Thank you for this, Jeremy. In appreciate this perspective, and it’s one I have thought about before. The church will do well to consider conversations like this one.
I do have a question. You defined a eunuch as a male who has had their genitals removed. If this is the case, then wouldn’t someone being a eunuch “from birth” refer to the removal at birth rather than being born without them?
For me, the overall wisdom of your reading remains. And, you’d be more familiar with ancient interpretations than I am.
I don't know if from the text we can discern whether someone did it to the baby or they were born that way. The Greek is more exactly: "...who from the womb of their mother were born thus...".
I've always interpreted it to mean they were born that way (simply, without full genitals?).
A problem with this text is that if you search for commentary on it, so many people seem to be so predetermined about gender issues that it's hard to drill down. I'm sure there are less biased scholars out there, but I'd have to dig a bit to find it ATM.
Well, that seems like “born this way.” You hit the nail on the head for me with your third paragraph in your latest comment. I’d really like to not approach scripture saying, “I need the Bible to say something, seems like this will work.”
Thank you for this, Jeremy. In appreciate this perspective, and it’s one I have thought about before. The church will do well to consider conversations like this one.
I do have a question. You defined a eunuch as a male who has had their genitals removed. If this is the case, then wouldn’t someone being a eunuch “from birth” refer to the removal at birth rather than being born without them?
For me, the overall wisdom of your reading remains. And, you’d be more familiar with ancient interpretations than I am.
I don't know if from the text we can discern whether someone did it to the baby or they were born that way. The Greek is more exactly: "...who from the womb of their mother were born thus...".
I've always interpreted it to mean they were born that way (simply, without full genitals?).
A problem with this text is that if you search for commentary on it, so many people seem to be so predetermined about gender issues that it's hard to drill down. I'm sure there are less biased scholars out there, but I'd have to dig a bit to find it ATM.
Well, that seems like “born this way.” You hit the nail on the head for me with your third paragraph in your latest comment. I’d really like to not approach scripture saying, “I need the Bible to say something, seems like this will work.”