The Bible was written in a
world where prostitution and other sexual practices were common. Prostitution
is a very ancient practice. It is not
dubbed the oldest profession by some for nothing. By Genesis 38 it was already
an established custom that served various purposes and vested interests. Female
slaves were offering up their bodies to earn money for their masters. Free
women entered it as profession, for so it was regarded. Brothels were not
uncommon (I Kings 3:16).
Some decades ago, Amsterdam,
the capital of my “old country,” was lauded for its progressive attitude
towards prostitution, for they regulated it, derived taxes from it and sought
to reduce the health problems that usually attend to its practice. Licenses
were required from houses of prostitution with the government deriving revenue
from it. This was sort of a win-win situation, sort of, probably better than the usual unregulated conditions. But
this is nothing new, for similar arrangements have been discovered in the
ancient world.
So, a whole culture had
developed around the practice that is well circumscribed throughout the Old
Testament (OT) especially. Prostitutes might wear special clothing, even
perhaps a veil (Genesis 38:14ff; Proverbs 7:10). Of course, the price would
vary depending on circumstances and social status. We read of a loaf of bread (Proverbs 6:26); a
kid (Genesis 38:17); a boy could be given away for a harlot’s wage (Joel 3:3;
Matthew 4:3). Hebrew father was not to give his daughter to it (Lev 19:29). Nor could priests marry a prostitute
So, ancient, firmly
established and commonly practiced. If you want a fuller dose of it, I would
refer you to volumes 1 and 2 of the International
Standard Bible Enclopedia—1982 edition by Eerdmans—volume 1, pp. 815-817; volume
2, pp. 616-617.
Though when we think of
prostitution, we usually think in terms of women selling their bodies to men,
those we dub the “johns.” But in the
world of the OT it seems that male prostitution was as common as the female
version. And besides the blatantly commercial version, there was a lot of
religion involved in terms of cultic prostitution, including temples. The cultic in this context does not refer to
some extreme version but of mainstream or mainline practice. Prostitution was
often closely tied to religion, the opposite of what we might expect. In fact,
most of the OT passages dealing with the subject are tied to its cultic
practice, though not exclusively.
So, when the Bible speaks of
prostitution, it is not talking about some exotic realm practiced in the
shadows. No, much of it was in the open and official, both recognized and approved
by the dominant cultures around Israel; in the centre of things instead of in
the shadows, not on skidrow as in Vancouver’s Down Town East Side, but on
Georgia and Robson Streets and in the churches lining West End streets.
But one of the first things
you will notice when you begin searching for the topic in the Bible is its strongly
negative attitude towards prostitution. It does not have a single good word to
say about it. There are various reasons for that attitude; it’s not just a
matter of “kill joy.” In fact, the very
opposite; it’s more a matter of “enable joy,” real joy. It led—and still leads—to so many ugly
problems in society that God wanted to protect His people from this “kill joy.” Probably the first reason was of a religious
nature, since religion is always at the heart of every society—the cult
prostitution. "None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a cult prostitute
(Deuteronomy 23:17). The
next verse: "You
shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the wages of a dog into the house of
the LORD your God for any votive offering, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God.…” “There were also male cult prostitutes in the
land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD
dispossessed before the sons of Israel (1 Kings 14:24). The cultic practice was
an abomination to God because it was a common Pagan practice among the nations
around Israel that constantly tempted the people to follow their example, have
their “fun” and gradually transfer their loyalty from the God who delivered
them from slavery in Egypt to the numerous idols of their neighbours. These
were false “gods” that the OT frequently pokes fun of as powerless and of being
made of mere wood or stone. These so-called “gods” deceived them, brought them
false hope and distorted their values. They represented a culture rejected by
God because of all its corruption, cruelties and oppressions. It was hard for God to protect them when the
people themselves were so open to and tempted by these cultural and religious
travesties. And so God tried to put a stop to it altogether by simply
condemning it in no uncertain language.
There was another but related reason for the negative attitude towards prostitution. It
can lead to social and cultural breakdown, even apart from the religious angle,
but time is up and the word limit has been crossed. So, that will mean another
post on the subject. See you in 133.
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