Very few people seem to understand the meaning of these words. I think a brief dictionary of Biblical sexuality is in order. The definitions here are based on Biblical usage, and these words may be defined differently in law or other texts. Most of the words in this list are not used in the Bible at all, but I have included them anyway, because they are useful in discussing Biblical topics.
Adultery – Any sexual act between a married woman and a man who is not her husband. Every use of the Hebrew and Greek terms for adultery refers to a man with another man’s wife. It might be immoral for a married man to have sex with an unmarried woman, but it is not adultery according to Biblical usage.
Bestiality – Any sexual act between a person and an animal. Biblical law requires the death of both the person and the animal.
Betrothal – Agreement to a future marriage. In the Bible a betrothal is as binding as marriage. The rapist of a betrothed woman receives the same punishment as the rapist of a married woman: death. The rapist of an unbetrothed virgin receives a heavy financial penalty.
Bill of Divorcement – A document given by a husband to a divorced wife to prove that she has been lawfully divorced.
Bride-price – Something of value usually given to the father or family of a woman in exchange for her marriage. Sometimes the bride-price might be given to the woman. In ancient Hebrew culture, if a bride-price is given without receiving a dowry, then the woman would become a concubine. She would be a wife, but would also have been purchased, making her a slave. See dowry.
Consanguinogamy – Marriage to relatives who are not Biblically forbidden. Cousin and uncle/niece marriages are consanguinogamous.
Divorce – The dissolution of a marriage by repudiation or abandonment. See putting away and bill of divorcement.
Dowry – Something of value brought into a marriage by a woman. Usually it consisted of property given to the husband by the bride’s family. It might be reserved for use by the woman and might return to her family if she is divorced. See bride-price.
Endogamy – Marriage within one’s own social group, clan, or tribe.
Exogamy – Marriage outside of one’s own social group, clan, or tribe.
Fornication – Any sexually immoral act. Fornication includes adultery, homosexuality, bestiality, prostitution, incest, etc.
Harlotry – Prostitution or sex for pay.
Homosexuality – See lesbianism and sodomy.
Incest – Sexual relations with a close relative. Sexual relations with any of the following persons would be incest: parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, nephews. Marriage to cousins, uncles, and nieces might be considered incestuous in modern, Western cultures, but they are not forbidden in the Bible.
Lesbianism – Female homosexuality. Alluded to once by Paul, but otherwise is not specifically addressed in the Bible.
Levirate – The practice of a surviving male relative–usually a brother–marrying the childless widow of the deceased. The purpose was to ensure the continuity of inheritance by providing the deceased with an heir in the firstborn of the new marriage. If a man had several wives and at least one of them had children, then the law of the levirate would not apply.
Marriage – A permanent union between a man and a woman, consummated by sexual relations. I do not believe that the sexual union in itself constitutes marriage. It must be accompanied by an agreement of permanency between the marrying individuals, and the consent, whether implicit or explicit, of the woman’s guardian if she is not a widow or divorcee.
Onanism – Male masturbation or “pulling out” to prevent conception. Named for Onan, the son of Judah, because he was killed by God for spilling his seed on the ground to avoid giving his deceased brother an heir according to the levirate. I believe that the term is misnamed and misapplied, because Onan was not killed for spilling his seed, but for denying his brother an heir. It might be more appropriate to apply the term to the modern aversion to the levirate and to onerous inheritance taxes.
Polyandry – A more or less permanent sexual relationship established between one woman and more than one man. A form of polygamy that is not allowed by Biblical laws.
Polygamy – A more or less permanent sexual relationship established between one person and multiple persons of the opposite gender. Bigamy (one person with only two persons of the opposite gender), polyandry (one woman with multiple men), and polygyny (one man with multiple women) are sub-categories of polygamy.
Polygyny – A more or less permanent sexual relationship established between one man and more than one woman. A form of polygamy that is allowed by Biblical laws.
Putting Away – Repudiation and physical removal of a spouse, almost always of a wife by her husband. See divorce.
Sodomy – Male homosexuality, especially homosexual prostitution or ritual homosexuality. All male sodomy is clearly condemned in the Bible, which prescribes the death penalty for all sodomites.
Sororal Polygyny – The marriage of one man to two sisters, as in the case of Jacob with Leah and Rachel. Prohibited by Leviticus 18:18, but the prohibition might be limited to situations in which the second marriage is likely to cause a great deal of strain on the first, for example if the sisters are already hostile or very competitive toward one another. Could also be called “sororal polygamy.”
Whoredom – Pretty much the same as fornication. Whoredom might imply prostitution or illicit heterosexual activity as opposed to other forms of fornication.
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