📖 Biblical Definition
Sexual acts between humans and animals. Scripture's prohibition is direct, comprehensive, and capital: Leviticus 18:23 forbids it for both sexes; 20:15-16 prescribes the death penalty for the human and the animal; Exodus 22:19 reinforces. The Hebrew word for the offense is tebel (confusion, perversion) — it violates the Genesis 1 creation order in which humans and animals are categorically distinct. Scripture treats it as one of the limit-cases of sexual sin: alongside child sacrifice (Lev 18:21) and homosexuality (Lev 18:22) in the same Lev 18 chapter. Modern Western law largely retains the prohibition; the cultural margins are pushing for normalization, with the same trajectory visible.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Sexual acts with animals; Lev 18:23 prohibits; Lev 20:15-16 capital; Hebrew tebel (confusion, creation-order violation).
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BESTIALITY, n. Latin bestia + -alitas. Sexual acts between humans and animals. Hebrew biblical word: tebel (confusion, perversion, creation-order mingling). The prohibition is direct: Leviticus 18:23 forbids it for men and women; Leviticus 20:15-16 prescribes death for both human and animal; Exodus 22:19 reinforces. Listed in Leviticus 18 alongside child sacrifice and homosexual acts as abomination. The offense's biblical seriousness reflects the Genesis 1 creation order: humans and animals are categorically distinct, and sexual union across that line is a perversion of the creation pattern itself.
📖 Key Scripture
Leviticus 18:23 — "Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion."
Leviticus 20:15-16 — "And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast."
Exodus 22:19 — "Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
A direct-prohibition limit-case category is now actively normalized at cultural margins; the trajectory is visible.
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Bestiality remains illegal in most U.S. jurisdictions, but the cultural normalization-pipeline that processed homosexual acts from criminal to celebrated within a generation is now visibly operating on this category. Academic papers argue for decriminalization. Zoophile advocacy communities exist online. The arguments are identical to those that worked previously: consenting adults, private behavior, love is love, animals can consent.
The biblical text is unsoftened. Leviticus 18:23 calls it confusion — the Hebrew tebel, the same word used for the abomination of creation-order violation. The Christian holds the historic prohibition without embarrassment. The category is a creation-order violation, not a victimless preference, and the death-penalty seriousness of Lev 20:15-16 reflects how seriously Scripture takes the line between humans and animals. The boundary God put in Genesis 1 is to be honored in every direction, including this one.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Latin bestia; Hebrew tebel (confusion); Lev 18:23, 20:15-16, Ex 22:19.
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['Hebrew', 'H8397', 'tebel', 'confusion, perversion (Lev 18:23)']
['Hebrew', 'H929', 'behemah', 'beast, cattle, animal']
['Latin', '—', 'bestia', 'beast']
Usage
"Creation-order violation: humans and animals are categorically distinct."
"Lev 18:23's tebel — confusion — names the perversion as creation-order chaos."
"Hold the historic prohibition without embarrassment as the cultural pipeline normalizes."