The Word Didn't Mean What You Think Until 538 AD
By Thomas Richards with Editing and Research by Lisa
Weingarten Richards, Assisted by Artificial Intelligence | OvertPsyops.ai |
SpirituallySmart.com
The word
"sodomite" didn't mean "homosexual" until Emperor Justinian
INVENTED that definition in 538 AD.
That's not opinion. That's
documented history. And that same emperor controlled the papacy and his
laws became the foundation of Catholic canon law.
This is what happens when you
trace words back to their sources instead of trusting religious institutions
that claim to speak for Χριστός (Christos).
What "Sodomite" Actually Meant in the Greek Scriptures
In the Septuagint (LXX) -- the
Greek Old Testament that Ἰησοῦς (Iesous) and the apostles quoted --
Genesis 19:4 uses the word Σοδομῖται (Sodomitai).
This is simply a demonym
-- a word for where someone is from. Just like Ἀθηναῖοι (Athenaioi)
means "Athenians" and Κορίνθιοι (Korinthioi) means
"Corinthians," the word Σοδομῖται just means "inhabitants
of Sodom."
No sexual meaning. Just a
location identifier.
The KJV Mistranslation: Two Different Hebrew Words
The King James Version (1611)
translated a completely different Hebrew word as "sodomite" in
Deuteronomy 23:17, 1 Kings 14:24, 15:12, 22:46, and 2 Kings 23:7.
That word is קָדֵשׁ
(qadesh). It comes from the root קָדַשׁ (qadash) meaning "to
consecrate, sanctify, set apart." A qadesh was a temple prostitute
-- someone consecrated to idolatrous Canaanite fertility cults.
It has ZERO etymological
connection to the city of Sodom.
Modern translations have
corrected this error:
ESV, NASB, HCSB: "cult prostitute"
NIV: "shrine prostitute"
NLT: "temple prostitute"
The KJV got it wrong. But why
did the translators make this error? Because by 1611, the English word
"sodomy" already meant homosexuality -- thanks to centuries of
Catholic legal tradition.
Enter Emperor Justinian: The Man Who Invented the Definition
In 538 AD, Byzantine Emperor
Justinian I issued Novella 77 as part of his Corpus Iuris Civilis
(Body of Civil Law).
This was the FIRST legal
document in history to explicitly declare that Sodom's sin was specifically
same-sex acts.
Why did Justinian do this? Earthquakes.
Literal earthquakes.
Constantinople was hit in 525
AD. Antioch in 526 AD. Extreme weather events occurred in 535-536 AD. Justinian
needed a scapegoat for natural disasters. Homosexuals became that scapegoat.
Novella 77 explicitly states: "For
as crimes of this description cause famine, earthquake, and pestilence..."
This wasn't theology. It was
politics.
The Vatican Connection: How Justinian's Law Became Church Doctrine
Here is where it gets critical
for understanding Catholic corruption:
1. Justinian Controlled the Papacy
The period from 537-752 AD is
called the "Byzantine Papacy" -- when popes required the
approval of the Byzantine Emperor. Justinian appointed three popes and
forced Pope Silverius to abdicate so he could install his own man, Pope
Vigilius.
2. Justinian's Code Became Catholic Canon Law
The Latin phrase "ecclesia
vivit lege romana" -- "the church lives by Roman law" --
describes exactly what happened. The provisions of Justinian's Corpus Iuris
Civilis became the foundation of Catholic canon law.
3. The Pragmatic Sanction (554 AD)
Justinian's Pragmatic
Sanction restored all lands to Vatican control and returned to the pope all
rights, powers, and privileges. For the first time, the Roman Catholic Church
was ruling over the state.
4. Gratian's Decretum (c. 1140 AD)
When Justinian's code was
rediscovered around 1070 AD, a monk named Gratian used it to create the Decretum
Gratiani -- the foundational document of Catholic canon law.
Justinian's earthquake-scapegoat legislation became CHURCH DOCTRINE.
5. A Note on Justinian and the "Holy Roman Empire"
Justinian was not a "Holy Roman Emperor" -- that title came later. Justinian was the Byzantine Emperor (also called Eastern Roman Emperor), ruling from Constantinople from 527-565 AD. The "Holy Roman Empire" was founded centuries later, traditionally dated to 800 AD when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne, or more formally to 962 AD under Otto I. These were different empires in different places speaking different languages.
But here is the connection: when Justinian's Corpus Iuris Civilis was rediscovered around 1070 AD, it became the legal foundation for BOTH Catholic canon law AND civil law throughout the Holy Roman Empire. So while Justinian was not a Holy Roman Emperor, his laws -- including his 538 AD earthquake-scapegoat legislation on "sodomy" -- shaped that later empire through the Catholic Church.
The chain is direct: Byzantine Emperor creates law → Vatican preserves and institutionalizes it → Holy Roman Empire enforces it → Protestant Reformers inherit the tradition → KJV translators follow it in 1611.
One emperor's political scapegoating in 538 AD echoed through 1,500 years of Western civilization.
6. Benedictus Levita's Forgeries (c. 850 AD)
A monk using the fake name
"Benedictus Levita" created forged documents (the
Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals) that embedded Justinian's interpretation into
Western church law. These are well-documented fakes -- and they're part
of the foundation of Catholic teaching on "sodomy."
Meanwhile, What Does the Actual Prophet Say?
Ἰεζεκιήλ (Iezekiel --
Ezekiel) 16:49-50 lists Sodom's actual sins:
"Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom:
pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters;
neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy."
NO mention of homosexuality.
Pride. Gluttony. Prosperity. Neglect of the poor. That's the list.
If homosexuality was THE sin,
this prophetic silence is inexplicable.
Three Layers of Manipulation
What we're documenting is three
layers of manipulation:
Layer 1 -- The Genesis 19 Mob
Scene: Questionable narrative that fails multiple verification criteria (we
cover this in detail in the book chapter).
Layer 2 -- Justinian's Legal
Innovation (538 AD): First explicit legal declaration that Sodom's sin was
specifically homosexuality -- invented for political purposes during natural
disasters by an emperor who controlled the pope.
Layer 3 -- The KJV
Mistranslation (1611): Translating the unrelated word קָדֵשׁ (qadesh
-- "temple prostitute") as "sodomite" -- because by then,
centuries of Catholic legal tradition had already defined the word.
The Result
A word that started as a simple
geographical identifier ("people from Sodom") was transformed over
1,500 years into a theological category for condemnation -- blocking χάρις
(charis -- grace) from those who need it.
This wasn't derived from γραφή
(graphe -- Scripture). It was imperial legislation created by an emperor
who controlled the papacy, embedded by forged documents, and
institutionalized in Catholic canon law.
The church that claims to
represent Χριστός (Christos) built its doctrine on an emperor's
scapegoating -- not on Scripture.
Meanwhile, authentic Παῦλος
(Paulos -- Paul) in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 explicitly includes former homosexuals
among the saved: "καὶ ταῦτά τινες ἦτε" -- "and such were
some of you." They were washed, sanctified, justified.
There is no category of
sinner beyond χάρις (charis -- grace) through μετάνοια (metanoia --
repentance).
As Ἀποκάλυψις
(Apokalypsis -- Revelation) 18:4 warns: "Ἐξέλθατε ὁ λαός μου ἐξ αὐτῆς"
-- "Come out of her, my people."
Sources
Strong's H6945 (qadesh): https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h6945/kjv/wlc/0-1/
KJV Today analysis: https://sites.google.com/site/kjvtoday/home/sodomite-or-cult-prostitute-deuteronomy-2317-et-al
Wikipedia "Corpus Juris
Civilis": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_Juris_Civilis
Wikipedia "Byzantine
Papacy": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Papacy
Wikipedia "Sodomy": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodomy
Catholic Encyclopedia
"Justinian I": https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08578b.htm
Online Etymology Dictionary
"sodomy": https://www.etymonline.com/word/sodomy
Blue Letter Bible LXX Genesis
19: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lxx/gen/19/1/
This blog post summarizes research from an upcoming
book chapter. Full documentation, additional Framework analysis, and complete
citations are available in the full chapter.
_______________
Πᾶσα δόξα τῷ Θεῷ τῷ
Πατρί διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ
(Pasa
doxa to Theo to Patri dia Iesou Christou)
All
glory to Theos the Father through Iesous Christos
_______________
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