i have been trying to figure out what the original writers of the bible meant by what is now translated as “the sexually immoral” or “fornicators”. it’s my understanding that the greek word is pornos, which i imagine is the root word for modern english’s “pornography” etc. just curious as to whether modern translations take liberties with the meaning of the original word, so as to project particular (perhaps modern in origin) morals to the readers.
i am wondering what a literal translation of pornos would be. any linguists or bible scholars out there that could elaborate?
thanks.
Rather an interesting commentary on the ancient Greeks’ view towards female sexuality.
My Greek dictionary includes a whole host of words that stem from the root porne, and the general gist is that when applied to a woman, it refers to prostitution. When applied to a man, however, it just means “fornicator.”
The word pornography is usually translated to mean “writings of prostitutes.”
According to Liddell & Scott, pornos (you’ll have to do some setup to see the Greek characters) in most classical contexts means catamite, “a boy kept by a pederast”. It can also mean “sodomite” or “idolater”.