Lust, Masturbation, and the Bible
Executive Summary:
“Lust, Masturbation, and the Bible” tackles a thorny discipleship question. Lust outside of marriage is never ok. However, while it is not ideal, masturbation can serve to save one from the grave sins of adultery, or from lust outside of marriage. Intention is key. Masturbation is not justifiable as a “pleasure vehicle”, but rather only as a means of short-circuiting lust outside of marriage or other grave sins. It can be useful to some as a “substitutionary lesser evil” of sorts.
Lesson Plan:
Sometimes disciples ask questions about masturbation. To show why it is not ok as a pleasure vehicle, but only to help us to avoid graver sins, we will look at several passages.
1. Onan spilling seed in Genesis 38:8-10
2. Job’s covenant with his eyes in Job 31:1
3. The “eunuchs” (celibates) of Isaiah 56:3-5
3a. The commandments not to cut self
3b. The commandment to be fruitful
4. Lust equals adultery in Matthew 5:27-30
5. Eunuchism (celibacy) in Matthew 19:1-12
6. Marital abstinence in 1 Corinthians 7:1-9
7. Discussion and Conclusions
8. Recommendations for the bride
9. Medical issues
Onan Spilling Seed in Genesis 38:8-10
Many people have been taught (incorrectly) that there is a death penalty for masturbation. To see why this is not accurate let us first read the command for Yibbum (or Levirate Marriage) in the Torah.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 25:5-6
5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.
6 And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.”
In context, the command here is that if we have a brother in Israel without an heir for his name, we are to take his wife and raise up a son to further his name. This is what Onan did not do in Genesis 38:8-10 (and that is why Yahweh killed him).
B’reisheet (Genesis) 38:8-10 (NKJV)
8 And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.”
9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother.
10 And the thing which he did displeased Yahweh; therefore He killed him also.
The death-penalty offense was not that Onan wasted his seed per se. Rather, the crime was that Onan did not love his brother enough to raise up an heir to continue his dead brother’s name.
Job’s Covenant with His Eyes in Job 31:1
The righteous Job found it very important not to look at a young woman (maiden, virgin) with lust.
Iyov (Job) 31:1
1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman?
It is very important to understand that it is not right for a man to lust for someone who is not his wife (and it is not right for a woman to lust for someone who is not her husband). We will come back to this later.
The “Eunuchs” (Celibates) of Isaiah 56:3-5
Next, Yeshayahu (Isaiah) tells us that the “eunuchs” who have joined themselves to Yahweh should not call themselves (spiritually) dry trees. This is because those eunuchs who keep His Shabbat and choose what pleases Him and hold fast to His covenant will receive a place and a name in His house better than that of sons and daughters.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 56:3-5
3 Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to Yahweh Speak, saying, “Yahweh has utterly separated me from His people”; Nor let the eunuch say, “Here I am, a dry tree.”
4 For thus says Yahweh: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant,
5 Even to them I will give in My house And within My walls a place and a name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name That shall not be cut off.”
Prohibitions Against Self-Cutting
We interpret this to mean covenant celibacy rather than physical castration, because several passages prohibit us cutting or mutilating our bodies, or even so much as getting tattoos or shaving the fronts of our heads! Leviticus 19:28 is one such command.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 19:28
28 “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am Yahweh.”
Deuteronomy 14:1 is another such command.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 14:1
1 “You are the children of Yahweh your Elohim; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead.”
Further, Leviticus prohibits offering an animal to Yahweh that has no testicles (and the sacrifices are symbolic of us). We will use the Lexham English Bible here.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 22:24 (LEB)
24 And you shall not present anything for Yahweh with bruised or shattered or torn or cut-off testicles, and you shall not sacrifice such in your land.
In many places, Shaliach Shaul also likens our bodies to living stones in the set-apart temple or tabernacle built without hands—and apart from circumcision on the eighth day, there is no commandment anywhere in the Scriptures to cut away, amputate, or castrate any part of the spiritual tabernacle or temple.
Qorintim Aleph (1 Corinthians) 6:18-20
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Set-apart Spirit who is in you, whom you have from Elohim, and you are not your own?
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify Elohim in your body and in your spirit, which are Elohim’s.
Castration is a major life-altering event, and if Yahweh wanted male castration there would certainly have been instructions given in the Torah.
The Command to be Fruitful and Multiply
The question arises about the “command” Elohim gave in Genesis 1:28 to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
B’reisheet (Genesis) 1:28
28 Then Elohim blessed them, and Elohim said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Orthodox Judah interprets Genesis 1:28 to mean that absolutely everyone should get married and raise lots of babies. However, if that interpretation were correct, then Isaiah 56:3-5 would be invalid. That, however, is utterly impossible, because Isaiah was speaking for Yahweh, and Yahweh does not contradict Himself.
Therefore, we see that Yahweh was giving human beings an inclination (or an urge) to procreate in Genesis 1:28 that shows up as a strong sexual drive (that needs to be controlled).
Lust Equals Adultery in Matthew 5:27-29
Next, Yeshua agrees with Job that we should not look on a young woman (maiden, virgin) with lust. Yeshua says that if we even look on a woman with lust, it is as if we have already committed adultery with her in our hearts.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:27-30
27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
28 “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29 “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
30 “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”
If we reflect on this, we should be able to see that there is an unseen spiritual realm, and our emotions and spiritual energies have an impact in this unseen spiritual realm. This is also seen in passages such as 1 John 3:15, where it is as if anyone who even hates his brother has already “murdered” him.
Yochanan Aleph (1 John) 3:15
15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Eunuchism (Celibacy) in Matthew 19:1-12
Now let us start to bring it all together. In Matthew 19, Yeshua is speaking marriage, and of the advantages of abstaining thereof. Yeshua tells the Pharisees (the Orthodox) that their interpretation of divorce is wrong. (For more details, see “Yahweh’s Heart in Marriage” in the Covenant Relationships collection.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 19:3-12
3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
4 “And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’
5 “and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?
6 “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what Elohim has joined together, let not man separate.”
7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moshe command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
8 He said to them, “Moshe, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
9 “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
10 His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”
11 But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:
12 “For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”
How do we understand verse 12? In ancient times, kings would often physically castrate young males and raise them in their own households because they were seen as less likely to rise up and overthrow the king, or to take the king’s woman/women. Therefore, verse 12 tells us that there are men who are born without testicles from the womb, and there eunuchs who are made eunuchs by men (especially kings).
Then Yeshua tells us that there are those who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. As mentioned above, this cannot mean we should physically castrate ourselves, because the Torah tells us not to cut ourselves apart from physical circumcision, and not to offer animals without testicles—and therefore this can only be a euphemism for a vow of celibacy.
Yeshua is also clear that most people are not called to celibacy (but rather they should get married and raise up children to serve Elohim). Only a few will have this gift (and those who do not have this gift should not take this vow). (For more details, see “Abstinence, Celibacy, and Nazirites” in the Covenant Relationships collection.)
Marital Abstinence in 1 Corinthians 7:1-9
In 1 Corinthians 7, the context is still marriage. Shaliach Shaul (the Apostle Paul) tells us that it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because Yahweh does give humans a strong sex drive and we do not want to be sexually immoral, most men should marry.
Qorintim Aleph (1 Corinthians) 7:1-2
1 Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me:
It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
2 Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.
Shaul also tells us that the husband and wife should not withhold sex (or spousal affection and love) from each other, but that each one in a marital relationship should serve the other one’s needs. Therefore, they should not abstain from marital relations except by mutual consent and for a limited time, to focus on prayer. That way, no one feels driven to commit adultery.
Qorintim Aleph (1 Corinthians) 7:3-5
3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.
4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Shaul also tells us what Yeshua told us, which is that celibacy is better—but only if we have been given that gift. Then in verse 9 he says that if we cannot exercise self-control (i.e., if we cannot refrain from committing sexual immorality according to Torah) then we should marry.
Qorintim Aleph (1 Corinthians) 7:6-9
6 But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment.
7 For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from Elohim, one in this manner and another in that.
8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am;
9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
The big question is, what does Shaul mean by verse 9? The entire argument hinges on this, so let us explore it some more.
We believe in a Hebrew (or Aramaic) inspiration, but the oldest extant manuscripts are in Greek—and the Greek manuscripts do not have “with passion” in them. Rather, they read simply, “to burn” or “to kindle.” It is Strong’s Greek 4448, πυρόω, meaning to be ignited or inflamed with passion or lust.
Strong’s Greek Concordance G4448
Πυρόω puroō poo-ro’-o
From G4442; to kindle, that is, (passively) to be ignited, glow (literally), be refined (by implication), or (figuratively) to be inflamed (with anger, grief, lust): – burn, fiery, be on fire, try.
When we look up the root at G4442 we see that it refers to fire or lightning.
Strong’s Greek Concordance G4442
πῦρ pur poor
A primary word; “fire” (literally or figuratively, specifically lightning): – fiery, fire.
Shaul’s meaning, then, seems to be that it is better to marry than to burn with passion or lust and thus break the Torah with regards to sexual immorality (adultery, fornication, homosexuality, etc.).
Qorintim Aleph (1 Corinthians) 7:9
9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
All of this makes sense in that Yeshua tells us (above) that in the spiritual realm, to look on a woman with lust is the same as to have sex with her. However, this starts to get complicated, because in practical terms it means that lusting after (or fantasizing about) anyone other than your spouse is prohibited, because it qualifies as spiritual sexual immorality. So how can we resolve this issue with regards to the relentless male sex drive and masturbation?
Discussion and Conclusions
Masturbation is generally considered taboo, both as an act and as a topic for discussion. We anticipate that some people will make jokes—however, disciples are real people with real questions and real problems, and condemnation and shame are not healthy solutions. Further, masturbation can even affect faithfully married couples in ways that they do not expect, so we counsel against judgment.
To help men and women understand each other, let us realize that male and female biology are different. Men are more like gardeners seeking to plant seed, while women are more like earth, waiting to raise seed that is planted. This may lead to a difference in understanding of each other’s condition, so let us understand.
Most women normally ovulate about once a month, and—therefore one might biologically expect that women want to be impregnated on average during their monthly time of fertility. In contrast, most healthy males produce sperm and seminal fluid constantly, such that we might expect to see men wanting to plant seed continuously (and this is in fact what we do see).
Therefore, what does a faithfully married man do if he needs to be away from his wife for an extended time, due to business travel or war? And what if (like almost all men) he does not have an infinite amount of self-control? It would be easy to hypothesize that he should not fantasize about any woman (including his wife) such that he has an emission through masturbation, but research shows that the sex drive Yahweh gave man is so strong that reports of the ability to override biology is exceedingly rare (and in some cases is caused by a medical issue).
Given that the ability to override male biology is so rare, would it be wrong for a faithfully married man to masturbate and have an emission while thinking of his wife? We believe it would not be wrong, in that masturbating and emitting while thinking of his wife is much better than committing adultery. (Thus, it could perhaps be thought of as a “lesser of two evils.”)
But so now what does a married man do if he loses his wife (Father forbid), and is either in mourning, or he is otherwise not ready to remarry, and yet he still has a normal male sex drive? Is it sinful for him to masturbate while thinking about his sleeping wife? Or is it immoral for him to have night emissions? We believe it would not be right to remove him from the assembly under such circumstances.
Now to add yet another layer of complexity, what would a faithful young disciple who loves Yahweh do who is perhaps physically disabled, and is not in a financial position to marry? What if he wants to be faithful, but Yahweh has not brought him a wife? And what if he has normal male seminal pressure that leads him to fantasy if the pressure is not relieved? Is it immoral for him to masturbate in order to relieve the pressure, and stop the unwanted thoughts (so long as he does not do so on a Shabbat or a high day)?
The reality is that this last question poses a much larger challenge, because masturbation to emission typically involves (or requires) an object of fantasy, whether conscious or subconscious. However, this brings us back to Yeshua’s dictum that if we have lust for a woman in our hearts, it is as if we have already committed adultery with her—and this is perhaps what is at the heart of the conundrum. But what is the solution?
Recommendations for the Bride
It is easy to judge that all men should be able to abstain from the effects of seminal fluid back-pressure such that they can abstain from masturbation and all kinds of night seminal emissions (and the associated fantasies) in all circumstances.
However, the reality is that this kind of self-control is rare to the point of not being reported in medical literature. So, to be realistic, let us acknowledge that the command is to avoid is sexual immorality as defined by Torah (fornication, adultery, homosexuality, breaking marital relationships, etc.), and fantasizing about sex with a woman who is not our spouse.
Only, if normal healthy males involuntarily build up biological back pressure that will either come out through night-emissions (after a period of uncontrollable fantasy) or that period of uncontrollable fantasy can be short-circuited through masturbation), how can we avoid fantasy with someone who is not our spouse?
We in Nazarene Israel seek to be Yeshua’s bride(s). Given that we exist in a fallen world with less-than-ideal male biology, then as a practical fallen-world technique, would it be the “lesser of two evils” to relieve pressure and fantasizing (i.e., lust) by focusing on being Yeshua’s bride, and making Yeshua the object of our fantasy? Would that break the Torah, since He is our Husband, and we belong to Him?
Medical Issues
There are some rare medical issues in the literature where men can masturbate or have sexual relations and there is no seminal emission. This is not related to discipleship but is a medical issue.
Some natural medical systems (e.g., Chinese medicine) tell us that sexual health is affected by kidney health—and that kidney issues can cause “spermatorrhea”, which is an inability to control seminal emissions (and associated fantasies). Strengthening the kidneys with herbs or exercises (qi-gong) can strengthen sexual health, prolong life, and reduce fantasies. (Always consult a qualified Chinese doctor before starting a Chinese medical regimen.)
For those who suffer from fantasies, fervent prayer is the ultimate answer. Focusing on being Yeshua’s bride can reduce cravings for earthly sexual relations. However, in Europe in antiquity, monks often used chasteberry (vitex agnus-castus) to help reduce both fantasizing and seminal emissions in conjunction with prayer. (Always consult a qualified natural medical doctor before starting a natural herbal regimen.)
We pray this information is helpful for those seeking to obey Scripture and reduce spiritual uncleanness in this fallen world. We pray it will not be used as an excuse for “recreational masturbation”, but rather that it will lead to a greater focus on our Husband Yeshua, rather than on sexual fantasies in this transient fallen world. The goal is to short-circuit fantasies on earthly women (not your spouse).
Again, sex within the context of a dedicated marriage is an honorable estate. Masturbation should never be used as a “vehicle for pleasure”, but only as a means of short-circuiting lust outside of marriage. We mention it as a “substitutionary lesser evil” of sorts, to help build focus and faithfulness to our Husband Yeshua. We pray it will serve.
Shalom
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