Deuteronomy 23:17-18

3. “There shall be no whore (za-ni-tha - female prostitute) of the daughters of Israel, also there shall be no sodomite (dam-za-ni - he who prostitutes) of the sons of Israel, You shall not bring the hire of a whore or the price of a dog into the house of the LORD your God for any vow; for both of these are an abomination before the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 23:17-18 Lamsa). Dr. Lamsa retains the KJV interpretation in many places in his translation when the Aramaic says something different. The Aramaic text tells us that the sons of Israel are not to become prostitutes. The original Hebrew text says the same thing. The Hebrew word qede-sha, which means: "female prostitute," is in the place of whore at Deut. 23:17. Also, the Hebrew text has the word qa-desh, which means: "male prostitute," in the place of sodomite at the above verse. A Qa-desh (male prostitute) comes from the Hebrew word qa-dash, which means: “to set apart, make holy.” The word qa-dosh, which means “holy, set apart,” is also from qa-dash.

The word dog (ke-lev) in this context refers to a male prostitute. The word dog is also used as a word of contempt and abasement in many places in the Bible (See 1 Sa. 17:43, 24:14; 2 Sa. 9:8; etc). Since paganism and its male prostitutes were abhorred, the word dog became to mean a “male prostitute.” Some religionists have tried to find some connection with the word “dog” and homosexuality. However, the NAS Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon defines “dog” as: dog (literal); contempt or abasement (fig.); of pagan sacrifice or male cult prostitute (fig.). James Strong defines the word dog to mean: (by euphemism) a male prostitute. Notice that both those witnesses don’t say that the word dog means a “[homosexual] male prostitute.” The word homosexual is not to be included with the words “male prostitute” for their definition of ke-lev (or male prostitute). And lastly, the New Jerusalem Bible has a footnote for this verse. That Bible translation states that the word dog is “a contemptuous term for [a] male prostitute.”

Religious prostitution was probably based on the person's sexual orientation [i.e. hetero, bi or gay] (See Ex. 34:16, etc.). The word za-nu, meaning "to prostitute," is translated as "whoring" at Exodus 34:16. But at least some hetero male and female prostitutes had homosexual sex because they were brainwashed to go against their nature (See Romans Ch. 1). In conclusion, there is no reason to believe that a “dog” meant exclusively a “homosexual male prostitute.”

When the word sodomite is used as a translation from the Hebrew text, it needs to be understood as a male prostitute and a pagan minister. Interestingly, the word Sodom doesn't carry any meaning dealing with homosexuality or anal sex. The word Sodom comes from the Hebrew Sed-om, which means: to scorch; burnt (i.e. volcanic or bituminous) [Strong’s Exh. Conc. of the Bible]. Our understanding of sodomy (sodomia) as anal sex is a Latin and English definition which comes from the story of Sodom.