[Wanderer]

...that was supposed to be the *third* post in the series. But then, I had to go and split the rebuttal section into two parts.

Anyway...here is a list of gender-variant/-transgressive characters in the Bible.

Adam (Gen 1:26--2:20)
The text here, it should be noted, does *not* require that Adam be exclusively male. In fact, verse 1:26 carefully states, "male and female he created *them.*" (Emphasis mine.) This seems to present Adam, at least at this early point, as an androgynous joined-at-the-hip two-person creature. The removal of a "rib" from Adam would then actually be a splitting off of Eve from Adam. This reading seems to receive some support from Jewish tradition, which interprets the passage more-or-less in this fashion.

Zipporah (Exodus 4:25)
She functioned in this passage as basically a mohel, which was an exclusively male occupation.

Deborah (Judges 4:14)
She commanded a male general in combat.

Jael (Judges 4:21)
She killed an enemy general; that said, she seems to have done so while obeying the law against women using things (like weapons) which were considered proper to men. The tool she used to undo Sisera was not considered a "male occupation tool."

The worthy wife of the Book of Proverbs (Proverbs, chapter 31)
She is identified as a breadwinner in v. 16. She also is called "mighty," which is a term with military (i.e., male) connotations.

Ebed-melech (Jeremiah 38:1-23)
This was the eunuch who rescued Jeremiah.

Hathach (Esther 4:5-9)
This eunuch acted as a go-between for Queen Esther and Mordecai.

Harbona (Esther 7:9)
This eunuch informed the king that Haman had a facility for hanging Mordecai. This facility ended up being used on Haman, instead.

A Roman centurion, his lover, and Jesus (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10)
In Matthew, the term pais is translated as servant. It actually was a term used to refer to a man's male lover. Note Jesus' response in v. 10.

A male water carrier and the Last Supper (Mt 26:17-19; Mk 14:12-16; Lk 22:7-13)
The carrying of water was considered "womens' work" in that day.

Eunuchs in the Bible generally:

1. We can *not* say definitively that they were LGBT.
2. Eunuchs *were* considered gender-variant (or if you prefer, gender-transgressive) and effeminate.
3. They were often given such jobs as: cupbearer, chamberlain, chief eunuch, supervisor of womens' quarters, one who gave access to the king, and a few were even generals


In my final post, I'll put in some verses about the surprisingly exalted things the Bible says about Christians in general. That should give some encouragement to transgendered Christians.

Wamderer