![\"Marko](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Marko-Marina-Author-Bart-Ehrman.png\" "\\"Marko")
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Written by Marko Marina, Ph.D.<\/a><\/p>\n Author | \u00a0Historian<\/p>\n Author |\u00a0 Historian | \u00a0BE Contributor<\/p>\n Verified! \u00a0See our guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n Verified! \u00a0See our editorial guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n\nDate written: April 11th, 2026\n\nDate written: April 11th, 2026\n Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. – Dr. Bart D. Ehrman<\/p>\n In the modern world, to talk about sex and sexuality is to enter a complex and often contested terrain that touches on identity, morality, law, and power. Few topics generate as much interest (or as much disagreement!), precisely because sexuality carries such profound personal and societal significance.<\/p>\n What does the Bible say about sex? Those interested in knowing the answer discover that the biblical world reflects a complex and multifaceted set of views on sex and sexuality.<\/p>\n The French philosopher Michel Foucault recognized those topics\u2019 intricacies in his multivolume work The History of Sexuality<\/a>, famously observing that \u201csexuality must not be thought of as a kind of natural given\u2026 but rather as a dense transfer point for relations of power.\u201d<\/p>\n His insight captures something that is difficult to ignore: discussions of sex are never simply about biology or individual behavior. They are embedded in larger systems <\/strong>(social, cultural, and ideological) that shape how people think, regulate, and experience sexuality.<\/p>\n When people ask about coverage of sex in the Bible or the topics of God and sexuality they often expect to find straightforward answers or unified teachings that can be easily summarized.<\/p>\n Yet the Bible isn\u2019t a single book written at one time, but a collection of diverse texts <\/strong>produced over many centuries, in different historical and cultural contexts.<\/p>\n As a result, its references to sex are varied in tone, purpose, and emphasis: ranging from legal regulations and moral warnings to poetic celebration and theological reflection.<\/p>\n This diversity means that the Bible doesn\u2019t present a systematic or consistent <\/strong>\u201csexual ethic\u201d in the way modern readers might expect.<\/p>\n Instead, it offers a wide array of perspectives shaped by the concerns of ancient Israelite and early Christian communities: issues of family structure, lineage, social order, purity, and, at times, human desire itself.<\/p>\n To understand how sex is treated in these texts, then, requires more than simply collecting verses. It involves recognizing the different voices within the biblical tradition and the distinct contexts in which they speak: an exploration that reveals a far more nuanced picture than is often assumed.<\/p>\n However, before we begin our exploration of the Bible and sexuality, it\u2019s worth stepping back to the very beginning. In the online course In the Beginning: History, Legend, or Myth in Genesis<\/a>, Bart D. Ehrman examines famous stories <\/strong>like Adam and Eve, Noah\u2019s flood, and the Tower of Babel, asking whether they reflect history, legend, or myth.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re curious how modern scholarship approaches these foundational narratives, this course offers a clear and engaging starting point.<\/p>\n \u201cIn his book What the Bible Says About Sex?<\/a>, Jeremiah W. Cataldo observes:<\/p>\n (Affiliate Disclaimer: We may earn commissions on products you purchase through this page at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting our site!<\/em>)<\/p>\n Sexuality and marriage are moral issues. But why? Controlling how sexuality is interpreted in the Bible is an attempt to control the loss of any certainty<\/strong> about God and revelation. Sexuality is the confirmation of the soul\u2019s belonging to God and the religious community. Among many, the desire to see in the Bible clear restrictions on sex is so strong that passages that target something specific are frequently interpreted as general moral absolutes.<\/p>\n Cataldo\u2019s point highlights a central difficulty: discussions of sex in the Bible are rarely just about the texts themselves, but about how those texts are read, generalized, and applied.<\/p>\n This makes the topic particularly complex, since modern expectations often press the Bible into offering clear, universal rules where the ancient sources themselves are more varied and context-bound.<\/p>\n For that reason, what follows isn\u2019t a full-scale exegesis of every relevant passage nor a detailed theological analysis of Bible, God, and sexuality.<\/p>\n Instead, this section offers a broad, historically informed survey<\/strong> of the key places where sex and sexuality appear across the biblical corpus.<\/p>\n By moving through different kinds of texts (narrative, legal, poetic, and early Christian writings) we can begin to see how these materials approach the subject from distinct angles, shaped by their own literary aims and social contexts, starting with the texts of the Hebrew Bible<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the narrative portions of the Hebrew Bible, sex most often appears as an integral part of larger stories about family, survival, and social order.<\/p>\n From the opening chapters of Book of Genesis<\/a>, sexual relations are closely tied to reproduction and the continuation of human life (most famously in the divine command to \u201cbe fruitful and multiply\u201d). Within these narratives, sex functions less as a topic in its own right and more as a necessary mechanism <\/strong>through which kinship structures are formed, maintained, and extended across generations.<\/p>\n At the same time, these texts reveal that sexuality is deeply embedded in concerns about lineage and inheritance.<\/p>\n Stories such as that of Tamar in Genesis 38 illustrate how sexual relations could be mobilized (sometimes in unconventional or socially ambiguous ways) to secure offspring and preserve a family line.<\/p>\n In such contexts, the emphasis falls on ensuring the continuity of a household <\/strong>within a patriarchal framework where descendants, especially male heirs, were of central importance. Sexuality, in other words, is closely intertwined with questions of legitimacy, status, and the transmission of property and identity.<\/p>\n Yet these narratives also portray sex as a site of power, vulnerability, and moral tension<\/strong>. The account of David and Bathsheba in the Second Book of Samuel 11 is perhaps the most striking example, precisely because it exposes how sexual relations could be entangled with authority and social hierarchy.<\/p>\n As Michael D. Coogan observes in his book God and Sex<\/a>, \u201cthe understanding of adultery as expropriation of another man\u2019s property is also found in biblical narrative.\u201d In this case, the issue isn\u2019t merely personal desire or moral failure in the abstract, but the abuse of royal power.<\/p>\n David, as king, is able to summon Bathsheba, the wife of one of his soldiers, and then orchestrate her husband\u2019s death to conceal the consequences of the encounter.<\/p>\n Coogan\u2019s analysis sharpens the underlying logic of the story by noting that, in effect, David\u2019s action is portrayed as a form of appropriation: \u201cin committing adultery with Bathsheba, David was guilty of expropriating Uriah\u2019s property.\u201d<\/p>\n Read in this light, the narrative reflects a broader ancient Near Eastern framework<\/strong> in which adultery is construed less as a mutual violation of marital fidelity and more as an infringement upon another man\u2019s household.<\/p>\n At the same time, the story doesn\u2019t simply normalize this perspective; it dramatizes its consequences.<\/p>\n Through the prophet Nathan\u2019s parable and David\u2019s eventual recognition of guilt, the text exposes the moral and political ramifications of such an abuse of power.<\/p>\n The episode thus illustrates how, within biblical narrative, sexuality can function as a flashpoint where desire, authority, and social order intersect, revealing tensions that resist any simple or uniform ethical formulation.<\/p>\n A somewhat different perspective emerges<\/strong>, however, when we turn from narrative to the poetic and wisdom traditions of the Hebrew Bible, where sex isn\u2019t primarily embedded in stories of lineage or power but becomes the subject of reflection, exhortation, and even celebration.<\/p>\n Nowhere is this more evident than in the Song of Solomon<\/strong>, a collection of lyrical poems that foreground erotic desire and mutual longing between lovers. Unlike many other biblical texts, the Song doesn\u2019t frame sexuality in terms of law, prohibition, or even explicit marriage.<\/p>\n Instead, it offers an intimate and highly sensual portrayal of human attraction, expressed through vivid imagery and reciprocal dialogue.<\/p>\n The prominence of the female voice in particular (articulate, desiring, and active) has drawn significant scholarly attention. As Renita J. Weems notes in her essay published in the Women’s Bible Commentary<\/a>:<\/p>\n In the Song of Songs, human sexuality is explored and delighted in so as to make some very specific assertions about female sexuality, to counter some definite notions about beauty, and to insist in a rather dramatic manner on a woman and a man\u2019s right to love, irrespective of prevailing cultural norms, whomever their heart chooses.<\/p>\n Read in this light, the Song not only celebrates desire but also subtly challenges certain social assumptions about gender, beauty, and the legitimacy of romantic attachment.<\/p>\n At the same time, the very openness of the text <\/strong>has historically made it difficult to situate within more restrictive moral frameworks, prompting generations of interpreters to read it allegorically (as a depiction of the love between God and Israel or Christ and the Church) rather than as a celebration of human sexuality.<\/p>\n Yet when approached in its literary and historical context, the Song stands out within the biblical corpus as a rare and striking affirmation of erotic experience.<\/p>\n By contrast, the Book of Proverbs <\/strong>offers a more didactic and cautionary approach. Here, sexual behavior is framed within the pursuit of wisdom and the maintenance of social order, most notably through warnings against adultery and the figure of the \u201cstrange woman.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, Proverbs doesn\u2019t reject sexuality outright. Passages such as Proverbs 5:18\u201319 affirm the value of sexual pleasure within marriage<\/strong>, encouraging delight in one\u2019s spouse in language that is, at times, surprisingly evocative.<\/p>\n The juxtaposition of these elements (warning and affirmation) underscores a broader tension within the wisdom literature: sexuality is neither wholly condemned nor unconditionally embraced, but carefully situated within a moral framework that seeks to regulate desire while acknowledging its place in human life.<\/p>\n DID PAUL AND JESUS HAVE THE SAME RELIGION?<\/p>\n Jesus taught a message of repentance to prepare for the Kingdom of God while Paul taught faith in Jesus. \u00a0Did they agree?\u00a0 Should they be considered the \u201cco-founders\u201d of Christianity?<\/p>\n __CONFIG_colors_palette__{“active_palette”:0,”config”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“name”:”Main Accent”,”parent”:-1}},”gradients”:[]},”palettes”:[{“name”:”Default Palette”,”value”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“val”:”rgb(255, 133, 34)”,”hsl”:{“h”:26,”s”:0.99,”l”:0.5667}}},”gradients”:[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__ LEARN MORE<\/strong> <\/a> In our survey of key verses that can help us understand what the Bible says about sex, we now turn to the New Testament<\/strong>, where the discussion takes on new dimensions shaped by early Christian concerns, theological developments, and changing views on the body, desire, and the ideal of sexual renunciation.<\/p>\n In our exploration of the key verses, the most methodologically sound approach is to begin with the earliest sources<\/strong>, namely the letters of Paul.<\/a> What does the Bible say about sex in those writings? We\u2019ll soon see that there isn\u2019t a simple endorsement or prohibition, but a reframing of sexuality within a broader vision of disciplined life, where desire is acknowledged, managed, and directed rather than denied.<\/p>\n Among these letters, 1 Corinthians offers one of the most sustained reflections on sex, sexuality, and marriage in early Christianity.<\/p>\n Here, sexuality is woven into broader concerns about community life, moral discipline, and the expectation that the present world is passing away.<\/p>\n Paul\u2019s discussion reveals a careful balancing act between acknowledging human desire and regulating it.<\/p>\n Drawing on the analysis of William Loader in his book The New Testament on Sexuality<\/a>, we can see that Paul doesn\u2019t simply condemn sexuality, nor does he celebrate it unreservedly.<\/p>\n Instead, he situates it within a framework of control and accommodation<\/strong>. As Loader explains:<\/p>\n Paul acknowledges the power of sexual passion, expressed as burning, an image used also in Rom 1:27… He expresses a preference for celibacy, but concedes marriage and sexual relations in marriage as acceptable, for they are to enable people to avoid the sin of sexual immorality, which might range from engagement in prostitution or, if they have prospective partners, pre-marital sex… If burning refers to sexual passion, it depicts it as intense and becoming too hard to manage. Paul writes about men who \u2018are not practicing self-control\u2019. Clearly that is blameworthy, because it means they are engaging in sexual wrongdoing. In itself, however, having difficulty exercising self-control is not a ground for condemnation, as it would have been for many moralists of his day.<\/p>\n Loader\u2019s reading highlights an important nuance for understanding sexuality in the Bible: Paul distinguishes between desire itself and the failure to regulate it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Sexual passion is portrayed as powerful (something that can \u201cburn\u201d) but not inherently sinful. Rather than condemning those who struggle with such desire, Paul offers a practical solution. As Loader continues,<\/p>\n Rather he advises that when faced with such difficulty one should not give in and do what is wrong, but rather marry. In offering such advice Paul is not condemning sexual desire in itself, let alone imagining that if people marry it will cease to exist… Marriage is not Paul\u2019s preferred option for people, but he makes a special point of emphasising<\/strong> that those who do so, do not sin (7:28, 36). It is therefore unlikely that Paul is trying to evoke guilt among those who marry because they have difficulty managing their passion.<\/p>\n Marriage, then, functions less as an ideal state and more as a structured and legitimate context within which desire can be expressed without transgressing communal norms.<\/p>\n At the same time, Paul\u2019s preference for celibacy reflects a distinctive early Christian perspective shaped by <\/strong>eschatological expectation<\/a>.<\/p>\n If the present form of the world is passing away, then even socially central institutions such as marriage become relativized. This doesn\u2019t mean that sex is rejected outright, but that it\u2019s subordinated to a higher ideal of undivided devotion.<\/p>\n A somewhat different but related approach emerges when we turn from Paul\u2019s letters to the teachings attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here, the focus shifts from regulating behavior within communal structures to intensifying the moral demands placed upon the individual<\/strong>, especially at the level of intention.<\/p>\n In Matthew\u2019s Gospel, sexual ethics are articulated through a reinterpretation of earlier commandments, most notably in the teaching that moves from the prohibition of adultery to the internalization of desire (Matt 5:27\u201328).<\/p>\n Drawing again on Loader\u2019s analysis, the key point is that this passage doesn\u2019t simply condemn sexual attraction as such, but rather the deliberate cultivation of desire <\/strong>directed toward another man\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n The emphasis lies on intentionality (on the purposeful orientation of one\u2019s will) rather than on spontaneous or involuntary responses.<\/p>\n In this way, the Gospel reflects a broader ethical move: just as anger can lead to violence, so intentional desire can lead to adultery. Sexuality here isn\u2019t denied per se but brought under a more rigorous form of moral scrutiny<\/strong>, one that relocates the locus of ethical responsibility from external action to internal disposition.<\/p>\n A further nuance becomes clear when we look more closely at the language and conceptual framework of this passage. The focus is on a deliberate orientation of the will. Namely, what the text describes as looking \u201cwith a view to\u201d desiring. In this sense, the issue isn\u2019t simply that desire exists, but how it\u2019s cultivated and directed within a relational context.<\/p>\n In other words, the passage presupposes that sexual response itself is a natural part of human experience. What is brought under scrutiny is the intentional development of that desire in a way that transgresses established boundaries, particularly those defined by marriage.<\/p>\n The emphasis, therefore, lies on responsibility <\/strong>rather than on the mere presence of those impulses. In this way, the Gospel\u2019s teaching contributes to a broader pattern within early Christian thought, where sexuality in the Bible is neither simply affirmed nor rejected, but carefully situated within a framework of moral intention and relational accountability.<\/p>\n Before we move on, we\u2019ve put together a handy <\/strong>(and dare we say, quite generous) table <\/strong>for our readers, bringing together some of the most frequently cited Bible verses about sex<\/strong>, so you don\u2019t have to go hunting through multiple books and chapters yourself.<\/p>\n![\"What](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/What-Does-the-Bible-Say-About-Sex.png\" "\\"What")
<\/p>\nWhat Does the Bible Say About Sex? A Wide Survey<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nWhat Does God Say About Sex? A Survey of Key Old Testament Verses<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nWhat Does the Bible Say About Sexuality? A Survey of Key Verses in the New Testament<\/h3>\n
The Apostle Paul: Views on Sex and Sexuality<\/h4>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nThe Gospel of Matthew: Views on Sex and Sexuality<\/h4>\n
What Does the Bible Say About Sex? Key Verses (Table)<\/h2>\n
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