Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say,
‘The Lord will surely separate me from his people’;
and do not let the eunuch say,
‘I am just a dry tree.’
For thus says the Lord:
To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
I will give, in my house and within my walls,
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.

Isaiah is a weighty book of the so-called Old Testament, and is frequently brought into account in the New Testament. It forms part of the work of the Prophets, although Isaiah himself is only thought to have written some of the work himself.

It is also unusual in that it specifically sheds a positive light upon the transgendered at length.

The verses seem to view eunuchs as a third gender, most specifically the phrase ‘better than sons and daughters’, which also seems to posit eunuchs at the apogee of the gender hierarchy. This may well be due to the fact that a eunuch cannot breed, or it may not. The ‘dry tree’ reference seems to indicate however that this is so. We all know that both Jesus and Paul called people to a celibate life, as much better than a sexual one, Isaiah 56:3-5 seems to say the same.

This whole reference could be viewed in retrospect as a reference to male homosexual orientation, but I think not. For one the last line clearly and unequivocally points out that a eunuch has been castrated, I do not think this is a reference to the cutting off from opposite sex relations, specifically because of the third gender reference above.

The one scriptural reference, the “clobber verse” that fundamentalists use to support their denigration of trans people is Deuteronomy 22:5. But this merely refers to opposite sex clothing. The only other reference to trans people in the Hebrew bible is in Isaiah, the other references, all positive, are in the New Testament.

Now, today we recognise a trans person in the gender of their choosing. This is problematic, when I say choosing I mean the gender they advocate for themselves, which is part of their core identity and bears no resemblance to learnt, cultural identity.

Is it not without the bounds of probability that the Jewish lawmakers too, saw this. That they themselves understood the transgendered condition and indeed, even prophesied about it in Isaiah? I believe so. Thus the Deuteronomy reference refers not to trans people, but transgressing people, for say the purpose of fraud or other such naughtiness (temple prostitution is another probability but opens up a whole new can of worms regarding same - sex behaviour.) Truly transgendered individuals were recognised under Jewish law, as exposed by Isaiah, and therefore were not subject to censure or proscription such as those who chose to cross dress for nefarious purposes.

Much of Judaism today is quite tolerant of trans people, possibly due to scriptural exegesis. Why evangelicals and the like have chosen to take one negative reference regarding clothing, and ignore the four positive references (Isaiah 56:3-5; Matthew 19:11-12; Acts 8:27-39; Galatians 3:28) about eunuchs in scripture is a matter of conscience, theirs. Condemning and judging a group of already heavily marginalised and oppressed people with this one reference would seem to be intellectually devoid of understanding. That is, understanding of scripture. You do not need to read these references through modern eyes to see the starkness of what I have described, they are plain enough to be read simply as culturally appropriate of their time, and of ours.

I should point out that the word ‘eunuch’ has many meanings to modern scholars. It may, as I have surmised, refer to transgendered individuals, and it has been used to refer to gay individuals. It has also been used to refer to individuals who have chosen a celibate lifestyle, although less rarely. When a Galli, transgendered priestess of the Magna Mater, Cybele, was unearthed in York a few years ago, the skeleton was said to be of a eunuch; it was found surrounded by female accoutrements and clothing samples.

So if you are trans and reading this, please learn the scriptural references by heart, and understand that at least one of the chruch fathers, Origen, agreed with our Lord’s teaching on the matter.

Related articles

• Queering Genesis: “Male and Female (And Others) He Created Them”
• Three Queers from the East: Thoughts for the Feast of the Epiphany
• Joseph and His Fabulous Queer Technicolour Dreamcoat.

• A Relection On the Story in Acts on the Ethiopian Eunuch (johnmcneillspiritualtransformation.blogspot.com)
• Epiphany: Queer eye for the Magi (jesusinlove.blogspot.com)