There are only four verses in all of Scripture - one in Deuteronomy and three in 1st Kings - which use the word SODOMITE:

"There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a SODOMITE of the sons of Israel," -Deuteronomy 23:17

"For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. And there were also SODOMITES in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel," -1st Kings 14:23-24

"And he took away the SODOMITES out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made," -1st Kings 15:12

"And (King Jehoshaphat) walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the Lord: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places. And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah? And the remnant of the SODOMITES, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land," -1st Kings 22:43-46

The Hebrew word, which the KJV translates as "Sodomite", is "Kadesh". As a reader of the Hebrew language, I know and understand the definition of Kadesh. In fact, the word was once so popular and well known that there were several cities which bore this name. But don't take MY word for it. Here's how the famous Strong's Concordance of the KJV itself translates this word:

"a quasi sacred person, i.e. a male devotee by prostitution

to licentious idolatry; - Sodomite, unclean."

So literally, Kadesh refers to male prostitution in pagan religious rites. By the very Hebrew definition of the word, we see that it does not refer to a homosexual, but rather, male religious prostitution heterosexually and/or homosexually - since the Bible makes NO mention of either (which is another flaw in the anti-gay interpretation of this word).

The context of the verses above also confirms the Strong's Hebrew definition. In EVERY case that "Sodomite" occurs in the Scriptures, we see it coupled with idolatry or prostitution - which is exactly what a Sodomite would be involved with. A Sodomite is the male equivalent of a female temple prostitute, used for sexual rituals and orgies to false gods, such as Dionysus, Bacchus, Baal, and Dagon. Men would have sex with Sodomites - not because they were homosexual, but because they believed that that was the offering demanded by the god to who they offered their sex offering. They believed that the energy built up during the sex act was some sort of spiritual energy, and they believed that there were two different types of energies they could achieve to offer to their god - one with a female, and one with a male. And for this very reason, this practice is known to flourish among many sects of witchcraft (Wicca) and Satanism today.

Because so many people incorrectly believe that Sodom was destroyed because of homosexuality, "homosexual" is assumed to be the definition of "Sodomite", and it is from this assumption that the newer term "Sodomy" was invented (referring to anal sex). However, the Hebrew word “Kadesh” does not refer to the nation of Sodom or the so-called act of “Sodomy”. The King James translators used the English word "Sodomite" as a way to label the debaucherous behavior in the verses where the word is used. It’s a bit like using the word “Nazi” to sum up all the behavior of a tyrannical ruler. In Hebrew, if you were to refer to the citizens of Sodom as “Sodomites”, it would be “Sedomiit” (pronounced sed-om-eh-eet) - not “Kadesh”, as the English text uses. The translators did not err by using “Sodomite”, because “Kadesh”, when clearly defined in English, is extremely vulgar, and the translators used the polite common speech of their day by saying “Sodomite”. Sadly, a very WRONG definition has been applied to that English word, and had Christian scholars studied these verses to show themselves approved unto God, they would know this easily.

It is interesting that the church claims that this definition is a twisting of the Scriptures, when in fact it is the church that has altered the meaning of the English word to suit personal bias. I am always amazed that, with all of the scholarly wisdom among pastors and ministers of the Church-at-large, this word is taught to mean something it does not mean. That is a clear indication of either personal bias, or ignorance, among the clergy, which is then inflicted upon the rest of the Body of Christ.