PROSTITUTION. A term connoting, in the broadest sense, the turning of an object or process from its rightful or natural use to a base one. In the narrower sense, it is the term for sexual relations engaged in outside of marriage for professional reasons, either mercenary or religious.

1. Terminology. The Bible uses three words to denote the prostitute. The most common OT word is זֹנָה, H2390, harlot. This word describes the secular prostitute who offers herself for money. In certain instances it appears to be a more general term encompassing the cult prostitute, as well. There is, however, a distinct term for the cult or religious prostitute. This is קְדֵשָׁ֖ה, whore (KJV), cult prostitute (RSV). The root is קדשׁ, which means “set apart for the use of the deity,” i.e., “holy,” The above feminine form has a masculine counterpart, קָדֵשׁ֒, H7728, sodomite (KJV), male cult prostitute (RSV). The NT term is πορνη, harlot, from a root whose basic meaning is “to engage in immoral sexual acts.”

2. Biblical attitudes toward prostitution. The Biblical attitude toward the practice of prostitution is somewhat ambivalent. On the one hand, the practice is frowned upon, with numerous statements and statutes against it (see below). Yet, prostitution is not absolutely condemned and there are several instances where it is reported in a rather neutral atmosphere. Judah’s relations with Tamar are spoken of without judgment (Gen 38:6-24). His failure to comply with the law of Levirate marriage is depicted as the serious sin. The penalty of burning (38:24) which Judah pronounced upon Tamar (before he knew his own part) prob. relates to the act of adultery more than to prostitution. Similarly, Samson’s relations with a prostitute (Judg 16:1) are not condemned. Neither is Rahab’s profession spoken of harshly. Rather, she is known throughout Scripture as Rahab, the prostitute. During the united kingdom, it was two prostitutes who brought the baby to Solomon for adjudication (1 Kings 3:16). No word of condemnation is recorded. During the divided kingdom, prostitution continued to exist, for when Hosea was ordered by God to marry a prostitute, he apparently had no difficulty in finding one (cf. also 1 Kings 22:38). Finally, Jesus mentioned that harlots were among those who repented at John’s preaching (Matt 21:32; cf. Luke 7:37, 39 where “sinner” prob. implies “harlot”). These references indicate that prostitution continued to be practiced within the Jewish community throughout the entire Biblical period.

Nevertheless, the Bible makes it plain that while prostitution exists, it is not desirable. At the lowest level, a personal and social stigma was attached to the practice. Dinah’s brothers justified their attack upon Shechem because he had used their sister like a prostitute (Gen 34:31). Jephthah’s brothers drove him out of the family home because he was a prostitute’s son (Judg 11:2). Part of Amaziah’s punishment for contradicting Amos’ prophecies was that his wife would become a prostitute (Amos 7:17). On a deeper level, prostitution was not acceptable in God’s sight. It was forbidden to offer the wages of a prostitute in the Temple (Deut 23:19). One of the reasons why prostitution was abhorrent to God was its direct relationship to all types of evil. Leviticus 19:29 condemns the making of one’s daughter a prostitute because it leads to an increase of general wickedness in the land (cf. Prov 23:28). On the other hand, God speaking through Hosea (4:13, 14) declares that prostitution is rampant in the land because of Israel’s rejection of God. The depths of this corruption are seen in Hosea 4:13 where chilren are made payment for wine and a prostitute’s services. Because of this connection between prostitution and general wickedness, priests were sternly forbidden from associating with the practice in any form (Lev 21:7, 9, 14). Should a priest’s unmarried daughter be convicted of prostitution, she was to be burned (Lev 21:9), and any other man’s unmarried daughter was to be stoned (Deut 22:21). (This strong reaction is undoubtedly due to the close links between prostitution and the pagan nature religions; see below.)

The attitude of the Apostle Paul is no less strong. In an era of general moral collapse it was imperative that young Christians be warned of the pitfalls of the practice. He argued that the Christian who has relations with a prostitute is indeed joining Christ to the prostitute (1 Cor 6:15, 16). In numerous places he states categorically that those who engage in sexual relations outside of marriage (KJV fornicators, whoremongers [Eph 5:5; 1 Tim 1:10], RSV immoral men) are excluded from heaven (1 Cor 5:9-11; cf. above ref. and also Heb 13:4). The Revelation of John explicitly consigns such persons to hell (21:8; 22:15).

3. The Biblical image of a prostitute. The Biblical image of a prostitute is highly uncomplimentary. It depicts her as an adventuress, who entices a man to ruin (Prov 23:27; cf. Rev 17:5, 15-17 where the great City is pictured as a prostitute who has ensnared and debauched the whole world with her charms). She is shown to be a faithless lover who will use her “deadly charms” not only to entrap but to betray (Nah 3:4, speaking of Nineveh; cf. also Isa 23:15-17, speaking of Tyre). Relations with harlots are looked upon as the height of folly. Characteristically, the Book of Proverbs contrasts the love of wisdom with keeping a prostitute, for the prostitute will leave a man bankrupt (Prov 29:3; Luke 15:30). See Crimes and Punishments.

The techniques of prostitution as seen in the Bible are little different from those of the current day. The prostitute was found esp. in public places (1 Kings 22:38; Prov 7:12). She was noted for exotic dress (Prov 7:12; Isa 3:16), an obtrusive and unrestrained manner (Prov 7:11, 13; Isa 3:16; Jer 2:23-25; 3:3), and the gift of a smooth tongue (Prov 6:24). With matchless clarity Proverbs 7:10 depicts the harlot (in this case, also an adulteress) plying her trade. In this connection, it should be pointed out that while the Biblical opinion of the prostitute is low, that of the adulteress is much lower, for the relation with the prostitute is a dalliance while the adulteress seeks an affair of longer and more damaging duration (Prov 6:26).

4. Cult prostitution. As indicated above, one of the reasons why the Biblical faith, esp. in OT times, often reacted strongly against prostitution was the intimate association of this practice with cults of the ancient Near Eastern fertility religions. Virtually all of the ancient Near Eastern religions had as their chief purpose the maintenance of the natural cycles, including protection from the unusual and the catastrophic. They viewed the great natural forces as persons who were guilty of all the foibles and arbitrariness of humanity. The problem, then, was to devise a means by which these fickle superhumans could be made to perform their appropriate functions at the appropriate times. While worship and personal devotion were helpful, they were not infallible. At this point, sympathetic magic was turned to. Ancient man viewed the universe as a closed system, where the actions of man, nature and deity were totally interlocked. Thus, if man wished the deities to perform certain actions, he could insure that they would do so if he would perform those actions himself in a cultic setting. The most important natural cycle for man’s immediate life was the reproductive cycle. If one’s animals or plants did not reproduce themselves, starvation resulted. If such a failure did occur, it was because the respective deities had not copulated. From this point of view, a man’s most important act in a year could be his copulation with a dedicated prostitute, for this would produce the desired divine result, and thus, the desired natural result.

The OT resolutely attacks this world view. God absolutely transcends His creation. He cannot be related to in a mechanical way. Rather, He is to be related in moral and ethical ways which are in keeping with His own nature. Maintenance of the natural cycles is not to be looked upon as an end in itself. Rather, a deepening relationship to God is most to be desired. The mystery of reproduction is not at the heart of the universe, but the mystery of grace. The use of a cult prostitute, then, was a repudiation of all that was unique to God and His revelation, and the practice is viewed in the Bible as an abomination.

Even more abominable, from the Bible’s point of view, was male cult prostitution, since this practice involved the twin horrors of paganism and homosexuality. One means of expressing this abhorrence was by calling the male cult prostitute a dog. Deuteronomy 23:18, after prohibiting male or female cult prostitution in Israel further stipulates that neither the wages of a harlot or a “dog” may be offered in the Temple. In addition to the above discussion of this v. it may be that the bringing of money into the Temple to pay a cult prostitute within the Temple is being prohibited. (Cf. Rev 22:15 use of “dog.”)

Cult prostitution was esp. prevalent in Judah and Israel during the divided monarchy. It came into Judah as early as Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:24) and was not finally exterminated until the reign of Josiah (2 Kings 23:7). Both Asa and Jehoshaphat are credited with taking part in the gradual uprooting of the practice (1 Kings 15:12; 22:46). In all four of these cases it is male cult prostitution which is referred to apparently as epitomizing the worst of apostasy. A pun is prob. intended in 1 Kings 22:38 where it is said in fulfillment of a prophetic statement that “dogs licked up his [Ahab’s] blood and the harlots washed themselves in it.” Along with the literal event the prophetic word prob. was linking Ahab’s death to his and Jezebel’s establishment of the pagan Baal worship with its cult prostitution in Israel. In bitter words God says through Hosea that He cannot punish Israelite women for prostitution when their men go in to the cult prostitutes (cf. also Jer 5:7). Likewise Amos prob. has this practice in mind when he speaks of father and son going in to the same maiden and lying beside an altar on a pledged garment (2:7, 8). It may be that cult prostitutes were itinerant as well as being attached to local shrines. Tamar prob. was playing the part of such an itinerant. Judah’s servants who were sent to pay her with a young kid asked for the “cult prostitute” (Gen 38:21, 22). In addition the wearing of a veil (Gen 38:14) was the mark of such a woman in Mesopotamia. That Judah had relations with her while he was on the way to shear his flocks suggests that he wanted to insure the fertility of those flocks during the coming season. Hosea (9:1) speaks of loving the harlot’s hire on all the threshing floors. This suggests cult orgies following the harvest in preparation for the co ming year’s fertility. Apparently cult prostitutes traveled from threshing floor to threshing floor. These floors, however, have more than ordinary significance in Ugaritic lit. and it may be that some floors were established worship places. (Note that an altar was built on a threshing floor [1 Chron 21] which may be reminiscent of early Christian churches being built over pagan sites in order to obliterate them.)

5. Symbolic use of the term. Fully half of the references to prostitution in the OT are symbolic. No literal sexual act has taken place but a person or persons have forsaken their rightful relationship and have broken a trust with someone. In the majority of these cases, it is Israel’s refusal to serve God and her going after other deities which is in view. This terminology was esp. meaningful since service of the pagan deities, as noted above, normally included activities of a sexual nature (note e.g., Exod 34:15, 16 and Lev 18:24, 25). The covenant between Israel and God was looked upon as a marriage vow which Israel broke to play with other lovers. This is nowhere more poignantly expressed than in the Book of Hosea, where the prophet literally plays out God’s love to his faithless wife. In numerous places Israel is painted as a lust-driven woman who rushes from lover to lover, thrusting herself upon them (Isa 57:3-5; Jer 2:23-25; 3:1, 2, 6-9). Excepting Hosea, Ezekiel uses the term symbolically most often, nearly all of the references occurring in the sixteenth and the twenty-third chapters. The prophet paints in powerful pictures the total dependence of Judah and Israel upon God and their utter faithlessness to Him. He adds to the symbolism the idea of trust in other nations instead of God.

Bibliography D. G. Lyon, “The Consecrated Women of the Hammurabi Code,” Studies in the History of Religions (1912), 341-360; D. Luckenbill, “The Temple Women of the Code of Hammurabi,” AJSL, XXXIV (1917), 1-12; H. G. May, “The Fertility Cult in Hosea,” AJSL, XLVIII (1931-1932), 73-98; B. A. Brooks, “Fertility Cult Functionaries in the Old Testament,” JBL, LX (1941), 227-253; W. F. Albright, Archaeology and the Religion of Israel (1942), 84-94; J. P. Asmussen, “Bemerkungen zur sakralen Prostituten im Alten Testamentum,” ST, XI (1957), 167-192; N. H. Snaith, “The Cult of Molech,” VT, XVI (1966), 123, 124; M. C. Astour, “Tamar the Hierodule,” JBL, LXXXV (1966), 185-196.