Does the Bible talk about Sex? A Sexual Textual

Earlier this week I previewed that this upcoming Sunday I will be preaching on human sexuality.  Today I'm going to answer the question "Does the Bible talk about sex?" The short answer is "yes". 

The longer answer is: in both the Old and New Testaments, in multiple books, across multiple genres sex, and sexual activities are commanded, spoken about, described, prescribed, warned about, forbidden, sung about, prayed for, repented of, and reflected on.

It's helpful to recall that the Bible is God's Word. Meaning when we read the Bible, we are reading something that is authoritative. We are not reading an opinion piece from a peer, or a suggestion from a subordinate. We are reading the revealed, declarative work and ways of God in the midst of thousands of years of human history. This means that the books of the Bible were originally written in multiple languages (Most notably Hebrew and Greek) and cover a vast expanse of human experiences. This ought to bolster our confidence that what God's Word has to say about human sexuality is good. The words of Scripture are not simply a limited set of cultural norms or a record of antiquated ethics. Over the course of many generations, across cultures, borders, empires, norms, and languages, a consistent prescription for human sexual ethics is found. This prescription is set alongside many descriptions of various accounts both affirming the goodness of God's prescription for human sexuality and warning of the harm of rejecting God's created vision for human sexuality. 

At this point, you may say "Ok, you say the Bible talks about sex, where exactly?"

Starting at the beginning

The very first instance of any word or expression about human sexuality is found in Genesis 1:26-28 

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 

Here we see God's creation of humanity summarized, and God's command to humanity explicit regarding "fruitful"[ness], "increase"[ing] in number, and "fill"[ing] the earth. God's plan for human sexuality has been from the get-go that it would be a good thing, a fruitful thing. The language of the garden is heavily intermingled in Genesis 1-3. For agricultural societies, this language speaks of bounty, prosperity, blessing, giftedness, completeness, longevity, health, and order. In general, for things to be "fruitful" is a good thing in a garden context, and this is no exception. Male and female were to be fruitful, and that's the first reference we get to sex in the Bible. The first reference to sex in the Bible is that it's a good thing commanded by God!

Later on, in Genesis 2:18-25 we get a long description of the marriage relationship, background, context, and purpose of human sexuality: 

18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. 

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 

23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. 

Where do we first learn about characters in a movie or book? The first time they appear on the screen or on a page. Where do we first learn about God's created order for human sexuality? In the beginning! The starting of something sets a foundation or paradigm for the future. Genesis 1:26-28 & 2:18-25 tell us several things about ourselves as humans that inform and set a foundation for the future:

• We read that God has made humanity in his image.
• We learn that God's plan for humanity was fruitfulness.
• We read that from God's perspective it is not good for man to be alone.
• We learn that nothing in all of God's good creation could be a suitable helper for man. 
• We read that God made man's helper from his own very side.
• We learn that for both Adam and Eve there was something they each had for the other. 
• We read that marriage is a continuation of this creation order, one man, one woman. 

Everything else in the Bible about sex from Genesis 1 & 2 on out is either: (A) describing or denouncing situations or activities or desires that violate this foundational paradigm as instituted and set by God in his creation or, (B) restating and upholding the beauty and goodness of God's created order for human sexuality. Sometimes language of human intimacy is used to describe the relationship between God and his promised, chosen, special, covenant people. Even in these symbolic uses, the pattern of either description or prescription remains. Either God's people are being described in their unfaithfulness to God, or they are being charged to live out a chaste exclusive relationship with God alone as the object of their worshipful affection. 

Words & Expressions

Throughout the Old Testament, a Hebrew expression used to describe sexual intimacy is often "ידע" (pronounced "Ya-Da"). This word is one of the most common words throughout the Old Testament with over 1140 instances of use. The range of meaning is vast, including but not limited to proper names of people (such as Jehoiada or Joiada), to simple or complex actions (such as to know, notice, hear, learn, realize, or reveal).  This word is used to express when someone has been "made known" or has "made themselves known". This expression in ancient Hebrew can convey sexual intimacy, sometimes in a God-prescribed context. Sometimes this phrase is used in a described context of rebellion against God's prescription. This word is used to describe Adam "knowing" Eve and Eve becoming pregnant as a result (Genesis 4:1). It's also used to describe the rioting crowd of Sodom that sought to "know" and thereby have sex with the messengers of God who came to visit Lot (Genesis 19:5). 

In the New Testament, there is a similarly wide range of examples of words and references to human sexuality. In Greek one very common term for sexual immorality is "πορνη" (pronounced "Por-ne"). This is where we get the word in English for "pornography". The word (in its various forms) occurs 56 times in 50 verses throughout the New Testament. 24 times this word is used to describe sexual immorality or fornication, 12 times it's used to describe a prostitute, 10 times a sexually immoral person, and 8 times it's used in speaking of committing sexual immorality. These 56 occurrences are found in 16 out of the 27 books of the New Testament, so over half of the books of the New Testament specifically use this word to describe sexuality that is outside the prescription of God's creation order for humanity.

Sexual Textual

This week I wanted to try and get as close as I could to citing as many references to human sexuality as possible. This task was too ambitious to accomplish in a single week. Frankly, that project itself is worthy of a near dictionary-sized book. So, without being comprehensive, but instead still being ambitious I've cited several passages and marked them as either "descriptive" or "prescriptive" regarding human sexuality. I've also created a PDF document with the list and citations, so if you'd rather have that to look at, critique, think through, share, etc, just let me know. 

Please note that in marking a passage as either “Descriptive” or “Prescriptive” there is often a sense of “both” in some cases. Sometimes narrative or situational language is used to describe a scenario, and then that scenario creates a prescription that either encourages or deters certain sexual behavior or desires.  Some prescriptive passages are also likewise somewhat of a description. I’ve done my best to try and learn the sense of the passage, and usage of the word, while accounting for the immediate and broader context to sway any final decisions made. 

Here is the "sexual textual" list of passages related to human sexuality and a description of the passage as either descriptive, or prescriptive.

“ידע” is Hebrew meaning to know, notice, hear of, learn; reveal, be or become known; realize. Used in a sense of “to have intercourse”, conceived of as knowing someone. 

1. Genesis 4:1 (Descriptive)

2. Genesis 4:17 (Descriptive)

3. Genesis 4:25 (Descriptive)

4. Genesis 19:5 (Descriptive)

5. Genesis 19: 8 (Descriptive)

6. Genesis 24:16 (Descriptive)

7. Genesis 38:26 (Descriptive)

8. Numbers 31:17–18, (Descriptive)

9. Numbers 31:35 (Descriptive)

10. Judges 11:39 (Descriptive)

11. Judges 19:22 (Descriptive) 

12. Judges 19:25 (Descriptive)

13. Judges 21:11–12 (Descriptive)

14. 1 Samuel 1:19 (Descriptive)

15. 1 Kings 1:4 (Descriptive)

עֶרְוָה In Hebrew is used often to describe nakedness, bareness, or genitals. Occurs in over 30 passages as “nakedness” in reference to sexual activity or sexual body parts. 

1. Genesis 9:22 (Descriptive)

2. Genesis 9:23 (Descriptive)

3. Exodus 20:26 (Prescriptive)

4. Exodus 28:42 (Prescriptive)

5. Leviticus 18:6 (Prescriptive)

6. Leviticus 18:7 (Prescriptive)

7. Leviticus 18:8 (Prescriptive)

8. Leviticus 18:9 (Prescriptive)

9. Leviticus 18:10 (Prescriptive)

10. Leviticus 18:11 (Prescriptive)

11. Leviticus 18:12 (Prescriptive)

12. Leviticus 18:13 (Prescriptive)

13. Leviticus 18:14 (Prescriptive)

14. Leviticus 18:15 (Prescriptive)

15. Leviticus 18:16 (Prescriptive)

16. Leviticus 18:17 (Prescriptive)

17. Leviticus 18:18 (Prescriptive)

18. Leviticus 18:19 (Prescriptive)

19. Leviticus 20:11 (Prescriptive)

20. Leviticus 20:17 (Prescriptive)

21. Leviticus 20:20 (Prescriptive)

22. Leviticus 20:21 (Prescriptive)

23. Deuteronomy 23:14 (Prescriptive)

24. Deuteronomy 24:1 (Prescriptive)

25. 1 Samuel 20:30 (Descriptive)

26. Isaiah 20:4 (Descriptive)

27. Isaiah 47:3 (Descriptive)

28. Lamentations 1:8 (Descriptive)

29. Ezekiel 16:8 (Descriptive)

30. Ezekiel 16:37 (Descriptive)

31. Ezekiel 22:10 (Descriptive)

32. Ezekiel 23:10 (Descriptive)

33. Ezekiel 23:18 (Descriptive)

34. Ezekiel 23:29 (Descriptive)

35. Hosea 2:9 (Descriptive)

הרה Is used in Hebrew to describe being pregnant, or to conceive and thereby become pregnant. Sometimes this word is also used to describe an ancestor or descendant. There are more than 380 occurrences of this word in relationship to someone being the father of someone. With the numerous genealogies present throughout the Old Testament this comes as no surprise, but it was far too great a number for me to list. None the less it is worth mentioning that every genealogy in some way is a reference to human sexual activity. 

1. Genesis 4:1 (Descriptive)

2. Genesis 4:17 (Descriptive)

3. Genesis 16:4 (Descriptive)

4. Genesis 16:5 (Descriptive)

5. Genesis 19:36 (Descriptive)

6. Genesis 21:2 (Descriptive)

7. Genesis 25:21 (Descriptive)

8. Genesis 29:32 (Descriptive)

9. Genesis 29:33 (Descriptive)

10. Genesis 29:34 (Descriptive)

11. Genesis 29:35 (Descriptive)

12. Genesis 30:5 (Descriptive)

13. Genesis 30:7 (Descriptive)

14. Genesis 30:17 (Descriptive)

15. Genesis 30:19 (Descriptive)

16. Genesis 30:23 (Descriptive)

17. Genesis 38:3 (Descriptive)

18. Genesis 38:4 (Descriptive)

19. Exodus 2:2 (Descriptive)

20. Numbers 11:12 (Descriptive)

21. Judges 13:3 (Descriptive)

22. 1 Samuel 1:20 (Descriptive)

23. 1 Samuel 2:21 (Descriptive)

24. 2 Samuel 11:5 (Descriptive)

25. 2 Kings 4:17 (Descriptive)

26. 1 Chronicles 4:17 (Descriptive)

27. 1 Chronicles 7:23 (Descriptive)

28. Isaiah 8:3 (Descriptive)

29. Isaiah 26:18 (Descriptive)

30. Isaiah 33:11 (Descriptive)

31. Hosea 1:3 (Descriptive)

32. Hosea 1:6 (Descriptive)

33. Hosea 1:8 (Descriptive)

34. Hosea 2:5 (Descriptive)

שׁכב Is used in Hebrew to describe laying down. This word has a wide arrangement of uses with over 200 occurrences. It is used in more than 40 passages to speak of sexual intercourse. 

1. Genesis 19:32 (Descriptive)

2. Genesis 19:33 (Descriptive)

3. Genesis 19:34 (Descriptive)

4. Genesis 19:35 (Descriptive)

5. Genesis 26:10 (Descriptive)

6. Genesis 30:15 (Descriptive)

7. Genesis 30:16 (Descriptive)

8. Genesis 34:2 (Descriptive)

9. Genesis 34:7 (Descriptive)

10. Genesis 35:22 (Descriptive)

11. Genesis 39:7 (Descriptive)

12. Genesis 39:10 (Descriptive)

13. Genesis 39:12 (Descriptive)

14. Genesis 39:14 (Descriptive)

15. Exodus 22:16 (Prescriptive)

16. Exodus 22:19  (Prescriptive)

17. Leviticus 15:18 (Prescriptive)

18. Leviticus 15:24 (Prescriptive)

19. Leviticus 15:33 (Prescriptive)

20. Leviticus 18:22  (Prescriptive)

21. Leviticus 19:20  (Prescriptive)

22. Leviticus 20:11  (Prescriptive)

23. Leviticus 20:12 (Prescriptive)

24. Leviticus 20:13 (Prescriptive)

25. Leviticus 20:18 (Prescriptive)

26. Leviticus 20:20 (Prescriptive)

27. Numbers 5:13 (Prescriptive)

28. Numbers 5:19  (Prescriptive)

29. Deuteronomy 22:22 (Prescriptive)

30. Deuteronomy 22:23 (Prescriptive)

31. Deuteronomy 22:25 (Prescriptive)

32. Deuteronomy 22:28 (Prescriptive)

33. Deuteronomy 22:29 (Prescriptive)

34. Deuteronomy 27:20 (Prescriptive)

35. Deuteronomy 27:21 (Prescriptive)

36. Deuteronomy 27:22 (Prescriptive)

37. Deuteronomy 27:23 (Prescriptive)

38. Deuteronomy 28:30 (Descriptive)

39. 1 Samuel 2:22 (Descriptive)

40. 2 Samuel 11:4 (Descriptive)

41. 2 Samuel 11:11 (Descriptive)

42. 2 Samuel 12:11 (Descriptive)

43. 2 Samuel 12:24 (Descriptive)

44. 2 Samuel 13:11 (Descriptive)

45. 2 Samuel 13:14 (Descriptive)

46. Ezekiel 23:8 (Descriptive)

Πορνεία is Greek and used throughout the Nw Testament to speak of sexual immorality. Sexual acts or desires that are outside and contrary to God’s call for Christians. 

1. Matthew 5:32 (Prescriptive)

2. Matthew 15:19 (Descriptive)

3. Matthew 19:19 (Prescriptive)

4. Mark 7:21 (Descriptive)

5. John 8:41 (Descriptive)

6. Acts 15:20 (Prescriptive)

7. Acts 15:29 (Prescriptive)

8. Acts 21:25 (Prescriptive)

9. Romans 1:29 (Descriptive)

10. 1 Corinthians 5:1 (Descriptive)

11. 1 Corinthians 6:13 (Prescriptive)

12. 1 Corinthians 7:2 (Prescriptive)

13. 2 Corinthians 12:21 (Descriptive)

14. Galatians 5:19 (Descriptive)

15. Ephesians 5:3 (Prescriptive)

16. Colossians 3:5 (Prescriptive)

17. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 (Prescriptive)

18. Revelation 2:21(Descriptive)

19. Revelation 9:21 (Descriptive)

20. Revelation 14:8 (Descriptive)

21. Revelation 17:2 (Descriptive)

22. Revelation 17:4 (Descriptive)

23. Revelation 18:3 (Descriptive)

24. Revelation 19:2 (Descriptive)

What follows below are a few hallmark passages that came to mind or I came across during this study. They are not necessarily the result of word study perse, but rather standout passages on topics. 

1. Matthew 5:27-32 (Sermon on the Mount) (Prescriptive)

2. Matthew 19:1-12 (Jesus teaching on divorce) (Prescriptive)

3. John 1:13 (a reference to human procreation) (Descriptive)

4. John 4:15-18 (Jesus and the woman at the well) (Descriptive)

5. Romans 7:2-4 (illustration of marriage) (Descriptive)

6. 1 Corinthians 5 (A case of incest) (Prescriptive)

7. 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (General sexual immorality) (Prescriptive)

8. 1 Corinthians 7:1-16 (Regarding Marriage) (Prescriptive)

9. 1 Corinthians 7:25-40 (Regarding singleness) (Prescriptive)

10. Ephesians 5:21-33 (Marital faithfulness) (Prescriptive)

11. Colossians 3:18-19 (Regarding marriage) (Prescriptive)

12. 1 Timothy 5:9-16 (Regarding widows) (Prescriptive)

13. Titus 2:1-8 (Age specific goals) (Prescriptive)

14. 1 Peter 3:1-7 (Marriage exhortations) (Prescriptive)

Words, phrases, and concepts I did not have time to consider:

1. Instances of Wife/Husband

2. Calls to purity/holiness and their potential adjoining references to human sexuality

3. NT usage of OT passages that cite references to human sexuality

4. The entire book of Song of Songs/Solomon as an expression of human sexual intimacy and marital delight.

I hope this sexual textual is of some benefit to you as you consider the prescriptions of God’s Word for the life of those who seek him with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind!