In this final episode of our LGBTQ series, we continue the conversation with a question that was posed at the end of part 2: "What if genetics proves that genes make us gay or straight?  Why would God do that?"  This leads us into a discussion on gender and the different terms.  We'll also take a look at eunuchs in the Bible, Joseph's coat of many colors, and an Old Testament law that forbids men and women from cross-dressing.  We'll wrap up our series discussion with what the Bible says about our identity as a human being.

During our episode we went into some technical discussion on Greek and Hebrew biblical languages.  Below are the notes from that discussion:

"eunuch"

OT Hebrew = "saris"; NT Greek = "eunouchos")

A eunuch broadly references a general court official who, for natural or personal reasons, cannot reproduce.

Scripture References: Old Testament (42x) - Examples: Genesis 37:36, 39:1; Esther 2:3, 14-15 // New Testament (10x) - Examples: Matthew 19:12; Acts 8:27, 34, 36, 38-39

Joseph's Coat

Genesis 37:3 - (Hebrew) "passim ketonet"

"passim" has an uncertain meaning // "ketonet" has a range of meaning (robe, tunic, garment).  When both words are used together (Gen 37:3; 2 Sam 13:18-19) the phrase is translated in various ways due to the meaning of passim being somewhat lost.

Hebrew Nouns Fact and Implications:

They are usually masculine or feminine, but that has nothing to do with whether or not the noun was for a man or a woman (Futato, 18-19).  It simply has to do with the form of the words.  For example: "passim" is masculine (because of the "im" ending) and "ketonet" is feminine (because of the "et" ending).  The point here is that Joseph's coat being a feminine coat due to "ketonet" being a feminine word is not a legitimate argument.

Greek Nouns work much the same way (Black, page 22).

Additional Resources:

Transforming, by Austen Hartke

Beginning Biblical Hebrew, by Futato

It's Still Greek To Me, by David Alan Black

Logos Bible Software 8 [various resources]