Abomination (Judaism)

In Judaism, an abomination, horror, or scandal is, in general, an offense against the religious senses of a people, and, in particular, an offense against the religious sense of the Jewish people.[1] An abomination offends God (i.e., it is a sin) because it is offensive on religious grounds.[2] The translation of the Hebrew word for abomination is actually the translation of three different levels or kinds of abominations in terms of severity: toebah, sheḳeẓ, and piggul.[3] While abomination refers mostly to violations of the Mosaic law, specifically violations of the mitzvot on the worship of God in Judaism, it also includes some violations of the moral law (lying, perversion, etc.).[4]

Judaism

Origins

Some Jewish scholars believe the three levels of abomination were not developments in Jewish theology, but originated all in the Ketuvim, from which the Torah and the Nevi'im borrowed, while other Jewish scholars believe the three levels of abomination were developed over time after the Babylonian captivity.[5]

Toebah

Toebah or to'eva (abominable or taboo) is the highest level or worst kind of abomination.[6] It includes the sins of idolatry, placing or worshiping false gods in the temple, eating unclean animals, magic, divination, perversion (incest, pederasty, homosexuality and bestiality),[7] cheating, lying, killing the innocent, false witness, illegal offerings (imperfect animals, etc.), hypocritical offerings (seeking atonement without repentance), and offending the religious sense of another people (for example, the Israelites sacrificing cattle, eating bread, and shepherding sheep were abhorrent to the ancient Egyptians).[8][9] Some of the listed sins warranted the death penalty, under specific conditions, in Judaism[10] until the death penalty was effectively abolished in Judaism by the Sanhedrin in 30 CE.[11]

Shekez

Shekez or sheketz (detestable or loathsome) is the middle level or kind of abomination.[12] It includes the sins of idolatry and eating unclean animals. Oftentimes in the Bible shekez is used interchangeably with toebah.[13]

Piggul

Piggul (unclean or putrid) is the lowest level or least kind of abomination.[14] In the Bible it refers to the sin of illegal offerings.[15] In rabbinic literature it refers to the sin of hypocritical offerings.[16]

Jewish views

In contemporary Judaism, there are mixed views on all of the aforesaid. Some Jews do not want to return to making offerings,[17] some approve of things that others deem perversions (such as homosexuality),[18] some see no contradiction between being a Jew and disbelieving in God,[19] some believe lying is not intrinsically wrong,[20] and some do not follow the dietary laws.[21]

Christianity

In the New Testament, perversion is condemned in general in Jude 1:7,[22] while some believe homosexuality is condemned in particular in Romans 1:26-27.[23] In the former verse, Sodom symbolizes the pervert and his damnation after the fashion of the fallen angels.[24] In the latter verses, homosexuality is linked with idolatry: it is because the people practiced idolatry that they then practiced homosexuality.[25] Homosexuality is regarded as unnatural by some Christians,[26] some of whom advocate for the death penalty for homosexuals.[27] Other Christians opposed to homosexuality also oppose the death penalty.[28]

Islam

In the Quran, abominations include idolatry, divination, gambling, and intoxicants;[29] eating blood, dead meat, pig, or an offering made to a false god;[30] homosexuality;[31][32] and blasphemy.[33] Since the Quran did not specify the punishment of homosexual sodomy, Islamic jurists increasingly turned to hadiths in an attempt to find guidance on appropriate punishment.[34][35] Some came to the conclusion that the Muhammad had prescribed the death penalty for both the active and also the passive partners.[36][37] While uncompromisingly condemned by religious purists, some modern Muslim thinkers call for re-examination of Islam's attitude towards homosexuality along more tolerant lines.[38]

References
  1. Jewish Encyclopedia: Abomination
  2. Jewish Encyclopedia: Abomination
  3. Jewish Encyclopedia: Abomination
  4. Jewish Encyclopedia: Abomination
  5. Jewish Virtual Library: Abomination
  6. Jewish Encyclopedia: Abomination
  7. Jewish Encyclopedia: Noachian Laws
  8. Scileo: "Abomination to the Egyptians" in Genesis 43:32, 46:34 and Exodus 8:22 by Aron Pinker
  9. Jewish Encyclopedia: Abomination
  10. BBC: Judaism And Capital Punishment
  11. Jerusalem Talmud: Sanhedrin 41 a
  12. Jewish Encyclopedia: Abomination
  13. Jewish Encyclopedia: Abomination
  14. Jewish Encyclopedia: Abomination
  15. Jewish Encyclopedia: Abomination
  16. Etzion: Law of Piggul
  17. My Jewish Learning: Understanding Biblical Sacrifice (Korbanot)
  18. My Jewish Learning: Jewish Views on Homosexuality
  19. Winston, Kimberly (September 26, 2011). "Judaism without God? Yes, say American atheists". USA Today. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  20. Orthodox Union: When is it permitted to tell a lie?
  21. "A Portrait of Jewish Americans: Chapter 4: Religious Beliefs and Practices". Pew Forum. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  22. USSB: Jude 7
  23. USSCB: Romans 1:26-27
  24. USSB: Jude 7
  25. USSCB: Romans 1:25
  26. Pew Forum: Religious Views about Homosexuality in America
  27. Metro Weekly: Christian preacher says gays should be executed because the Bible commands it
  28. News.Va: Pope Francis: ‘death penalty inadmissable’
  29. Quran: Surah 5:90
  30. Quran: Surah 6:145
  31. Quran: Surah 11:78
  32. Everett K. Rowson (2006). "Homosexuality". In Jane Dammen McAuliffe (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān. 2. Brill. pp. 444–445.
  33. Quran: Surah 45:11
  34. Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P., eds. (1983). "Liwāṭ". Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.). Brill. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_4677.
  35. Mohd Izwan bin Md Yusof; Muhd. Najib bin Abdul Kadir; Mazlan bin Ibrahim; Khader bin Ahmad; Murshidi bin Mohd Noor; Saiful Azhar bin Saadon. "Hadith Sahih on Behaviour of LGBT" (PDF). islam.gov.my. Government of Malaysia. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  36. Sunan Abu Dawood, 38:4447, Al-Tirmidhi, 15:1456, Ibn Maajah, 20:2561
  37. Wafer, Jim (1997). "Muhammad and Male Homosexuality". In Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe (ed.). Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History and Literature. New York University Press. p. 89. ISBN 9780814774687. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
  38. Economist: Straight but Narrow
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