Biblical Obscenities
Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal faithfully are His delight. Proverbs 12:22 NASB
Abomination – tôʿēbâ isn’t a word we hear often. Oh, sorry. I meant that the English translation of tôʿēbâ is a word we hear often—“abomination.” It would certainly be familiar to ancient readers of the Tanakh, but these days in our culture, “abomination” is out of favor. Why? Because it’s such a “condemning” word, and we don’t like those kinds of words. We prefer words that are uplifting, encouraging, self-affirming. tôʿēbâ reeks with vile, atrocity and curse. Not a good word for a religion that idolizes prosperity.
As if that weren’t enough, some of things the Bible calls tôʿēbâ are affronts to our society. The list includes eating unclean things, cheating, lying, causing discord, false weights or measures, homosexuality, incest, cross-dressing, robbery, murder, injustice and more.[1] Of course, our modern culture accepts the term applied to some of the items in the list (murder, adultery, incest) but it falters over others (dietary requirements, homosexuality), typically claiming that these must be understood in their “cultural” setting (which is a way of excusing current behavior). This “pick and choose” version of the Bible isn’t new. It’s just illogical. TWOT notes:
. . . the abomination may be of a physical, ritual or ethical nature and may be abhorred by God or man. Sharing a meal with a Hebrew was ritually offensive to an Egyptian (Gen 43:32), as was offering certain kinds of sacrifices (Ex 8:22). Homosexuality and other perversions are repugnant to God and fall under his judgment (Lev 18:22–30; 20:13). Idolatry (Deut 7:25), human sacrifice (Deut 12:31), eating ritually unclean animals (Deut 14:3–8), sacrificing defective animals (Deut 17:1), conducting one’s business dishonestly (Deut 25:13–16), practicing ritual prostitution (I Kgs 14:23f.), and similar acts of disobedience (for seven more abominations, see the list in Prov 6:16–19) were sure to bring God’s wrath on those who perpetrated them.[2]
Notice that other cultures of the ancient world also recognized abominations, like eating with a Hebrew if you were Egyptian (you might want to reconsider the story of Joseph and his brothers, or the reticence of Peter to visit the house of Cornelius). If we think carefully, we will probably discover that we also have a list of disgusting things. Every culture does. But ritual or physical abominations are not always ethical ones, as the current debate of LGBT demonstrates. Ethical abominations originate with divine pronouncements and if you align yourself with the god or gods who declare them, then you accept them as necessary regardless of your society’s view. This is an important element in the disruption caused by Gentiles converting to the Messianic Jewish way of life. Homosexuality was common in the Greco-Roman world, but it was an abomination to Jews. A Gentile who followed Yeshua had to give up more than idol worship and eating pork. Don’t you suppose we should be much more scrupulous about our own interpretations of tôʿēbâ?
Topical Index: tôʿēbâ, abomination, Proverbs 12:22
[1] You can find a list here: https://www.gotquestions.org/abomination.html
[2] Harris, R. L., Archer, G. L., Jr., & Waltke, B. K. (Eds.). (1999). Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 977). Chicago: Moody Press.
