problem (1)

And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. Genesis 18:20 NASB

Sin – Sin is a problem. It’s not just a moral problem or a spiritual problem or a theological problem. Sin is an etymological problem. Why? Because the meaning of the terms used for sin show dependence on ancient near-eastern cultures, have striking dissimilarities with those same cultures and progressively change over time. While we may know what we mean by “sin” today, it’s not so clear that we understand what “sin” meant to the authors of our Bible. And that’s a problem. If we don’t know what they meant by the word, then we could hold ourselves accountable for ideas about sin that were never part of the biblical message.

The word translated “sin” in this verse is hatto’t (plural of hatta’t). Lexicons typically offer “sin, sin-offering, expiation” as the meaning. But the ancient near-east cultures viewed cognates of this word as “religious disqualification” or “antisocial behavior.” In other words, hatta’t is understood in contrast to accepted cultural norms. It is behavior that goes against the agreed upon order of things. For example, if the agreed upon order describes marriage as a union of a man and a woman, then homosexual “marriage” is not only not “marriage,” it is sin. But it is sin because it violates a standard, not because it is some eternal evil. The standard determines what is acceptable and what isn’t. The current cultural debate about homosexual marriage is precisely that—a cultural debate! It is an argument over what is acceptable in the culture, and since the cultural meanings of the terms can change when the culture changes, so can the acceptable standards of behavior. If our morality is based on the same foundation as the cultures of the ancient near-east, then over time we would expect to see changes in what is admissible. Today no one considers attending church in casual dress as sin. But 100 years ago, it would have been. From a cultural perspective, things change. No doubt homosexuality will become an acceptable behavioral choice in our culture. But not in every culture!

That’s the first thing to recognize about YHVH’s cultural instructions. He sets the norms. If we are going to participate in His Kingdom, then His standards are the acceptable ones, regardless of what other cultures (and competing kingdoms) accept or deny. Sin is a cultural idea. You become subject to “sin” defined by the Bible when you are a subject of that Kingdom. How others define “sin” makes little difference. They simply live in another kingdom. This is why legislating morality is inherently bankrupt in cultures where there is no absolute standard. In the end, it is simply a semantic argument. If there is no absolute, then the meanings of the terms can be redefined to suit the populace.

But if the word of the King is the law of the Kingdom, then redefining the terms is impossible. Now it is simply a matter of understanding what those terms actually mean. In this case, hatta’h means a violation of a communal relationship standard. According to Scripture, the Kingdom of God will one day rule the entire earth and all who abide on it, just as it now rules Heaven. This means that the cultural re-definitions of “sin” will disappear and the meaning of “sin” will be uniform. It will be what the eternal King determines it to be. Therefore, the etymological problem is a very great one. Wherever we have allowed a culture other than the Kingdom of YHVH to define what “sin” means, we do not understand, or follow, the standard of the King. It is incumbent on all those who claim to embrace the Kingdom to obey the King according to His standard and that means solving the etymological problem.

So press on, my fellow travelers. Let’s see what these words mean—all that they mean—and determine to follow the Kingdom norms.

Topical Index: sin, hatta’h, norms, behavior, Kingdom, Genesis 18:20