HARLOT (prostitute), a woman who engages in illicit sexual activity for pay. Hebrew זֹנָה, H2390, a feminine noun formed from the root, זָנָה֒, H2388, “to fornicate,” “to treat as a harlot,” “to act unfaithfully.” The participial form thus means a “female prostitute” (Gen 34:31, et al.). This term is used for the common wayfaring prostitutes who were forbidden in Israel (Lev 19:29; Deut 22:21). The fact that the Levites were specifically forbidden to marry harlots (Lev 21:7, 9, 14) and that the profits of harlotry were forbidden as offerings to the Temple or for the payment of vows (Deut 23:18) demonstrates that the practice was widespread in spite of the prohibitions. The harlot apparently wore or had on her person some identifying mark (Jer 3:3) and some pornographic figurines from the ancient Near E show peculiar hair arrangements and an abundance of jewelry which may have been the mark of the harlot. However, there are several references to their being veiled, and it seems as though they may have engaged in their activities veiled so as to insure the casual and temporary quality of their relationships with their partners (Gen 38:14, 15.) In Sumerian, Akkadian and Ugaritic tradition there is some evidence that prostitutes often were barmaids or entertainers who enticed their customers (Epic of Gilgamesh Tablet I, sect. 3 11. 19-4 11. 30. ANET pp. 74, 75). Rahab the harlot (Josh 2:1; 6:17-25) was undoubtedly of this class and the fact that her clients were usually anonymous and that she entertained strangers was all the more reason that her establishment was utilized by the Israelite spies. They, no doubt, were the recipients of many presents and they often are portrayed as displaying themselves in their finery (Ezek 16:10-13; et al.). The Book of Proverbs warns young men repeatedly of the wiles of harlots (Prov 7:16-27.) The same sort of imprecations against prostitutes are made by other wisdom lits., Egyptian and esp. Babylonian. So deeply ingrained was the practice of prostitution that it is taken simply as a matter of course, the affair of Judah and Tamar (Gen 38) being the best example. Yet to cause or belittle a woman of higher status to become a harlot or to act as a harlot was a desperate crime (34:31).
Another class of harlots entirely is that known as, Heb. קְדֵשָׁ֖ה, “temple prostitute,” lit. “dedicated one.” The term is derived from the common Sem. root, Heb. קדשׁ, “holy,” “sacred.” There is ample evidence that the ancient Near Eastern archaic-religious states usually involved the worship of a dual deity with a dialectic notion of sexuality which is seen in the male and female cult idols. Part of this was the “sacred marriage” often performed in an imitative magical ceremony in the temple precinct first by the king and a temple courtesan and then by any citizen and the temple harlots. Not only are such practices clear from the Babylonian and Ugaritic texts but also are mentioned in Herodotus (Histories, I, 179-184). Archeological and textual research has shown that this fertility cult worship was common also among the Canaanites. From early times a syncretism had developed and so the prophets often inveigh against the physical fornication of the Israelites with the pagan harlots and later temple prostitutes brought into Jerusalem.
Of special repugnance was the male prostitute, Heb. קָדֵ֖שׁ (Deut 23:18; 1 Kings 14:24; 15:12; 2 Kings 23:7; Job 36:14). Their service appears to have been homosexual. The difficulty is that the rites of this cultic activity were considered by the Jews to be so obscene that the terms for them often are purposefully altered obscuring many cognates with other texts, eg. the Heb. כֶּ֫לֶב, H3978, “dog,” used for a male prostitute (Deut 23:19). Again and again the righteous kings of Israel and Judah attempted to root out and destroy the fertility cults which had become attached to the worship of Jehovah. The cult of those idols became the great symbol in the prophets for the worship of pagan gods.
Even when actual prostitution was not involved, the wickedness and degradation of harlotry was the ultimate evil to which the false worship of heathen deities was likened. Often in the prophets of the 8th cent. b.c. the terms for “cult prostitute” (qedesāh) and “street harlot” (zōwnāh) are interchanged. The names of the gods thus served also are altered and their devotees defamed; e.g., calf of Samaria (Hos 8:6). Phrases such as “played the harlot” and “go a whoring” are used of the awful iniquity of idolatry (Jer 3:6; Ezek 6:9, et al.).
In the NT the Gr. term is πόρνη, G4520, “prostitute” and πορνεια, “prostitution” (Eng. cognate, “pornography”). The terms are used: (1) of the lowest social caste, the outcasts (Matt 21:31; Luke 15:30); and (2) of the immoral practices of such women (1 Cor 6:15). In the same fashion that Hosea demonstrated the love of Jehovah in his marriage with a prostitute, Christ does not shrink from redeeming them by their faith (John 4:14).