Sexually Transmitted Infections-NGA:(Genesis 12:17)

Circumcision-NML: (Genesis 17:11)

Sexually Transmitted Infections-NGA:(Genesis 12:17)

NGA, נָגַע, pronounced na-GAH,can mean to touch or lay a hand on, as in genital sexual intercourse, to reach violently, to strike, punish, defeat, destroy, or to plague (Strong, H5060). In the context of Genesis 12:17, Pharaoh took Sarah, Abraham’s wife, into the royal harem as a consort for heir-making. Immediately Pharaoh’s harem experienced a plague, disease, or possibly sexually transmitted infection. The Hebrew text is emphatic. Genesis 12:17 uses the word NGA twice. The first use of NGA sets the tone with the action verb ‘to plague.’ The second use is the plural noun with the adjective ‘great.’ The text says, “The Lord plagued Pharaoh with great plagues….” The use of plural nouns can mean comprehensive or complete infection in this context.

When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.

And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace.He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. (Genesis 12:14-17)

Circumcision-NML: (Genesis 17:11)

Circumcision, NML, נָמַל in Hebrew (pronounced nah-MAL), appears 36 times in 32 verses within the Hebrew Old Testament (Strong, H5243). NML means to circumcise, hang down, wither, languish, destroy, or cut in pieces. NML is the outward symbol of relationship intimacy between God and humankind. 

The Greek New Testament uses the word peritome, περιτομή (pronounced peri-tow-MAY) twenty times, literally meaning ‘to cut around.’  In the New Testament peritome, can mean the rite of circumcision, a designation for Jewish Christians, those devoted to God, and the spiritual maturity of regulating emotion (Strong, G4059).

Unhealthy Genital Sexual Intercourse-SCB: (Genesis 19:32)

One of the common Biblical Hebrew words for sexual intercourse is SCB, שָׁכַב, pronounced shaw-KAV (Strong, H7901). SCB appears 213 times in 194 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. The range of meaning includes: to lie down, genital sexual intercourse, to rape,  to die, to sleep, or to stay. Genesis uses SCB twenty times, fifteen of which refer to unhealthy sexuality. All uses of SCB in the book of Genesis connect to the unhealthy sexuality of incest, non-consensual intercourse, bartering for sexual favors, rape, and coercive seduction for sexual intercourse. 

“Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.” (Genesis 19:32)

That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. (Genesis 19:33)

The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” (Genesis 19:34)

So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. (Genesis 19:35)

Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” (Genesis 26:10)

But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?” “Very well,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” (Genesis 30:15)

So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night. (Genesis 30:16 )

When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her. (Genesis 34:2)

Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done. (Genesis 34:7)

While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it. Jacob had twelve sons. (Genesis 35:22)

…and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” (Genesis 39:7)

And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. (Genesis 39:10)

She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. (Genesis 39:12)

She called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed.” (Genesis 39:14)

Exodus uses SCB three times in chapter 22. Two reference unhealthy sexual intercourse related to seducing a virgin, sex with an animal, and once in a compassion statement for the poor. The term drops out of usage by the time of the prophets and the word ZNH, meaning ‘sacred sex trade,’ appears.

Leviticus cites SCB fourteen times in a sexual hygiene section. Hygiene instruction appears for male discharge without intercourse (Leviticus 15:4), and intercourse hygiene during menstrual cycle (Leviticus 15:18, 20, 24a, 24b, 26, 33, and 20:18). SCB appears three times for the unhealthy sexuality of incest (Leviticus 20:11,12, 20). Two citations refer to male with male intercourse (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13), and intercourse with a betrothed female slave (Leviticus 19:20). All citations connect to sexual hygiene and/or unhealthy sexuality.

SCB appears fifteen times in Deuteronomy. Ten citations connect to sexual health conversation. SCB describes adultery twice (Deuteronomy 22:22), has four references for rape (Deuteronomy 22:23-24, 25, 28:28-29), three incest passages (Deuteronomy 27:20, 22, 23) and one reference to sex with an animal (Deuteronomy 27:21).

The Prophets

The books of 1 and 2 Samuel feature SCB 27 times. SCB in sexual health contexts appears seven times. Eli’s sons used their position of authority to seduce women for sex who serve at religious worship services (1 Samuel 2:22). The term SCB, meaning rape, appears three more times in King David’s seduction of Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:4), and twice for Amnon’s rape of his sister Tamar (2 Samuel 13:11-14). SCB has one reference to the future sexual assault of King David’s concubines by his son Absalom (2 Samuel 12:11). SCB as genital sexual intercourse occurs twice in reference to Uriah’s resistance to having intercourse with Bathsheba for the purpose of covering up King David’s impregnation of Uriah’s wife, and David and Bathsheba’s conception of Solomon (2 Samuel 11:11; 2 Samuel 12:24). 

SCB appears four times in Isaiah. Isaiah and Zechariah use SCB for rape (Isaiah 13:16; Zechariah 14:2). Ezekiel speaks of the sacred sex trade using SCB, and Micah uses the word in a sense of lack of trust within a romantic relationship (Ezekiel 23:8; Micah 7:5).

The Writings

Ruth mentions SCB five times. All references connect to sexual health. Ruth appears in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1). Beginning in Ruth 3:4, the word SCB ranges in meaning from lying down for rest to genital sexual intercourse. The author uses the word skillfully, weaving it through the account of Boaz and Ruth becoming sexually intimate and ultimately married. The euphemism “uncovering the feet” is used to mean genital sexual intercourse in the narrative of Ruth (Ruth 3:7). All 5 citations refer to sexual health.

Abraham and Sexually Transmitted Infection

The Abraham snapshot begins with sexual health images, reconnecting to the big picture of Genesis 1–5. The be ‘fruitful and increase’ imagery of Noah’s family appears, “After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.” (Genesis 11:26) This piece connects the Noah snapshot to Abraham and his family. The snapshot transitions to Abraham, whose wife Sarah suffers from infertility. “The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai…. Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.” (Genesis 11:29–30). The reader may note that the genealogy and the infertility pieces connect to the sexual health theme of Genesis 1–5. God speaks, directs, and blesses Abraham, similar to His actions with Adam and Eve. “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you’” (Genesis 12:1–3). 

The blessing ranges from massive landholding with corresponding national presence,  to the existential affirmation of having a ‘great name.’ The final piece touches on blessing the world through Abraham. The peoples of Israel and Islam reach back to this specific event to validate their racial and religious identity. The Abraham snapshot also fuels entitlement to political territory of Palestine. This chapter marks a key place in the history of civilization. 

An unhealthy sexuality snapshot is presented. The local economy suffers downturn. Anxious, Abraham moves his family south to recession resistant Egypt. Abraham feels the immediate threat of Egyptian sexual politics. He states to his wife, Sarah, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you” (Genesis 12:11–13). 

Abraham understood the sexual politics of Pharaoh. Egyptian royalty operated sovereignly, conceiving themselves as deities. Forcefully taking eligible child-bearing women for the royal harem was not unknown. One common thread in unhealthy sexuality snapshots is the consequences of infidelity, which may be a teaching illustration for children about sexually transmitted infections. The ancient Near Eastern explanation of sexually transmitted infections assigned divine punishment for sexual misconduct. Pharaoh takes Sarah as a sexual partner for his harem. The royal household immediately suffers disease, “But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharoah and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarah” (Genesis 12:17). Ancient Egyptian medical papyri describe numerous disorders, including sexually transmitted infections. The Kahun papyri of 1900 BCE lists impotence, irritated genitals, the labia being ill, prolapsed uterus, and venereal disease. Although ancient physicians did not comprehend the science of sexual transmitted infections, the Akkadians assessed that testicular abscesses originated from “being in bed with a woman” (Tannahil, 1992, p. 65). 

The Biblical writer charges God as the source of the disease because Pharaoh took Sarah, a married woman, as bride. Ascribing natural consequences to God is a frequent literary device I call a causation idiom. Humankind in the ancient Near East interpreted all disasters and disease as originating from deities. Literary devices receive full treatment in the Biblical Theology section. After perhaps suffering a sexually transmitted infection, Pharaoh releases Sarah, and Abraham returns to his homeland richer. Abraham will repeat this method of self-preservation again, resulting in sexual disease with infertility of another royal, King Abimelek, in Genesis 20:2.

Sodom 

Sodom has been a violent symbol of sexual assault for 3500 years. The goal of this work  allows the text to interpret itself without political bias. As the Sodom snapshot unfolds, several questions emerge. Is Sodom a case study in same-sex attraction? Are Sodomites violent homosexuals? What could be the author’s intent for the Sodom snapshot?

The text states, “The people of Sodom were very wicked (RA, רע ) and sinned against the Lord.” (Genesis 13:13) The reader can see that evil, RA, connects to a loss of intimacy with God, “The people…sinned against the Lord.” In context RA carries the weight of coercion. (Genesis 2:17, 6:5) RA has no other meaning at this point in the Hebrew manuscript other than coercion and sexual abuse. RA in Genesis within context of the entirety of the Bible can be found in the Biblical Theological section and Appendix D.

After leaving Egypt, Abraham resettles where he earlier built an altar and called upon the name of the Lord. Spirituality forms the primary piece of intimacy between God and humanity. Abraham makes sacrifices at the altar and calls upon the name or character of God (Genesis 13:4). 

“The Lord said to Abram after Lot had departed from him, ‘Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land you see I will give you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land for I am giving it to you’ …There he built an altar to the Lord.” (Genesis 13:14–18) 

This section forms an inclusio beginning and ending with Abraham spiritually connecting to God with worship. Once again, intimacy with God and sexual health form the central theme of relationship with humankind. 

Covenant: BRT

Sexual health in Genesis connects to a greater picture of intimacy with God. Before sexual intercourse takes place in 4:1, Genesis paints the picture of spiritual connection with God in beauty, pleasure, compassionate presence, regulation of anxiety, and relational integrity. Chapter 15 details intimacy between God and Abraham called the covenant, BRT. Abraham states, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless” (Genesis 15:2). Abraham’s plea to God forms around the aging patriarch’s concern for sexual health. God responds by walking outside with Abraham to reflect on the night sky saying, “Look up at the sky and count the stars-if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5–6). The spiritual intimacy word covenant, BRT, reappears with detail. 

So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates” (Genesis 15:9–18).

God directs Abraham to sacrifice five animals, cutting the carcasses in two except for the fowl and arranging the pieces in two opposing rows. The intimacy theme of God walking with and talking to humankind repeats. Abraham falls into a deep sleep, as in the creation story of Adam’s rib excision, and God ceremoniously walks between the animal sacrifices with Abraham stating, “To your descendants I give this land”. The word for covenant, BRT, means ‘to cut,’ reflecting the dissection of the animals (Genesis 15:9–21). Complete detail on BRT can be found in the Biblical Theology section. God cuts a covenant with Abraham using a sacrificial rite mirroring relational intimacy between God and the first family in Genesis 3:21. The covenant, BRT, affirms that the parties now commit themselves to one another, and if either dishonors the agreement ‘may it be done to the offender, as was done to the animal sacrifices.’ This act seems to reflect the seriousness and resilience of intimacy.

Genesis 16:1 begins with a sexual health statement, “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar.” Sarah then mandates to her husband, “‘The Lord has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.’ Abram agreed to what Sarai said” (Genesis 16:2).Ancient Near Eastern sexual health codes permitted plural wives. The Babylonian term for a secondary wife was ashshetu or esirtu, meaning ‘rival.’ Jewish rabbis called the ‘rival’ wife, sarot or ‘jealous associate.’ Babylonian sexual health codes provided that if a woman was unable to have children she had the responsibility to find her husband a surrogate wife (Tannehill, 1980). Abraham’s agreement to the Babylonian custom began a 3500-year history of jealous rivalry and violent conflict between the Jewish and Arabic peoples. 

All uses of the Hebrew word for genital sexual intercourse in these passages appear as, BO, בוא (BLB, Genesis 16:1–4, Strong, H935). BO for sexual intercoursein Genesis only connects to unhealthy sexuality. The word for sexual intercourse as intimacy, YDA, which appeared in Genesis 1–5, does not occur. The coercive sexual intercourse that follows for Abraham and Hagar reflects the ancient Near Eastern culture of slavery. Foreign slaves had no right to consent to sex. The Code of Ḫammurabi assumed a male slave owner had sexual rights over female slaves (Code of Hammurabi, 2021).

Sarah’s forced surrogacy of her slave Hagar does not go well. When Hagar reports she has conceived Abraham’s child, a painful rivalry builds between the first wife and the ‘jealous associate.’ Sarah complains, Abraham backs his first wife, and Hagar flees the compound (Genesis 16:6).

God seeks Hagar. The Creator moves into relationship with broken humans once again. God connects Hagar to the sexual health big picture with the phrase, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count” (Genesis 16:10). Hagar’s son with Abraham is Ishmael, the father of the Arabic peoples, and he too is promised progeny too numerous to count. Hagar responds with the words, “‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’ That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi, it is still there between Kadesh and Bered” (Genesis 16:13–14). The place name, Beer Lahai Roi, means, “Well of the Living One seeing me” (BLB, Genesis 16:13–14). Intimacy between God and Hagar reconciles her surrogacy disaster. She becomes the mother of the Arabic peoples despite her coerced sexual trauma.

The Abraham snapshot appears at the center of the book of Genesis. Ancient authors often placed the climax of their story in the middle of their writings. The Abraham account appears centrally in Genesis, The Ten Commandments in Exodus Chapter 20 (of 40), The Song of Solomon’s climax in Chapters 4 and 5 (of eight), the promise of the new covenant in Jeremiah 30 (of 52), the redemption of Israel in Isaiah Chapter 35 (66), among numerous examples. 

The climactic theme of Genesis is not sexuality but rather intimacy between God and humankind, the covenant, BRT. The word for intimacy, BRT, appears 26 times in the Book of Genesis. Half of the instances of covenant, BRT, occur in Chapter 17 (BLB, Genesis 17). The BRT, the climax of the relationship between God and humans, sets in a literary device called repetition. The purpose of repeating words or phrases is to highlight a theme with emphasis. Genesis Chapters 1–2 repeats the creation snapshot, and Chapter 17 repeats the word covenant, BRT, 13 times. The sexual health big picture passed on to children through stories in the oral tradition of story telling. Although word repetition may seem cumbersome to the reader, in oral poetry and storytelling a narrator can use inflection and drama to communicate a truth. The emphasis of Chapter 17 may teach children about the centrality of intimacy with God called the covenant, BRT.

The first statement of this climax chapter of Genesis 17 is a sexual health reflection, “Abram was ninety nine years old.” God promises to give the geriatric patriarch and his 80-year-old infertile wife a baby whom they will conceive themselves.

Circumcision 

God appears to Abraham with the intimacy language of ‘walking’ with Adam and Eve, Enoch, and Noah, “I am God almighty, walk before me faithfully and be blameless” (Genesis 3:8; 5:22; 6:9). The covenant language repeats the sexual health preamble, be ‘fruitful and increase,’ connecting to the Genesis sexual health big picture. Next, God states that Abraham will receive the whole land of Canaan, which is the geographic area named for the cursed son of Ham in Chapter 9. The curse resulted from the incestuous encounter of Ham and his mother while Noah lay passed out nearby. Could it be that God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants forms part of reconciling the unhealthy sexuality from the Noah snapshot? Does a subtle theme emerge teaching children about sexual health? Enter genital circumcision as sign of covenant.

Covenant or intimate connection with God touches human sexuality literally. “This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you for generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you” (Genesis 17:10–11). Every newborn male, whether free or slave, on Day 8 was expected to be circumcised. Intimacy between God and humankind connects to sexuality once again.

Abraham fell on his face and laughed. Abraham was 99 and his wife Sarah was 90 (Genesis 17:1,17). The Hebrew word for laugh forms the root word for the name Isaac, the promised son about whom God spoke (BLB, Genesis 17:17, Strong, H6711). Abraham named his soon to be born son Isaac, ‘He laughed.’

An inclusio links the Sodom snapshot introduced in Chapter 13. The Sodom inclusio spans five chapters. The sexual health big picture of Genesis 1–5 and the pathogenesis, or decline of sexual health in Genesis 6–11 cover five chapters each, which appears to be an intentional organization by the author around sexual health themes.

Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them” (Genesis 19:4).

Sodom’s citizens, who have a history of erotic violence, surround the house of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. The threatening crowd demands ‘to know,’ YDA, ידע, to have genital sexual intercourse, with God’s messengers inside Lot’s home. Interesting to note the Hebrew manuscript differs from the English translation. The end of verse 4 in the Hebrew text stated, “All the people from that area.” (Genesis 19:4) The word for people or tribe, AM, עמ, pronounced awm, appears 1,836 times in the Old Testament for ‘people’ both male and female. The word AM translates as men only twice in the Old Testament (Strong, H5971). Why did the translators leave this descriptive word out? Could it be sexual politics prompted translators to make the case that heterosexuals and women were not involved in the riot? One of the errors translators have historically made with these texts is the insertion of personal or institutional biases into the narrative. Instead of translation, scholars may have projected personal theology or politics into the story. The goal of this work is to resist insertion of such bias and permit the story to interpret itself with other texts as support. Is this an account of same-sex attraction of men? The text indicates that this mob likely includes heterosexuals and women. The fact that Lot would offer his daughters to the mob seems to indicate the presence of heterosexuals or at minimum bisexuals. The Hebrew text states that all the people, AM from that region, including women, assembled at Lot’s house. The context of Genesis favors the idea of coercive violent sexuality as the ‘evil’ of the men and women of Sodom. 

The symbolism of Sodom is one of violent sexual assault. This fits well with the pathogenesis to sexual nihilism and incestuous assault of the Noah snapshot in Genesis 6-9.  Again, this theme has potential to protect children from sexual abuse. So, based on the text, is Sodom a case study in same sex attraction or homosexuality? The evidence points to the perpetrators of Sodom as heterosexuals from all regions of the geographic vicinity. The intent of the author appears to be abuse prevention for children within the sexual politics of the ancient Near East rather than a promotion of sexual politics. It is concerning for any student of the Bible that a translator edited a text which facilitated legislation and hate crimes against any group, in this instance the same sex community. Both Christ and Paul the Apostle are clear that orthodox believers in Scripture neither judge nor condemn the sexuality of any community. Full treatment of the nonjudgment and noncondemnation Scriptures can be found in the Biblical theology section of Part 3.

There are dynamic pieces in this unhealthy sexuality snapshot. The intimidating crowd escalates into a violent, riotous rabble, who escalate from threats to attempted forced entry. Then Lot, under the stress of a homicidal throng, offers his two virgin daughters as a sacrificial offering. Lot, his intentions clear, states, “Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you and you can do what you like with them” (Genesis 19:8). Lot’s loss of compassion for his daughters may be an anxiety reaction to the threat of death. The role of anxiety reaction with the disabling of the prefrontal cortex may give clarity for Lot’s betrayal. Anxiety reaction explains fully in the Neuroscience Section of Part 3. The word for slept with is the word YDA which is the Hebrew word used in the sexual health big picture for the intimacy of genital sexual intercourse. YDA includes a sense of ‘knowing’ fully through genital sexual intercourse. Perhaps this use of YDA can be best understood through the literary device of paradox. The violence of the masses and betrayal of trust by Lot toward his daughters paints a dramatic contrast with the intimacy of the sexual health big picture. The paradox continues when Lot uses the Hebrew word TOBE, טוב, as he addresses the crowd, “Do what you like (TOBE) with them.” (Genesis 19:8) This is the same term appearing in the sexual health big picture for the seven blessings of God highlighting the goodness of human sexuality in Genesis 1. Could this use be paradox? The Sodom snapshot takes a more tragic turn. In Genesis 19:14, Lot “went out and spoke to his sons in law who were pledged to marry his daughters.” (Genesis 19:14) The daughters he offered to the violent mob as sexual collateral were engaged to be married. The painful backstory points to the covenant of marriage that would bring Lot grandchildren. Lot undermined his own family and legacy under the threat of death. This incident transitions to the next piece of the narrative, offspring.

The Lot unhealthy sexuality snapshot does not end with the coercive violence of Sodom. Lot survives the murderous multitude. He flees with his daughters taking refuge in a cave. 

“One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. Let’s get our father to drink wine then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.” (Genesis 19:31–32)

 The daughters dope their father then sexually assault him on two successive nights. Lot’s blood alcohol content is so extreme “he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father” (Genesis 19:35–36).

The word for sleep with orhave sexual intercourse with, in this snapshot is SCB, שכב, ‘lie down with.’ All sexual-intercourse–related uses of SCB in the Book of Genesis connect to coercive incest, adultery, payment for sex, or rape. SCB appearsin the Biblical Theology Section in context of all Old Testaments uses. Once again, the pathogenesis or decline of sexual health falls on coercive sex and incest, using language sensitive for children.

Abraham revisits the Egypt snapshot of passing Sarah off as his sister to avoid death. Chapter 20 paints an unhealthy sexuality snapshot with Abraham, Sarah, and Abimelek, the regional royal of Gerar. The sexual politics of both Egypt and Gerar permitted sovereign kings to gather harems to ensure succession of leadership from one dedicated bloodline. The Egyptians practiced incestuous royal marriages, and perhaps the mutations and mortality of common DNA motivated them to ‘take’ suitable child-bearing women as they wished.

Abraham pimps out his wife Sarah for the second time to save his life, as he did with Pharaoh in Genesis 12. Abraham again claims his wife is merely his relative and therefore an available sexual partner for the king’s harem. Abimelek and God have a conversation. God comes to Abimelek in a dream and says, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman” (Genesis 20:3). Egyptian marriage taboos did not permit adulterous affairs, and apparently neither did the sexual mores of Gerar. Abimelek responds, 

“Lord will you destroy an innocent nation? Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.” God responds, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her.” (Genesis 20:4–6)

This smaller snapshot of the coercion of unhealthy sexuality ends with Abraham praying for Abimelek and his royal harem to recover from infertility. Again, the consequence of unhealthy sexuality does not appear as an ambiguous moral transgression, but as a disease state. Perhaps this snap shot reflects a sexually transmitted infection?  Might this have value in the teaching of pubescent children about sexual health?

The drama around the 100-year-old patriarch and his 90-year-old wife’s infertility climaxes with Chapter 20 when Sarah gives birth to Isaac, ‘He Laughs,’ as God promised. The sexual health big picture connects. Geriatric conception and birth is not unheard of. In October 2019, Xinju Tian made global news when the 67 year old gave birth without IVF to a healthy female baby by cesarean section. She named the infant, Tianci, gift from heaven (Oldest.org, 2019).

When Isaac weans, Abraham throws a party. Sarah feels the threat of a competing heir and repeats her resentment of Hagar’s surrogacy. “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac. The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son” (Genesis 21:10). Sarah had grounds for concern. The Code of Hammurabi protected slave children with inheritance statues (Code of Hammurabi, 2021). Abraham buckles to his wife’s complaint and permanently excommunicates Hagar and Ishmael.

The text states Abraham felt ,distressed,’ RA, רע (Strong, H7489), which term is also used for Adam and Eve’s loss of intimacy with God in Genesis 2:17, the sexual abuse by tyrants in Genesis 6:5, and the threat of violent sexual trauma of Sodom in Genesis 13:13. RA seems to connect the pain over Abraham’s part in the surrogacy disaster with Hagar. The consequence of Sarah’s coercion with Hagar results in Abraham’s loss of his son Ishmael, which may be the distress, RA Abraham felt.

Chapter 21 ends with two intimacy narratives. Hagar and Ishmael, exiled to the wilderness, find themselves betrayed, destitute, and dying. Hagar grieves the imminent death of her only child intensified by the rejection of his father. God speaks and opens Hagar’s eyes to an overlooked water source nearby. “God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer” (Genesis 21:20). Not only did Ishmael and his descendants become fruitful and increase as God promised, the Arabic people who call Ishmael father became excellent financiers in the global petroleum market. It seems wilderness exile in Arabia with trillion dollar oil reserves did not make a bad option after all.

The final intimacy piece reconciles Abraham and Abimelek, the royal whom Abraham deceived in the unhealthy sexuality snapshot of Genesis 20. Abraham and Abimelek disagree over water rights. Such matters often result in warfare. “So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek and the two men made a treaty” (Genesis 21:22-34). Intimacy and sexual health connect to reconciliation, one of the seven forms of intimacy within the sexual health big picture of Genesis 1–5. The final words in Chapter 21 are, “Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, where he called on the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time” (Genesis 21:33–34). This is the first time the Bible uses this specific name for God, Eternal. Perhaps the birth of Isaac to a postmenopausal wife wired a sense of permanence and faith in the patriarch? Once again intimacy reconciles relationship.