I know you don’t want to talk about, and I certainly don’t want to talk about it, but it’s there, so we’re going to talk about it.
Bestiality. Of all the various versions of sexual immorality in Leviticus 19, this one is, by far, the strangest.
From the moment you first read it, all sorts of questions arise. Why would they engage in this? Was it a simple depravity? Was there something more? Which animals? And why those?
I don’t have (nor do I want) all the answers to all these questions, but the fact that bestiality has now come up twice in Leviticus makes me think that there is something deeper than just a perversion. After all, if God is regulating it by name, then there has to be a temptation that exists.
For starters, it appears that sexual intercourse with animals was an actual fetish, both then and now. Some humans do so because of a genuine desire and affection for the animal itself, while some view them as nothing more than gratuitous objects for their own sensual pleasure. The psychology of bestiality is interesting, to say the least.
But, as with most of these sins of sexual immorality, the reason for its repeated mention and semi-common practice was as part of a religious ritual. It was thought by some that intercourse with animals could harness the power of the animals themselves.
Mythology from various cultures are rampant with these types of animal-human dalliances. In one story, Zeus takes the form of a swan and impregnates a princess. In Norse mythology, the god Loki takes the form of a mare and mates with a stallion, producing the eight-legged horse Sleipnir.
It’s entirely possible that the primary reason that God so vigorously forbade His people from engaging in bestiality was because He didn’t want them trying to create god-men hybrids. It wouldn’t happen, but in a pagan society, that doesn’t have to matter.
Jewish experts have other reasons. For instance, Nachmanides, a 13th century Rabbi, argued that bestiality contaminated the soul. Some take it several steps further, arguing that, in Genesis 2, Adam copulated with all the animals, but “found no satisfaction” until he met Eve.
I’m not sure about any of that, and quite frankly, we’re getting into some weird areas here. The only thing I know for certain is that God prohibited His people from having sexual relationships with animals, whether that’s for religious, personal, or ritualistic reasons. It just shouldn’t happen.
And for me, at least on this subject, that’s good enough.
