A girl loses her virginity before she gets married. Is that a sin? What are some scriptures in the Holy Bible about it?
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Where does the Bible say anything about Pre Marriage Virginity?
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hi faith,
There are basically two pieces of Scripture that would infer pre-marriage virginity.
First is God's instructions in the very beginning when He joined Adam and Eve together and told them that after a man is responsible enough to leave his family and take a wife that the two shall become one flesh. Certianly this isn't necessarily clear that there shouldn't be this oneness of flesh before marriage.
The second is in the establishment of marriage under the law of God given through Moses. There is quite a bit of importance associated with a bride being a virgin at the time of her marriage. If a husband were to accuse his wife of not being a virgin it was the responsibility of the parents to 'prove' it. Now, you can't have a lot of virgin wives if everyone is going around having sexual relations before marriage.
God bless you.
In Christ, Ted
There are basically two pieces of Scripture that would infer pre-marriage virginity.
First is God's instructions in the very beginning when He joined Adam and Eve together and told them that after a man is responsible enough to leave his family and take a wife that the two shall become one flesh. Certianly this isn't necessarily clear that there shouldn't be this oneness of flesh before marriage.
The second is in the establishment of marriage under the law of God given through Moses. There is quite a bit of importance associated with a bride being a virgin at the time of her marriage. If a husband were to accuse his wife of not being a virgin it was the responsibility of the parents to 'prove' it. Now, you can't have a lot of virgin wives if everyone is going around having sexual relations before marriage.
God bless you.
In Christ, Ted
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The Old Testament is pretty clear (Deuteronomy 22:20) that a woman needs to be a virgin when she marries, the punishment if she is not being death by stoning...
The New Testament makes it a lot less clear, since it all depends on the interpretation of the word "Fornication".
There are a lot of verses in the New Testament that describe fornication as an abomination.
My understanding is that premarital sex is OK (i.e. not "fornication") if you are faithfull and in a committed relationship, but most Christians I know would disagree.
The New Testament makes it a lot less clear, since it all depends on the interpretation of the word "Fornication".
There are a lot of verses in the New Testament that describe fornication as an abomination.
My understanding is that premarital sex is OK (i.e. not "fornication") if you are faithfull and in a committed relationship, but most Christians I know would disagree.
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A little from the New Testament:
First, the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, specifically verse 20 -
but we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.
In Paul, 1 Cor. 6:18 -
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
From Christ in Revelation, Rev. 2:14 -
But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.
v. 20 -
But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
Assuming that sex is meant to be expressed within the bond of marriage, as has been the universal opinion of Christianity for all but the most recent part of its history, and also the opinion of Judaism and other religions, these censures of sexual immorality would include sex before marriage.
While this isn't New-Testament, comparison in Song of Songs of the bride to a "locked garden" has also been interpreted as referring to virginity.
First, the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, specifically verse 20 -
but we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.
In Paul, 1 Cor. 6:18 -
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
From Christ in Revelation, Rev. 2:14 -
But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.
v. 20 -
But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
Assuming that sex is meant to be expressed within the bond of marriage, as has been the universal opinion of Christianity for all but the most recent part of its history, and also the opinion of Judaism and other religions, these censures of sexual immorality would include sex before marriage.
While this isn't New-Testament, comparison in Song of Songs of the bride to a "locked garden" has also been interpreted as referring to virginity.
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I would say so, ideally. Does it happen for either gender today? Not always, but ours is a religion that forgives the truly penitent.
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Cuddles333
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The reason we have difficulty understanding the 'virgin' concept of the Old and New Testaments is because girls were married off by the time they were 16 years of age back then. The boys were married off by the time they were 17-18.
Premarital sex did occur for those men who were in between wives though:
Genesis 38
1 And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her.
3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.
4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.
5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.
6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.
7 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him.
8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
10 And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also.
11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.
14 And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.
15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.
16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?
17 And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?
18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.
19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.
20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not.
21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.
22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.
23 And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.
26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.
Premarital sex did occur for those men who were in between wives though:
Genesis 38
1 And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her.
3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.
4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.
5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.
6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.
7 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him.
8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
10 And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also.
11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.
14 And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.
15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.
16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?
17 And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?
18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.
19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.
20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not.
21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.
22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.
23 And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.
26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.
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Wrong, a woman was only stoned if she lied about her virgin status to her husband. Women were the property of the father, men paid for them. If a woman was not a virgin, she simply didn't cost as much, there was no other punishment. Many women were widowed young and found other husbands.
Sadly we know 30% or more of women lose their hymen from other acts other than sex, strong exercise for one. Imagine a woman back then that couldn't prove she was a virgin, because she didn't bleed on her wedding night, she could easily be put to death.
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Biblelover79
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sillyclaire,
What is your definition of fornication? Just asking because I am pretty sure that pre-marital sex falls into that category, but I may be wrong.
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Biblelover79
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Faith712,
My understanding of the word fornication is "voluntary sexual acts between 2 unmarried people." So yes a man should stay a virgin until he is married.
My wife and I were married 10 years ago last month and we were both virgins and I can honestly say that there is no guilt or worry about our sexual relationship because we both were virgins.
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Hmm... after looking at a dictionary, which I should have done earlier instead of going to Wikipedia, it seems pretty clear that the meaning is "sex between unmarried people".
I thought it could be understood as "indiscriminate" sex.
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KTskater
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It's not just about being a virgin, but about preserving the special union between a husband and a wife. When you marry someone, it is supposed to mirror the relationship between Christ and the church. With the wife loving and respecting her husband like the church, and the husband giving of himself for her like Christ did for the world (quite the tall order for husbands to fill, if you ask me).
22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church [a]in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His body. 31 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.- Ephesians 5:22-32 (NASB)
Now, it would be far better to have only shared that union with your husband. It makes it special. Your relationship with him is pure and unique. However, if you have had sex before marriage, there is forgiveness. Just like the church has had idols that they worshipped and denied Christ, sometimes people serve themselves instead of their spouse. Yet, sinners find forgiveness in Christ.
9Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.- 1 Cor. 6:9-11
22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church [a]in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His body. 31 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.- Ephesians 5:22-32 (NASB)
Now, it would be far better to have only shared that union with your husband. It makes it special. Your relationship with him is pure and unique. However, if you have had sex before marriage, there is forgiveness. Just like the church has had idols that they worshipped and denied Christ, sometimes people serve themselves instead of their spouse. Yet, sinners find forgiveness in Christ.
9Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.- 1 Cor. 6:9-11
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The issue is that the word translated as "fornication" in modern Bibles very likely did not mean that in Greek. Based on the culture, I would say Paul's concern was closer to hedonistic promiscuity than having sex before you signed a marriage license.
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Biblelover79
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Are you saying that it is sexually moral to have sex outside the bonds of marriage?
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dayhiker
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yes, if we look at a dictionary today for the meaning of fornication we see it means sex between singles.
If one looks at the Oxford Dictionary of 1600 when the KJV of the Bible was translated/written we see the meaning for fornication is prostitution. So we see the meaning has changed in the last 400 years.
If one looks at the Oxford Dictionary of 1600 when the KJV of the Bible was translated/written we see the meaning for fornication is prostitution. So we see the meaning has changed in the last 400 years.
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dayhiker
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There are a lot of sources:
Did you go to translate.google.com greek to english or english to greek?
The easiest is to look at the root meaning for fornication. You will find it comes from the Latin fornix which was one of the slang Greek words for prostitution. Any dictionary that gives the etymology of words will have. This is the Latin word that Jerome used in his translation of the Latin Vulgate Bible about 400AD. It was the Bible used in Europe for over 1000 years till Martin Luther's time when other translations started to be made. Its the Bible Catholics used even in the US till it became acceptable for lay people to read the Bible.
Fornix means arch in Latin. The slang came about when prostitutes stood in arch doors that went down in the cellar rooms of a brothel.
If you research the LXX, Septuagint Bible, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, translated in Egypt 200BC that is most often where the NT quotes of the OT are taken from, you will see that its porneia that is used to translate the Hebrew word for prostitution, zanah.
Did you go to translate.google.com greek to english or english to greek?
The easiest is to look at the root meaning for fornication. You will find it comes from the Latin fornix which was one of the slang Greek words for prostitution. Any dictionary that gives the etymology of words will have. This is the Latin word that Jerome used in his translation of the Latin Vulgate Bible about 400AD. It was the Bible used in Europe for over 1000 years till Martin Luther's time when other translations started to be made. Its the Bible Catholics used even in the US till it became acceptable for lay people to read the Bible.
Fornix means arch in Latin. The slang came about when prostitutes stood in arch doors that went down in the cellar rooms of a brothel.
If you research the LXX, Septuagint Bible, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, translated in Egypt 200BC that is most often where the NT quotes of the OT are taken from, you will see that its porneia that is used to translate the Hebrew word for prostitution, zanah.
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Cuddles333
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Our culture is different from what it was in the 1st century and back in the Old Testament. So it may look like these people may be sinning. Rather, what all this really is...is an anomaly. Our culture is an anomaly to the Old and New Testament culture.
From Webster's Online Dictionary
plural anom·a·lies
Definition of ANOMALY
1
: the angular distance of a planet from its perihelion as seen from the sun
2
: deviation from the common rule : irregularity
3
: something anomalous : something different, abnormal, peculiar, or not easily classified
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