In today’s blog post, we will look at two words. They are the words corresponding to English “male” (ΑΡΣΕΝ) and “female” (ΘΗΛΥ). These two words appear together in nine chapters in the Old Testament and four in the New Testament. Let’s look at them all.
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In the Old Testament, they appear together only in the first three books, Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus. The first time the words appear is, of course, in the Bible’s opening chapter.
Of all of creation, humanity is unique, privileged. We are created in God’s image, according to his own likeness. And at precisely this moment, the Scriptures add, we are created male and female. This is the three-part statement of God creating us (Genesis 1:27; Jewish Publication Society):
“And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Here it is in the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (this is the Rahlfs and Hanhart edition of the Septuagint):
καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κατ᾽ εἰκόνα θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν, ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυἐποίησεν αὐτούς.
The Greek word for “male” (ΑΡΣΕΝ) translates the Hebrew word zachar, while the Greek word for “female” (ΘΗΛΥ) translates the Hebrew word n’qevah. We’ll see that this same translation of the two words occurs over and over for the Old Testament in Greek. In fact, for all ten instances in Genesis where these two words appear together, they come as a phrase “male and female.” The same Greek phrase (ΑΡΣΕΝ ΚΑΙ ΘΗΛΥ) is used. It typically represents the repeated Hebrew phrase (zachar unqevah).
Following this statement of God’s creation of humanity, God gives the blessing and command for humanity to procreate and produce new life according to our own kind. Both male and female are necessary for this vision of family-building, population growth and filling of the earth.
A very similar statement of the origin and nature of humanity is made in chapter five. It is re-stated that humanity was created in God’s likeness, as male and female, specifically. So, the basic point is reiterated and, as a result, underscored. Both males and females are made in God’s image. There is no third gender or gender spectrum. The options are binary. And it is glorious. (Genesis does not say, for example, that we are created, young and old or big and small, or fast and slow, or some other such pairing — but only that as male and female we are created in God’s image.)
In fact, here, Adam’s son, Seth, looks like Adam, he is born in his likeness, according to his image. We see that the image of God is transferred from parents to children, through the process of sexual intimacy and procreation. The implication is that every human being on the planet has received God’s image, through the crucial act of male-to-female intercourse – that is, a sexual act according to the laws established at creation. Abiding by the laws of creation permits the continuance of the creational process.
Next, we see the words for “male” (ΑΡΣΕΝ) and “female” (ΘΗΛΥ) occurring multiple times in the flood story. They come as a phrase, “male and female.” It appears twice in chapter six and six times in chapter seven. (Bear in mind that twice in Genesis 7:2, the Greek words represent another Hebrew pair, namely “man” and “woman.” In two other instances in this section, the Greek phrase does not correspond to anything in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament that is known to us from the Masoretic tradition – the version used as an authority by Jews today.) The two Greek words occur here, together, in more concentrated frequency than anywhere else in the Bible. God is making a point.
Because of the exceedingly profound sinfulness of those on earth, God is grieved in his heart to the extent that he determines to wipe out all humanity and even all living creatures, except for the tiniest remnant. We can note that the earth’s inhabitants are oblivious of their sinful state, their rebellion against God. (Jesus draws this point to the fore, when he teaches on the flood in Luke 17.)
God is prepared to spare humanity and the other creatures from total extinction. He instructs Noah to bring a “male” (ΑΡΣΕΝ) and “female” (ΘΗΛΥ) of every species into the specially crafted oceangoing vessel.
After the cataclysm has passed and the waters subside, God re-creates, in a sense, the entire world. The earth once again comes up out of the waters, just as it did during creation, in Genesis 1. Plants begin to grow again, just as in the beginning. And humans and animals appear upon the earth once more.
All of the creatures come out of the ark as “male” (ΑΡΣΕΝ) and “female” (ΘΗΛΥ). God will never wipe out the earth’s inhabitants with flood waters again. He gives a rainbow as a sign securing his compassionate promise.
Because every creature comes out of the ark, including humans, as male and female, it is abundantly evident that there are two genders – and only that. This is God’s good design. This is God’s second creation, as it were, of the whole earth. And he makes it unmistakable that all land animals and birds are male and female – nothing more. It is good. No, it is very good.
In chapter one of Exodus, we see our two words again. The Egyptians have a wicked plot to rid the world of Israelite families. (Here, though, Greek ΑΡΣΕΝ and ΘΗΛΥ translate a different pair of Hebrew words, meaning “boy” or “son” and “girl” or “daughter.”) When babies are born to Israelite parents, the males are to be killed and the females kept alive. If the plan had succeeded, this would have been a sure way to wipe out all of Abraham’s descendants, having them intermarry with other ethnicities and disappear.
We have already looked at 12 of the 19 times in the Torah (Pentateuch) that the two words appear in the same verse. The remainder occur in Leviticus. The two instances in chapter 3 pertain to animal sacrifices which may be male or female.
In chapter 12, Moses talks about the sacrificial worship of God that is fitting following a mother’s giving birth to a child, whether male or female. (We see here, then, that a human being is recognized as male or female from birth, from the get-go.)
In chapter 15, we hear about regulations for those with persistent bleeding issues, whether male or female. The remainder of instances pertain to special, sacred pledges of financial donations to the temple, which could be made for males or females of different ages (chapter 27). (The gist of this portion of scripture for us today is not least of all that human beings are either male or female, from birth to old age.)
Before looking at the New Testament, I’ll just mention, parenthetically, that two additional times in the Pentateuch (Torah) the pair of Hebrew words for “male” (zachar) and “female” (n’qevah) occurs. (One is in Numbers 5 and the other is in Deuteronomy 4.) In these cases, the ancient Greek translation gives adjectives with longer forms related to ΑΡΣΕΝ and ΘΗΛΥ, namely ΑΡΣΕΝΙΚΟΝ and ΘΗΛΥΚΟΝ.
Finally, we come to the four chapters in the New Testament, two of which contain Jesus’ words on marriage. In both Matthew 19 and Mark 10, we have an account of Jesus’ dialogue with Pharisees, who want to know if no-fault divorce is acceptable. As the accounts are similar, I will focus on Matthew’s version.
When Jesus uses the words “male” (ΑΡΣΕΝ) and “female” (ΘΗΛΥ), he is actually citing Genesis 1, the initial appearance of these words in the Scriptures. He asks a question (Matthew 19:4 - I’m citing the NRSV):
“He answered, ‘Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning “made them male and female”…?’”
The original Greek says this (Tyndale House Greek New Testament version):
Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε ὅτι ὁ κτίσας ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς;
Jesus then cites from Genesis 2, where the first instance of marriage occurs. Jesus notes also that God (this is Matthew 19:5 in the NRSV):
“…said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’….”
Jesus makes a connection between the first two chapters of Genesis, which articulate two renditions of the creation account, each with a different focus. Jesus makes it clear that God’s creation of “male” (ΑΡΣΕΝ) and “female” (ΘΗΛΥ), in chapter one, is crucial to the understanding of marriage in chapter 2. Without the former, the latter does not take place. Moreover, the creation of male and female is critical to the identity of humans.
To subvert this identity is to rebel against God, to one’s own peril. God help us, given the rage that many nations today have against the simple truth and reality of two unchangeable genders. Yet God gives more grace – for all who will turn to him.
Rebelling against God’s design for the two genders comes up in Paul’s writings too. In the opening chapter of his letter to the Romans, Paul uses the terms “male” (ΑΡΣΕΝ) and “female” (ΘΗΛΥ). He shows what humanity is like, when humans’ thinking and passions are out of order. First, he refers to homosexuality, generally, and to lesbianism in particular (Romans 1:26 – this is the Lexham English Bible version):
“Because of this, God gave them over to degrading passions, for their females exchanged the natural relations for those contrary to nature…”
The Greek reads like this (THGNT):
Διὰ τοῦτο παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς εἰς πάθη ἀτιμίας· αἵ τε γὰρ θήλειαι αὐτῶν μετήλλαξαν τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν εἰς τὴν παρὰ φύσιν…
Paul speaks, interestingly, about “females” (in Greek it is a particular plural form of ΘΗΛΥ). He does not speak about women, per se, but females. Paul’s language draws on the creation account. He highlights the fact that this sexual activity is clearly a break with the intent of the created order that God established at the beginning of human existence, at creation. He also states that natural sexual relations are abandoned for unnatural ones.
Next, Paul speaks to male homosexuality (Romans 1:27 – again from the LEB):
“…and likewise also the males, abandoning the natural relations with the female, were inflamed in their desire toward one another, males with males committing the shameless deed, and receiving in themselves the penalty that was necessary for their error.”
Here is the original Greek (THGNT):
ὁμοίως τε καὶ οἱ ἄρσενες ἀφέντες τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν τῆς θηλείας ἐξεκαύθησαν ἐν τῇ ὀρέξει αὐτῶν εἰς ἀλλήλους, ἄρσενες ἐν ἄρσεσιν τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην κατεργαζόμενοι, καὶ τὴν ἀντιμισθίαν ἣν ἔδει τῆς πλάνης αὐτῶν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀπολαμβάνοντες.
Paul speaks consistently about “males” (in Greek, plural forms of ΑΡΣΕΝ are found). In fact, he uses the word three times, but never uses the word “men.” He also speaks of “female” (again, a form of ΘΗΛΥ). Males forsake natural sexual relations with females for passionate, degrading sexual relations with one another. Again, the language of “male” and “female” draws those who hear his letter back to the creation account in Genesis. But there is more to it.
Paul says that “males” commit indecent acts with “males.” Paul does not say here “men” with “men” or even, God forbid, “men” with “boys.” The emphasis is on maleness. Categorically, Paul insists, males should not be with other males, sexually. Period. This means that Paul is not thinking about power structures (such as master and slave) or age differences (older man and younger man) or, God forbid, pedophilia, which was the preferred Greek form of homosexuality. (And some ancient Romans, too, took up this horrible passion.) Rather, Paul is speaking, categorically, to all sexual relations among “males.” This is a blanket statement condemning homosexuality.
The same is true regarding what Paul says about lesbianism. Only, it is stronger when it comes to gay homosexuality, because of the repeated, insistent use of “male” (ΑΡΣΕΝ). Probably he focusses in on this more, because male-to-male sexual activity was so much more prevalent in the ancient Roman world.
Due to Paul’s use of language regarding both lesbian and gay homosexuality, he repeatedly points back to Genesis 1, where God creates humanity in his own image, male and female. Because humans have rejected God, Paul says, their civilization is given over to same-sex sexuality. It is a disgrace, shameful. (It is nothing to be proud about.)
Before we look at the final occurrence of “male” (ΑΡΣΕΝ) and “female” (ΘΗΛΥ) in the New Testament, I want to address one instance in the Old Testament where “male” (ΑΡΣΕΝ) alone appears. I’ll make this exception in our dual words study, because of the thematic link.
In Leviticus 18:22, God says (Jewish Publication Society version):
“Do not lie with a male as one lies with a woman; it is an abhorrence.”
Here is the ancient Greek translation of this verse (Rahlfs and Hanhart edition):
καὶ μετὰ ἄρσενος οὐ κοιμηθήσῃ κοίτην γυναικός· βδέλυγμα γάρ ἐστιν.
In the ancient Greek translation of the Scriptures, the word for “male” is, of course, ΑΡΣΕΝ. (The underlying Hebrew word, naturally, is zachar.) Note what is and is not said. As in other verses in this context, in Hebrew the command given is in the singular and masculine from: that is to say, God gives an instruction to a man, saying “you, man, should not do such and such.” Here God commands a man to not lie with another “male” (ΑΡΣΕΝ), as he might lie with a “woman.” God does not say “man” but “male.” And he does not say “female” but “woman.” Why?
There are probably two, interconnected reasons. First, the language of “male” (ΑΡΣΕΝ), as we have seen, is rare and creational. It recalls humanity’s being made in God’s image. We should not mess with what God has called “very good.”
Second, “male” covers everyone in that gender, whether child, teenager, young adult, mature adult or elderly man. This is a categorical prohibition. A man and a woman may come together in matrimony and, after that, have sexual relations. But a man must never have such relations with a “male,” neither a man nor, God forbid, a boy. All such relations, categorically, God says, are an abhorrence.
The last paired instance of “male” (ΑΡΣΕΝ) and “female” (ΘΗΛΥ) in the Bible occurs in Galatians. Paul asserts boldly that in the Lord Jesus Christ, there is neither Jew, nor gentile, slave nor free, nor “male and female.” The phrase about gender recalls Genesis 1. What is Paul saying?
In Christ there is a new creation. It began with his own resurrection, as a first fruit. And it is continuing to grow. In time, the new creation will have its full flowering – as the resurrection of all takes place, the judgement of all and then the transformation of all of Christ followers into bodies of resplendent glory. In the meantime, we live in the tension of both “now” and “but not yet.” In the age to come, there will be no marriage. As followers of Christ, will be like the angels. Men and women, as joint heirs, will receive our inheritance in the Messiah. And we need to live with that reality always before us. (Peter instructs husbands to never lord anything over their wives, because in the fullness of the Messiah, when the new age will dawn, we will simply be joint heirs.)
For this reason, though there is Jew and Gentile now, also male and female (and in some cultures, slave and free), we must treat one another with the utmost dignity, knowing that in God’s overall plan — and eternity is far longer than this short handbreadth of time on the earth during this age — everyone will be rewarded according to his or her own deeds. And there is no partiality. And yet we will also all be joint heirs, together with Christ Jesus. What an amazing privilege! It leaves us speechless, as we reflect on the profound graciousness and generosity that God has shown us.
Let us treat one another with respect, then. And let us honor all humans, male and female, just as God has created us. Let us neither hate nor despise anyone. Let us have mercy on all, as Jude instructs us to do. And, amongst ourselves as Christians, let us teach clearly what God’s good intent is for humanity, created as male and female (just two, unchangeable genders) and given the gift of marriage (between one man and one woman). Let us also praise God for his creation, a work of his genius, because it is very good.
As always, I leave you off with a song. Here are the words of the Messiah, as he refers to the first mention of “male” (ΑΡΣΕΝ) and “female” (ΘΗΛΥ), in Genesis one. Again, this is the original Greek of Matthew 19.4 –
οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε ὅτι ὁ κτίσας ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς;