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Bible Dictionaries
Harlot
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or HARLOT (Heb. zônâh, ’ishshâh nokrîyyâh [lit. ‘strange woman’], qedçshâh , Gr. pornç ) in EV [Note: English Version.] denotes unchaste women, especially those devoted to immoral service in idol sanctuaries, or given to a dissolute life for gain. We find evidence of their existence in very early times ( Genesis 38:1-30 ). From the name ‘strange woman’ in Proverbs 6:24; Proverbs 23:27 etc. (cf. 1 Kings 11:1 , Ezra 10:2 etc.), we may perhaps infer that in later times they were chiefly foreigners. By songs ( Isaiah 23:16 ) and insinuating arts ( Proverbs 6:24 etc.) they captivated the unwary. They acted also as decoys to the dens of robbery and murder ( Proverbs 7:22; Proverbs 7:27 etc.). Wealth was lavished upon them ( Ezekiel 16:33; Ezekiel 16:39; Ezekiel 23:26 etc.; cf. Luke 15:30 ). Apart from breaches of the marriage vows, immoral relations between the sexes were deemed venial ( Deuteronomy 22:28 ff.). A man might not compel his daughter to sin ( Leviticus 19:29 ), but apparently she was free herself to take that way. Children of harlots were practical outlaws ( Deuteronomy 23:2 , Judges 11:1 ff., John 8:41 ), and in NT times the harlot lived under social ban ( Matthew 21:32 etc.).
The picture takes a darker hue when we remember that in ancient Syria the reproductive forces of nature were deified, and worshipped in grossly immoral rites. Both men and women prostituted themselves in the service of the gods. The Canaanite sanctuaries were practically gigantic brothels, legalized by the sanctions of religion. The appeal made to the baser passions of the Israelites was all too successful (Amos 2:7 , Hosea 4:13 ff. etc.), and it is grimly significant that the prophets designate apostasy and declension by ‘whoredom.’ There were therefore special reasons for the exceptional law regarding the priest’s daughter ( Leviticus 21:9 ). Religious prostitution was prohibited in Israel ( Deuteronomy 23:17 ), and all gain from the unholy calling as Temple revenue was spurned (see Driver, Deut., in loc .). The pure religion of J″ [Note: Jahweh.] was delivered from this peril only by the stern discipline of the Exile. A similar danger beset the early Church, e.g. in Greece and Asia Minor: hence such passages as Romans 1:24 ff., 1 Corinthians 6:9 ff., Galatians 5:19 etc., and the decree of the Apostolic Council ( Acts 15:20; Acts 15:29 ).
W. Ewing.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Harlot'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/h/harlot.html. 1909.
