A Transgender Marriage in the Genealogy of David and Jesus!

What if I told you there was a Trans Male in Matthew’s Genealogy of Jesus?

The key verse is Matthew 1:5.  

First the name rendered in the KJV as Rachab to identify the spouse with whom Salmon begat Boaz, the Strong’s Concordance number for this name is G4477.  Modern commentators almost always default to assuming this is Rahab of the Book of Joshua.  

Problem is Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 unambiguously refer to that Rahab and how it’s transliterated into Greek is completely different, it’s simply Raab (but the KJV adds the H back in the middle even though it usually doesn’t “correct” the Greek spellings like that) it’s Strong’s Number is G4460.

Also Jewish Traditions consistently tell a different story about who Rahab later married, Megilah 14b13 says she married Joshua (Wikipedia as I write this claims the Talmud agrees Rahab married Salmon and cites this but their own link https://www.sefaria.org/Megillah.14b?lang=bi makes no reference to Salmon or Boaz).  Now as a Low Church Protestant I would agree that if The New Testament and Jewish Traditions disagree we should believe The New Testament.  But an apparent disagreement exists only because of a disputable transliteration.  Genealogies like these are supposed to be based on prior records even if only oral ones, if Rahab married Salmon and it was still well known enough in the first century for Matthew to mention it, there would exist some Jewish memory of that, but there isn’t one. 

The website BlueLetterBible.Org confirms that Raab is how Rahab’s name is rendered in the Greek Manuscripts of The Hebrew Bible we commonly call the Septuagint.  However it does not consider Rachab to be present in the Septuagint at all.  But there is one name in the Septuagint whose similarity to Rachab is striking, certainly far more similar than any form of Rahab.

To break it down, the Greek spelling of Rachab in Matthew 1:5 is Rho-Alpha-Chi-Alpha-Beta.  In the Septuagint version of 1 Chronicles 2:55 the name we read in the KJV as Rechab is spelled Rho-Eta-Chi-Alpha-Beta.  The only difference is the second letter which is a vowel, Hebrew of course has no Vowels and the way the Masoretic Text indicates Vowel pronunciations was developed well after the time of The New Testament.  This isn’t the only time Matthew disagrees with the Septuagint on what the first Vowel of a name should be, the way we commonly render the name of Solomon is based on how The New Testament Greek Texts render it, but the Septuagint actually prefers Salomon.  There is also precedent for specifically the interchangeability of Alpha and Eta in Hebrew to Greek Transliteration.  In Revelation how Hallelujah is spelled has an Alpha as the vowel after the Yot in Yah, but how Theophoric names that start with Yah are rendered in Greek usually has an Eta instead.  

1 Chronicles 2:55 is in the context of the Genealogy connecting Judah to David, in fact a variant form of Salmon’s name and Bethlehem are in the prior verse, but how they are related to each other it isn’t clear.

There is really only one reason scholars usually don’t consider this Rechab to be a candidate for who Matthew’s Rachab is, and that’s how Rechab is technically a Masculine name and so every occurrence of that name in The Hebrew Bible is usually assumed to be to a Male individual. technically however Rachab is just as grammatically Masculine in form. 

The name of Salmon, the generation between Nahshon and Boaz, is rendered three different ways in the Masoretic Text of The Hebrew Bible.  In Ruth 4:20 when he is begotten his name is Salmah (though the KJV renders it Salmon) a name that ends with a Heh making it whether the Strong’s admits it or not Grammatically Feminine. But then verse 21 when he begats Boas his name is rendered Salmon which is grammatically Masculine.  In The Hebrew Ruth 4:21 is the only appearance of the name Salmon, (Psalm 68:14’s Salmon begins with a different letter and should be Zalmon).  1 Chronicles 2:11 uses the name Salma which feels almost like it’s supposed to be a compromise between the two forms in Ruth.

Matthew and Luke both when listing this generation in their Genealogies for Jesus use Salmon, confirming that for Christians the most proper name for this person is the one used in Ruth 4:21.

So being given a Girl’s name at Birth but going by a Male name later with that male name ultimately being confirmed to be their True Name. What does that sound like to you?  It sounds to me like someone who was Assigned Female at Birth but was truly an Ish rather than an Ishshah.

So I’m confident that Salmon was Trans Masculine and that Rechab was the provider of the Seed that convinced Salmon’s children. That Rechab was Trans Feminine I’m less certain of, Matthew referring to them in a way he elsewhere only refers to mothers is compelling.  But he doesn’t use a word for Wife or Mother or Pregnancy, as far as the words used go Rachab is defined only as in some way a partner in the begetting of Boaz.

The stereotypical assumption is that a Trans Male would not be interest in getting pregnant and baring a child, but there are bound to be some who are into the idea that they can be Mpreg for real. 

Facts don't care about your Feelings, but God Does because God Is Love

I think my contribution to the argument that Homosexuality isn't a Sin is my most important Internet accomplishment.  While I certainly think many others could make my arguments more eloquently then I do, only I take the correct perspective on each relevant passage.  And that I approach them and Scripture in general from a hyper literalist perspective means lots of people will be more open to my arguments then the arguments of more theologically liberal theologians.

I'm not quite so happy with my past attempts to allude to Trans issues on this blog.  My original main post on the subject was written this month five years ago, weird coincidence since I didn't know about June being Pride Month back in 2015.
https://solascripturachristianliberty.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-refusal-to-accept-claims-of.html

Back when I wrote that I didn't yet know that not all Trans people experience Dyphoria or Dysmorphia about their bodies.  And that's not the only thing I wasn't nearly as informed on as I am now.  That was before the Game Over Charles crisis, before I started following a lot of the Trans and Non-Binary people in the Anime Community on YouTube and Twitter, and before I ever watched a ContraPoints video.  And I'm sure I still have more to learn.  But that issue is most directly relevant to why I feel that post is problematic now.

I made an argument predicated on comparing being Trans to people born with disabilities and other issues and that I believe everyone will have the body they're meant to have in The Resurrection.  I know that Trans people don't want to be viewed as a mistake, it's just that in the context of those who feel deeply uncomfortable in their own bodies, that is a problem I don't view as God's intent and still one I feel will be eliminated at The Resurrection.  But those who are okay with or even like having physical features Society says doesn't match their Gender Identity, their situation will probably be different, I don't want to speculate too much.

Of course another thing that has changed since I made that post is I now believe in Universal Salvation.  I no longer believe it is only Trans people who become Christians that will find happiness in Jesus, Jesus Loves and will inevitably bring All of them to Salvation.

The beginning of dealing with any gender issues Biblically should always be the end of Galatians 3, "neither Male or Female" in The Church.  A passage that has been relevant to many posts I've made already.

There are no New Testament verses that are even remotely about Crossdressing.  Some Sermons from independent Baptist Pastors may trick you into thinking otherwise, but there are in fact none.  Deuteronomy 22:5 is the only passage in the entire Bible that is even at face value relevant to that issue.  Here is an article on a Jewish website dealing with the complex history of Jewish interpretations of this verse.
https://www.beki.org/dvartorah/crossdressing/

The observation that it should have lead with is how in context the passage is about doing it for the purpose of deception.  It is not at all relevant to Crossdressing as self expression.

But let's return to the real question that makes the Trans issue difficult for Christians, how can they exist?

I think most Christians casually take the view on the origins of Souls that they are individually created by God either before or during the body's formation as a result of the sperm fertilizing the egg.  However I have already expressed on this blog (but it was another issue I didn't know about 5 years ago) that I take the Traducian view, that our souls reproduce the same way our bodies do.

So since there are sometimes bodies born with "biological sex" ambiguities, there can also be Psyches with Psychological ambiguities and Spirits with Spiritual ambiguities.  And maybe them being ambiguous is more common then the Flesh.

InspiringPhilosophy has a video on the scientific evidence that conciseness isn't solely the product of the Brain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOFGKhvWQ4M

But even if it were, studies have also shown that many Transgender people's Brains are wired like what is more typical of their preferred Gender not their assigned Gender.

But such Scientific Justification should be irrelevant because Christians aren't Materialists, not in the Aristotelian sense anyway.  We don't hate and disregard the Flesh the way Gnostics or Marcionites do, or view it merely as a lesser copy of some higher form the way Platonists do, but it is still only part of what we are.  But when it comes to Gender mainstream Western Christians act like Materialists.  And of course "Christian" Sexual morality actually has it's roots in Plato not The Bible.

When Genesis 1 says God made Adam Male and Female, I think it's referring to all the aspects of Human Gender being there already in the first Human, or maybe it could be just referring to him having both Chromosomes.  It was never meant to rule out the possibility that many of Adam's descents will relate to Gender in ways that defy or flat out don't fit into a simple Binary.

Gendered Hebrew names and Transgender people in The Bible

I've done one post defending Trans gender people Biblically already.

In Hebrew, certain grammatical rules make some names pretty indisputably either Masculine or Feminine names.  The most well understood by me being that names ending with a Heh or Tav tend to be Feminine.

Now this can complicate looking at names in English since both those letters have other letters that seemingly sometimes become the same letter in English, like Tav and Teth both becoming a T and/or Th.  There are two names for example that become Noah in English.  The Patriarch of the family that survived The Flood was a Noah ending in a Het, so Masculine.  But the daughter of Zelophead was a Noah ending in a Heh and thus Feminine.  Selah and Terah of the ancestors of Abraham ended with Het so those are Masculine names.

Sometimes however a name that seems unambiguously of one Gender, is seemingly used by individuals of the other Gender.

The first Shelomith in The Bible is in Leviticus 24 and is clearly a woman.  Later however a few Shelomiths seem, in the KJV translation at least, to be males.  Like the one in Ezra 8:10 or 1 Chronicles 26.  2 Chronicles 11:20 lists a Shelomith among the children of Rehoboam, I believe that was a daughter because of my Song of Solomon theory, but others are inclined to assume only sons are named in verses like that.

I'm suggesting that maybe sometimes apparently confusing uses of certain names are evidence of Transgender people in The Bible.  In many cases it can be unclear whether The Bible is recording the name given at Birth/Circumcision, or a name taken later.  So it may not always be easy to guess which kind of Trans they could have been.

Also plenty of verses translate "Ben" in a way that suggests it can be gender neutral, especially when used in plural (Children), even though the default is to translate it Son.   And also be aware that sometimes translations include more pronouns then the Hebrew and Greek text imply., so often Gendered pronouns appear only because of preconceived notions about the Gender of the person being refereed to.

However "begating" offspring I do believe refers strictly to the technically male role in reproduction, and so anyone who "begat" offspring must have been assigned Male at birth.  Just as "bearing" children refers to the female role.

So you're about to read the result of me going through the 1 Chronicles genealogy looking for examples of Trans Women via people with feminine names who Begat offspring.

Elishah ends with a Heh, Elishah was of the children of Javan son of Japheth (Japheth ends in a Teth so it's masculine).

Raamah ends with a Heh, but The Bible avoids using "begat" when referring to Sheba and Dedan as Raamah's sons.  So at first I thought I had an example here, but it turns out Raamah could easily be a Cis woman, or maybe a Trans man or Non-Binary.

Diklah of the children of Joktan ends with a Heh. As does Havilah, a name that pops up among Cush's children also.  But Jerah ends in a Het and is also the Semitic name for the Moon which was seemingly always viewed as masculine by the Semitic near east. Hazarmaveth ends with a Tav.

Dumah of the children of Ishmael also ends with a Heh.  No examples of Dumah being described as begating anyone.  Isaiah 21:11 however associates Dumah with Seir, a region tied to Edom.  I've cited before Bill Cooper 's After The Flood saying the Idumeans descended from Dumah not Edom.  I could see a documentary hypothesis proponent suggesting Dumah and Edom as conflicting Genesis origins for the same nation, since the name possibly share a common root.

Esau married a daughter of Ishmael, (possibly two depending on how you view the different accounts of his wives), in Genesis 36 a daughter of Ishmael bares him sons.  Could it be Dumah and one of the wives of Esau were the same person?

Kedamah also ends with a Heh, in this case Kedamah can even be explained as a feminine form of Kademon, which means "East", east of the Jordan/DeadSea/Arabah is mainly where the Ishmaelites originally settled.  But perhaps most surprising is how the first born of Ishmael, Nabojoth, ends with a Tav.

Of the children and grandchildren borne to Abraham by Keturah.  Shuah ends in a Het so is a masculine name.  But Ephah ends with a Heh,, and is later the name of a Concubine of Caleb in 1 Chronicles 2:46.  Eldaah ends with a Heh as well.  But I'm still searching for an example of one who begat children to make my case airtight.

Aiah and Anah both end with a Heh.  Anah is a name that within Genesis 36 seems to be applied to both a male and a female.  Being called both a Bath of Zibeon and a Ben of Zibeon.  Since it seems possibly Bath is used more strictly gender-wise anyway it's safe to say Anah was a daughter.

Now I enter 1 Chronicles 2, and we reach Judah.  Judah ends in a Heh, and Judah begat at least 5 children.  But Judah is someone we know enough about that it's hard to imagine the intent was for this name to imply anything Feminine.  Nothing in Judah's story seems to suggest Gender Identity being an issue.  Not that I can deduce from my limited Cis-Het experience anyway.

And it's a pretty common male name, largely from people being named after this Judah.  So this is perhaps where the critics of the hypothesis I'm building here would really see it's Achilles heel.  Judah was simply named after the Hebrew word for "praise", which also ends with a Heh.  In general, Judith is viewed as the feminine form of Judah.  There seem to be less exceptions to the Tav ending implying Gender then the Heh.

This does make me, as someone who is admittedly no where near an expert on linguistics, ask how do Hebrew scholars decide when ending with a Heh is Feminine, and when it is not?

A lot of the exceptions to ending in a Heh being Feminine are for theophoric names ending with Yah or YHWH.  Others seems to be when there is a Vav before the Heh, which is the case with the name of YHWH itself.  And that causes to me to wonder if there is a desire among scholars to deny that Yah and YHWH could be technically feminine names.  Meanwhile Elah and Eloah are possibly feminine forms of El (God) that are both used of YHWH in the Hebrew Bible.

At any rate the Hebrew word for Praise perhaps ends with a Heh because it's frequently used to praise YHWH who's name ends with a Heh in both long and short forms.

Eleasah is a name that ends with a Heh.  1 Chronicles 2:39-40 says that Helez begat Eleasah and Eleasah begat Sisamai.  So I finally found something.

Two of David's children born in Jerusalem are named Eliphelet, but that name ends in a Teth not a Tav.

I've refereed to Shelomith and Shulamith as variant forms of the same Feminine version of Solomon's name, and they both end with Tav.  Are the verses with Shelomith that sound like they're referring to Men referring to Transgender people perhaps?  I can't be sure.  But 1 Chronicles 3:19 does refer to a Shelomith as the sister of her brothers so that refutes any attempt to deny it's ever feminine.

Solomon is an interesting name on it's own however.  The Hebrew is Shlomoh, an example of a name ending in Vav-Heh.  So maybe that name itself could be Feminine?  It could be Salma or Salmon is the actual masculine form, Solomon possibly comes from Greek texts combining the names Shlomoh and Salmon.

At no point is Solomon described as Begating any of his children, they're just called Solomon's son or daughters.  Naamah the Ammonitess is refereed to as the mother of Rehoboam, but is not described as bearing him per say.  Naamah is also never referred to as a Queen or Queen Mother, a fact probably most likely to mean she was one of the Concubines, but still interesting.  Naamah is definitely a female name, it ends with a Heh and was in Genesis 4 the sister of Tubal-Cain.

I've also often wondered if Solomon might have been Asexual or something, having seemingly less children then his father or son in-spite of having way more wives and concubines.

As King, Solomon definitely presented as male, since The Hebrew Bible has distinct terms for Female Monarchs.

Another name of Solomon's was Jeddiah, the name Nathan the Prophet gave to Solomon.  This name is another one that would always been assumed to be male chiefly because it's Yah Theophoric.

There is speculation that Lemuel of Proverbs 31 is a name for Solomon, perhaps specifically the name Bathsheba gave Solomon at birth.  It seems like a Male name though there are women in The Bible who's name ends in L, something I didn't want to get into here.  Those examples aren't El Theophoric names however.

The word Koheleth appears only in the Book of Ecclesiastes, the KJV always translates it Preacher though Assembler would be more accurate, the name Ecclesiastes is essentially a Greek translation of this name.  It is feminine, it is not even controversial to say it's Feminine, the Strongs says it's Feminine.  Yet this is a name or title being used of the book's Author, who's usually assumed to be Solomon for good reason even though the name of Solomon is never used in the book.  Sometimes the Koheleth is refereed to with male pronouns in English, but that could be translation issues.  The first verse of the book says the Koheleth is the Son of David and King in Jerusalem.

And at this point it occurs to me I forget something very early on. Right at the start.

Seth ends with a Tav, and Seth Begat Enosh, and many other sons and daughters.  Could Seth have been a Trans Woman right at the start of The Bible?

This is all speculative, and not at all something I want to build a major Doctrine on.  Especially the Solomon part, that's the most speculative.  But it's interesting how something Conservative Christians want to reject can potentially make more sense out of some confusing details of The Bible.

Update: It turns out, on the subject of Salmon ancestor of David, father of Boaz.  The KJV rendering obscures this, but in Ruth 4:20 the name is spelled Salmah, ending with a Heh (Strong number 8009) while in Ruth 4:21 it is Salmon.   Sometimes this person is also called Salma, like in 1 Chronicles 2:11 (another Salma towards the end of that chapter may or may not be the same person).

Then there is the matter of this Salmon/Salmah's spouse.  Salma was likely assigned male at Birth because Matthew 1:5 says "and Salmon begat boos of Racab".  This Racab is often viewed by Christians as the same person as the Rachab of Joshua, the Harlot of Jericho who helped the Spies Joshua sent.  Fitting a presumed theme of the women named in Jesus genealogy being women who did or were perceived as committing sexual sins.  And that would happen to fit my own agenda of deconstructing Augustinian sexual morality, a whore being an ancestor of Jesus.

But the Greek spelling in Matthew is Racab.  While Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 when unambiguously referring to the Rachab of Joshua use the spelling Raab.  Meanwhile I find it unlikely chronologically that the father of Boas was a contemporary of Joshua.

A Hebrew name perhaps far more likely to explain the origin of the Greek Racab is Rekab, rendered in the KJV as Rechab.  But this name is a male name, given to at least two male individuals.  But the last verse of 1 Chronicles 2, while talking about clans of Judah (one of whom being the founder of Bethlehem Ephratah) and right before returning to David's genealogy, refers to "the House of Rekab".  The Septuagint text of 1 Chronicles 2:55 uses almost the exact same spelling for Rekab that Matthew 1:5 uses for Racab, only the first vowel is different, Recab rather then Racab.  There are other places where Matthew and the Septuagint use different vowels for the same name, like Solomon being Salomon in the Septuagint.

Is it possible that Salmah and Racab were a marriage between a Trans woman and a Trans man?  Or maybe Salma was non-binary?  Making Boas the son of a Trasngender couple?  Remember these are Ancestors of Jesus Christ.

Update November 27 2017:  Another theory about Salmon.

This second theory involves possibly backing off on my initial absoluteness of anyone who "Begats" offspring being assigned male at birth.

However I do believe Generations are skipped sometimes (Genesis 10 and 11 are different because they give numbers of years, which was clearly for a reason, if there is skipping there, it's skipping that doesn't change the total amount of time that passes).  Especially with the line from Judah to David. I have that time-frame as over 300 years longer then Ussher's dates.  And even in Ussher's time-frame only 10 generation was a little bit of a stretch.

In which case the actual biological father of Boaz could descend from Salmon.

And I still think the Racab of Matthew's genealogy is the Rekab of the last verse of 1 Chronicles 2.  But it could be what Matthew's saying is Boaz mother descends from Rekab.

The thing about the Hebrew of Ruth 4:20-21 I can't get over, is that Salmah is used of this person being Begat, and Salmon of them begating Boaz.  Which would imply Salmah is the name they were given at birth, and Salmon is the name they went by later, by the time they had children.  Which creates the impression that that they are a Trans Man.  And so there is no need for me to refrain from using Male pronouns for him.

The thing is, I do think it's important that David's Y-Chromosome come directly from Judah and Pharez.  So I should investigate who is the assigned Male at birth individual that Salmon reproduced with.

Again, Salmon is Salma in 1 Chronicles 2:11 (Salma could have been constructed to be a compromise name).  Another Salma appears at the end of the Chapter.  This Salma is, if no generations were skipped, the same number of generations from Hezron, yet by a different son of Hezron.  But having the same name isn't the only thing making me wonder if they are the same person, it's also that Salma son of Caleb Ben-Hur (generally assumed not to be the same Caleb prominent in Numbers and Joshua) is called the "Father of Bethlehem".  Whether that means he literally had a son named Bethlehem or not, the main point is it's saying his family founded the city of Bethlehem.  Ephrath is also the name of a female ancestor of this Caleb, Hur is called the Father of Bethlehem in 1 Chronicles 4 in a verse reminding us he's the firstborn of Ephrathah.  And because of the Book of Ruth, and 1 Samuel, and Micah 4-5 and the Nativity narrative, we know that Salmon's descendants were also inhabitants of Bethlehem, and some were prominent ones.

Caleb Ben-Hur is not described as begating Salma.  Could it be Salma was really a Son in Law of Caleb Ben-Hur?

The reason this Caleb is usually assumed to be separate from the famous Caleb is that the latter presumably had a different father.  But Jephunneh ends with a Heh, and they're never called the father or son of anyone.  And we're not told anything about their ancestry, except possibly that they're a Kenezite (which would seemingly make them not of Judah but a gentile).  Jephunneh could be Caleb's mother.

Caleb Ben-Hur is the same number of generations (if none are skipped, and even if there is skipping, they may skip evenly) from Hezron as Nahshon, who was the Prince of Judah during the same time Caleb son of Jephunneh was Judah's spy.  And an Israelite named Hur was prominent at that time as well.

Caleb son of Jephunneh was given Hebron, but 1 Chronicles 2 associates Hebron with the same clan it's Caleb came from.  There are a few things in 1 Chronicles 4 repeated from 1 Chronicles 2.

One of the "sons" of Caleb son of Jephunneh in 1 Chronicles 4:15 is named Elah.  A name that can very easily be argued to be Grammatically Feminine.  Three are named in total.  Why say "the sons of Elah, even Kenaz" but not refer to the sons of the others?  1 Chronicles 4 can be pretty confusing.  I think the Kenaz who is refereed to as a brother of Caleb is a maternal half-brother.

Caleb Ben-Hur has three named sons in 1 Chronicles 2, Shobal, Salma and Hareph.  The "sons" later named to each of them are not individuals but cities and clans.

So perhaps Salmon and Elah were a marriage between a Trans Man and a Trans Woman?

Boaz and the first husband of Ruth had a common ancestor, that's part of the premise of the book.  That another near kinsmen was in line before Boaz implies they were probably second cousins not first cousins.

Update March 19th 2018: Luke's Genealogy lists a Joanna in Luke 3:37, same spelling as the other two appearance of Joanna in the Gospel which clearly refer to a female follower of Jesus, in 8:3 and 24:10.

Now it's true that the Greek text does not use the word "son" nearly as many times as our English Translations do.  But still, as someone convinced of the theory this is Mary's Genealogy, I think the only people named in it are people considered legally the father.

So perhaps that Joanna was a Trans Woman.

As a Christian I do believe The Gospel's Genealogies refer to people by their preferred names consistently but that the Hebrew Bible may not have since as Hebrews tells us The Law was in imperfect.  Thus both Gospels using Salmon I feel settles what name should be used to refer to that person.

Paul said there is neither Male nor Female in The Church

Galatians 3:28.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

I've mentioned this verse before discussing The Bible on Traditional Gender Roles.  And maybe this post risks retreading that same ground.

But I want to rant on how I'm tired of "Traditionalists" saying this is only about how anyone can get Saved.  No, it's not, the context of verses 25-27 are clear, this is about after we're Saved.  He's saying these distinctions don't exist within in the Church, not that they're irrelevant to getting in.

But the hypocrisy is that this isn't how anyone applies the references in the same verse to "Jew nor Greek(Gentile)" or "Bond nor Free".

Dispensationists like Chuck Missler are all about how The Church is a new entity and when you're in it you're neither Jew or Gentile, and so no one regardless of ancestry has to follow The Law.  While Hebrew Roots style Christians like Rob Skiba are all about how Gentiles are grafted into Israel and so everyone regardless of ancestry has to follow The Torah.

Neither supports saying believers can be distinguished between Jew and Gentile.  I don't fully fit into either of those camps but sympathize with aspects of both.  But plenty in both of those camps want to cling to separate laws for men and women regarding how to dress and so on.

Likewise with "Bond nor Free", when Christians are pointing out how many of the Abolitionists were driven by their Faith, this is among the Bible Verses they cited to support abolishing Slavery.  And yet the same modern Christians who think those Abolitionists were so right about Slavery will go 'how dare you think we should abolish gender'.

It is interesting that Chapter 4 keeps using the word "Son" and male pronouns, in-spite of just making clear females are included.  But remember the last verse of chapter 3 is about how we are all made spiritually Abraham's Seed, like what Roman 9-11 is about.

Yes the world into which they (and us still) were born was a patriarchal one.  And those norms influenced the Hebrew Bible, but in Hebrews Paul calls The Law of Moses imperfect and says The Law is now written on our Hearts.  And I've talked before about how gender issues show those imperfections.

So just as Gentiles can now have the Blessings promised to Abraham (which was always the plan in Genesis 12), so now has Christ allowed Women the Freedoms that only Men could have before.  Now also for both of those one could argue that comes with increased responsibilities, but that's for a separate debate about The Law under The New Covenant.

 I've also talked about how the marriage of Genesis 2 was equal unlike Genesis 3.

There are New Testament verses that get used to support patriarchal norms also, how do I address those?

A lot of what's said about Marriage is in the context of discussing The Bride of Christ doctrine, using an Old Testament custom as an illustration of a New Testament doctrine.  Others may be there just because they were living in a world that is still patriarchal.  And we also need to remember that there are words translated "Man" that are meant to be gender neutral.

I believe The Bible is consistent with itself, and Galatians 3:28 is the most unambiguous statement on this issue.  And I think it ties in with how there were no separate courts for Women or Gentiles in Ezekiel's Temple.  The context of the verses around it, 26-29, are basically saying we've not any of these other classes because we are now all in Christ and thus all Sons of God like Christ.

Others have also blogged on this subject, the details often differing from my views but the gist being the same.  Here is one example, and another from the same blog.  And I read this interesting post on naming conventions.

Update October 2018: I have written this follow up post going more into passages not addressed here.
https://solascripturachristianliberty.blogspot.com/2018/07/neither-male-or-female-in-churhc-follow.html

The refusal to accept the claims of Transgender people in The Church really annoys me

With Homosexuality, I get the basic logic behind saying "God made genders for a reason", it's not Biblical so I reject it, but I get it.

I don't get this notion that claiming you were assigned the wrong gender somehow insults God.  Not if coming from a fellow Six Day Young Earth Creationist.  But that one Calvinist blog has been obsessing over Caitlyn (who they insist on calling Bruce) Jenner lately.  Endorsing outdated secular evolutionary psychology.

Saying "God didn't create you the wrong gender" to me shows a horrible lack of Biblical literacy.  God only directly created two human beings.  Adam, and Havvah/Eve who he cloned from a sample of Adam's DNA.  They were ordered to reproduce before The Fall, but it seems they did not succeed in conceiving any offspring until after it.

All of us are merely imperfect copies of Adam, all to some degree corrupted by The Fall, but many with more blatant errors then others.

People are born Blind (John 9), born Deaf and Mute, born with physical and mental handicaps, born with extra-limps and lacking limbs, born conjoined, born with all kinds of mutilations and deformities like The Elephant Man.

Because of The Fall no Creationists consider any of that evidence against intelligent design.  But some have trouble with the Idea of Sex and Gender getting mixed up?  Genetically it's mostly a matter of how the chromosomes interact, really a far simpler thing to become screwed up then what causes all the above.

Transgender people aren't labeled Intersex, because there seems to be no physical differences between them and a Cis person assigned the same gender they were assigned based on merely studying the anatomy or even DNA (Though we actually understand less then 10% of the Genetic code).

However many brain scans of Transgender people have shown that their Brains do operate like the gender they identify with, not the gender they were assigned.

Being Transgender is an issue The Bible doesn't directly address unless you see it in some way relevant to the cryptic statement about being Born Eunuchs.

To all these people who think gender should be determined by physical anatomy only and has nothing to do with the mind, soul or spirit of a person, while also agreeing with Genesis 1 that God made only two genders.  How do you determine the gender of intersex people? particularly those who fully have both sets of genitalia?  But there are also people who look unambiguously female but have a Y Chromosome.

We have people who want to make verses about crossdressing relevant.  Even if such verses did condemn any and all gender divergent dress, transgender people are by definition irrelevant to those verses if their claims are true.  Or if anything they may feel (if Bible believers) like they're violating them when they dress as their assigned gender.

But we are not under The Law, and those commands were there to condemn specific Canaanite ritual prostitution related pagan practices.  This idea among some legalists that they condemn women wearing pants is frankly absurd.  Just as absurd as the Rabbis who think "don't boil a kid in it's mother's milk" refers to Cheeseburgers.

My personal belief that the Holy Spirit has lead me to, is that Transgender people who are saved will be in The Resurrection the gender they identify as, not the gender they were assigned.

And as Paul made clear in Galatians, in the Church there is neither Male or Female just as there is neither Jew or Gentile.

Update: Here is a website trying to deal with Trans issues from a Rabbinic Jewish perspective.  It's an interesting read.  But not entirely in agreement with my views. Since I'm not Rabbinic, and since I consider a Trans person the gender they identify with even before transition.

The Bible does not condemn Homosexuality: Condoned Homosexual Affection

Possible Homosexual relationships in The Bible.

I wasn't originally going to cover this at all, but I've decided I should.

None of these are provable beyond any shadow of a doubt, they're all ones that have been speculated about before; on all but the first I’ll cover my position is, it's very likely. An important thing to remember is people didn’t think in “Orientations” like we do now, it was much more normal for Sexuality to be "Fluid". And men weren’t as insecure about their masculinity. I for one don’t like to put people in boxes; I think most people are more capable of being “Bisexual” then they might realize.

Ruth and Naomi

Some people see a Lesbian affection here, but I think that Ruth saw Naomi as a surrogate mother. At any rate, Ruth's expression of devotion to Naomi is often cited in wedding ceremonies. Symbolically, their relationship is how the relationship between the Church (Ruth) and Israel (Naomi) is supposed to be.  But it's fasicnating that what Ruth says to Naomi is quoted often in Wedding vows.

David and Jonathon

Probably the most infamous Bromance in the Bible (Yes I actually used that word in reference to a Biblical relationship). There are 3 things in the narrative mainly that make people see a possible romantic affection between the 2.

1. 1 Samuel 18: 1-4 “And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.”

The thing about Jonathon disrobing here is that it’s symbolic of his normal right as Saul’s successor being given to David.

2. 1 Samuel 20:30 “Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness?”

This is often read as Saul suspecting such a relationship, and not being happy about it. But the main issue here is he’s accusing Jonathon of betraying his own family. An unrelated note “son of the perverse rebellious woman” is a pretty good literal translation of the Hebrew phrase used here, but the thing lost in translation is that it’s also a vulgarity, some translations have rendered it “Son of a Bitch” but I don’t think even that is harsh enough to convey Saul’s intent here, but also that expression has become more of a generic insult then what Saul is saying.

3. From David’s song mourning Saul and Jonathon’s deaths. 2 Samuel 1:26 “I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women.”

That too can be interpreted different ways. Also the timing to remember is this was written well before what would become David's most significant female relationship, Bathsheba.

People who like to compare various Biblical narratives to other myths from Pagan mythology, like to equate David and Jonathon with various mythical heroic Bromances, which are also often interpreted to have homosexual undertones. Gilgamesh and Enkidu, Herakles and Iolaus, Achilles and Patroclus, Orestes and Pylades, Alexander and Hephaestion ect… Modern examples of relationships following this pattern include Hamlet and Horatio, Echolat and Simolor Holmes and Watson, Batman and Robin, Frodo and Sam, House and Wilson ect… The flaw in such an analogy is those follow a more clear Mentor/Student or Hero/Sidekick pattern, in this Biblical example Jonathon is older and yet is the lesser figure.

Daniel

Chapter 1 verse 9 “Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. ” Again, we don’t have a great deal of detail, but it is interesting.

The New Testament

Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10, Tell the story of a Centurion who asked Jesus  to heal his “Servant” and shows greater faith then all the children of Israel as he knows Jesus can heal him without even being present. The word translated servant has some ambiguity involved, it was common in Rome for soldiers to be engaged in homosexual relationships with younger servants or pupils. Some think this was such a relationship and I think that’s highly possible.

Then there is what Jesus says in Matthew 19 verses 11 and 12. “All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.”

Clearly more then the standard definition of “Eunuch” is what Jesus has in mind here. Some see it as simply referring to people for whom a vow of Chastity would be easier than others, or people who are Asexual. But some see him as possibly having Homosexuals, or Transgender/Transsexual or Intersex people ect… I think all those readings could have some truth to them.

I feel like adding, that any Christian who objects to transgender people by saying “God doesn’t make mistakes” does not fully understand Genesis. God only directly created 2 people, Adam, and then Havvah who he cloned from a sample of Adam’s DNA. We are merely imperfect copies of Adam, because of the Fall in Genesis 3 genetic mistakes often happen, and screw ups in the Gender defining chromosomes/hormones ect… can certainly be among those. Remember Biblically we all consist of 3 components, the Body, the Spirit and the Soul. So yes I think a person meant to be a Man could be born in a biologically female body, or visa versa.

And I don’t think such a person seeking an operation would be wrong. A person born blind seeking an operation to restore their sight certainly isn’t. I feel now like directing readers to John Chapter 9.