Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 23:17
There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
Compare the marginal reference. Prostitution was a common part of religious observances among idolatrous nations, especially in the worship of Ashtoreth or Astarte. Compare Mic 1:7; Baruch 6:43.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 17. There shall be no whore] See on Ge 38:15-21.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
No common prostitute, such, as were tolerated and encouraged by the Gentiles, and used even in their religious worship.
Of the daughters of Israel; not that such practices were allowed to the strangers among them, as is evident from many scriptures and reasons, but that it was in a peculiar manner, and upon special reasons, forbidden to them, as being much more odious in them than in strangers; though the words may be rendered among the daughters, and so in the following clause, among the sons, for the Hebrew mem is sometimes used in that sense, as Num 22:22; Psa 31:12, and so it notes that none of that sort should be permitted among them, whether Jews or strangers.
A sodomite; who defileth or suffereth himself to be defiled with mankind. See Gen 19:5; Lev 18:12; 1Ki 14:24; 22:46; Rom 1:27.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel,…. The word for “whore” is “kedeshah”, which properly signifies an “holy” one; and here, by an antiphrasis, an unholy, an impure person, one that is defiled by man; [See comments on Ge 38:18]. Jarchi interprets the word, one that makes herself common, that is sanctified, or set apart; that is, one that separates herself for such service, and prostitutes herself to everyone that passes by: but some understand this not of common harlots in the streets, but of sacred whores, or such as were consecrated to Heathen deities, as such there were to Venus. Strabo x tells us that the temple of Venus at Corinth was so rich, that more than a thousand of those sacred harlots were kept, whom men and women had devoted to that goddess; and so a multitude of the same sort were at Comana, which he calls little Corinth y; now these of all harlots being the most abominable are forbidden to be among the daughters of Israel:
nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel: by the same rule that “kedeshah” is rendered “a whore” in the preceding clause, “kadesh” should be rendered “an whoremonger” here, as in the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions; though Aben Ezra interprets it passively, one that is lain with, and Jarchi one that is prepared to lie with a male, that prostitutes his body in this unnatural way; and it looks as if there were such sort of persons sacred to idols, since we read of the houses of the sodomites, which were by, or rather in the house of the Lord, 2Ki 23:7.
x Geograph. l. 8. p. 261. y lb. l. 12. p. 385.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
On the other hand, male and female prostitutes of Israelitish descent were not to be tolerated; i.e., it was not to be allowed, that either a male or female among the Israelites should give himself up to prostitution as an act of religious worship. The exclusion of foreign prostitutes was involved in the command to root out the Canaanites. and were persons who prostituted themselves in the worship of the Canaanitish Astarte (see at Gen 38:21). – “ The wages of a prostitute and the money of dogs shall not come into the house of the Lord on account of ( , for the more remote cause, Ewald, 217) any vow; for even both these (viz., even the prostitute and dog, not merely their dishonourable gains) are abomination unto the Lord thy God.” “The hire of a whore” is what the kedeshah was paid for giving herself up. “The price of a dog” is not the price paid for the sale of a dog ( Bochart, Spencer, Iken, Baumgarten, etc.), but is a figurative expression used to denote the gains of the kadesh , who was called by the Greeks, and received his name from the dog-like manner in which the male kadesh debased himself (see Rev 22:15, where the unclean are distinctly called “dogs”).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verses 17, 18:
Prostitution was regarded among many ancient heathen nations as an act of religious worship. Both males and females prostituted themselves in the service of the goddess Astarte. All such practices were abomination in Israel, Mic 1:7.
“Whore,” verse 17, qedeshah, “one separated or consecrated to an idol,” like the “sacred prostitutes” consecrated to Astarte.
“Whore,” verse 18, zanah, the general term for one who commits fornication.
“Price,” mechir, “hire,” the wages received. In this text, it refers to the wages received for the act of prostitution and sodomy.
“Dog” does not refer to the literal, four-legged canine, but it is a figure denoting the male prostitute, the sodomite, and is a type of all such uncleanness.
This text does not forbid the buying or selling of dogs, canines.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
This passage is akin to the foregoing; for in the first clause He forbids that girls should be prostituted. Some think that a whore is called in Hebrew קדשה, kedeshah, because she is exposed to, and prepared for sin; (66) but her pollution, the opposite of sanctity, seems rather to be expressed by antiphrasis. At any rate, a precept of chastity is given, that it should not be lawful for unmarried girls to have connection with men. In the second clause there is some ambiguity, “There shall be no קדש, kadesh, of the sons of Israel;” for in other passages it is clearly used for a catamite, or male harlot, but there is no reason why it should not be rendered a fornicator. In this sense the word seems to be used in the Book of Job: “The hypocrites shall die in youth, (or in the flower of their age,) and their life is among the קדשים, kedeshim, ” which is equivalent to their being infamous and shameful in life. ( Job 36:14.) But if it be preferred to apply it to sodomy, all impurity is condemned by synecdoche
(66) The Hebrew verb קדש has the double signification of sanctum esse and praeparare, (Taylor’s Concordance,) though only, it would appear, to prepare by sanctifying.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(2) MORALITY, ILLEGITIMATE PRACTICES AND WAGES (Deu. 23:17-18)
There shall be no prostitute of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a sodomite of the sons of Israel. 18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, or the wages of a dog, into the house of Jehovah thy God for any vow: for even both these are an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 23:17, 18
395.
Is a sodomite the masculine form of a prostitute?
396.
There seems to be a strong emphasis upon sex in both the heathen nations and in the life of Israel. Why?
397.
Was the practice of such persons so common that some of them claimed a place in the worship of Jehovah? Discuss.
398.
It is a sad day when a dog can be used to exploit the erotic desires of man, Cf, Deu. 22:19; Lev. 18:23; Lev. 20:15-16, Or is this the meaning of the text?
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 23:17, 18
17 There shall be no cult prostitute of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a cult prostitute (a sodomite) of the sons of Israel.
18 You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the price of a dog [a sodomite] into the house of the Lord your God, in payment for a vow; for both of thesethe gift and the giverare an abomination to the Lord your God.
COMMENT 23:17, 18
PROSTITUTE . . . SODOMITE (Deu. 23:16)These words represent the feminine and masculine of the same Hebrew root. The word is Kedeshah in the first instance, Kahesh in the seconda woman who devoted herself to immoral practices as a part of her heathen and idolatrous worship, and a man who did the same. The root kedesh literally signifies sanctuary, a reference to the idolatrous houses where these practices were carried on. These persons were sanctified or set aside for an (un)holy purpose by the religions in and around Canaan.
Of the female member of the class, the I.S.B.E. states, She was a kedheshah, one of a consecrated class, and as such was a concrete expression and agent of the most insidious and powerful influence and system menacing the purity and permanence of the religion of Jehovah. This system diefied the reproductive organs and forces of nature and its devotees worshipped their idol symbols in grossly licentious rites and orgies. The temple prostitute was invested with sanctity as a member of the religious caste . . . The Canaanite sanctuaries were gigantic brothels, legalized under the sanctions of religion.
The wares of these women, however, were not always sold in the sanctuaries. See Gen. 38:15-23, where Tamar poses as a prostitute (kedeshah) as well as a harlot (zanah), a more general word (see below). Note Hos. 4:11-19, where both of these words again occur, aptly depicting both the moral and spiritual degredation of Israel.
The male prostitute (sodomite) was normally attached to one of these sanctuaries also, though, like his female counterpart, his practices were apparently not restricted to that area. (Gen. 19:5, etc.) Josiah had to break down their houses that were in the house of Jehovah, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah (2Ki. 23:7)a passage which testifies of its great influence as a practice. In both ancient and modern societies, sodomites have frequently been transvestitesa fact to remember in the exhortation of Deu. 22:5. See also Lev. 18:22; Lev. 20:13.
HIRE OF A HARLOT (Deu. 23:18)i.e. the wages or income she obtained by her practices. The Heb. word here rendered harlot (Zanah) is more general than prostitute (kedeshah) above, including her but also any others given over to illicit sexual relations (cf. its use in Deu. 22:21). This woman might not be religious even by heathen standards.
THE WAGES OF A DOG (Deu. 23:18)i.e. the wages some owner of a dog might charge for his relations with an Israelite. See Exo. 22:19, Lev. 18:23; Lev. 20:15-16. Others believe dog is here used figuratively as a derisive term for the sodomite.
In either case, illicitly and illegally gained money was not to be contributed to Jehovah God. Money so gained was shrouded with sin and impurity. Using it for the sanctuary of God would be tantamount to robbing a bank so the money could be contributed to the church building fund!
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(17) Whore and sodomite seem both intended to be taken in the sense in which they belonged to the temples of Baal and Ashtaroth, of persons dedicated to impurity.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. Whore sodomite The prostitution of woman was a part of the religious services of the heathen, as in the worship of Astarte. Among them men also frequently gave themselves up to unnatural lust.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Both Male And Female Prostitution Forbidden In Israel ( Deu 23:17 ).
In contrast with the welcome given to the escaped slave are the unwelcome Israelite male and female prostitutes.
Deu 23:17
‘ There shall be no cult prostitute (holy one) of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a cult sodomite (holy one) of the sons of Israel.’
Prostitution was to be totally forbidden in Israel among their own people. Neither male nor female native cult prostitutes were to be allowed, nor indeed any prostitutes. There must be no aping the ways of foreign nations. The Canaanites had a multiplicity of cult prostitutes, (they are mentioned in Ugaritic texts of temple personnel) as did other nations. The danger of copycat prostitution may well be in mind
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Is not the same said with respect to spiritual Israel now? Rev 22:15 ; 1Co 6:9-10 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Deu 23:17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
Ver. 17. There shall be no whore. ] And what a stinking shame is that, that stews and brothel houses are licensed by the Pope, who reaps no small profit by them? The Papists themselves write with detestation, that at Rome a Jewish maid might not be admitted into the stews of whoredom, unless she would be first baptized; Ut Iudae filiae scortari non liceat, Dei filiae liceat: Imo Israelis filia meretricari non aliter arte possit quam facta per baptismum sanctum Christi sorer et filia. a
Nor a Sodomite of the sons of Israel.
a Espincaeus, De Contin., lib. iii. cap. 4.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Deu 23:17-18
17None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a cult prostitute. 18You 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.
Deu 23:17 cult prostitute This is a feminine term holy one (BDB 873 I). It shows the presence of cultic prostitution in Canaan (cf. Exo 34:15-16; 2Ki 23:7). However, there is little hard archaeological evidence of this in Canaan (cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 1, p. 1124, #6). If there was cultic prostitution and these abominations developed also within Israeli society, it makes them all the more evil (cf. Hos 4:11-14; Luk 12:48).
cult prostitute This is a masculine term holy one (BDB 873 I). In this period a male prostitute is called a dog (cf. Deu 23:18).
Deu 23:18 the hire of a harlot This is a different word from Deu 23:17 (cf. Hos 9:1). This is the common term for a fertility worship partner (BDB 1072). There is some debate whether the terms for cult prostitution in Deu 23:17 are parallel to this term of Deu 23:18 or if Deu 23:18 refers to non-cultic prostitution (BDB 1072). In many texts there is a distinction, but here the parallelism seems purposeful. The wages charged are attempted to be given back to the deity (cf. Mic 1:7). YHWH refuses all revenue from sexual fees!
the wages of a dog This is the fee charged by a male prostitute. YHWH rejects all fertility worship and its income!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
whore = sodomitess. Hebrew means one consecrated as such in connection with heathen worship. Hence her name kedeshah, a separated one. Compare 1Ki 14:24; 1Ki 15:12; 1Ki 22:46. Job 36:14 (“unclean” = temple women). Hos 4:14. The Laws of Khammurabi refer to these (181, 187, 192).
sodomite. First occurrence. See above note.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
There shall be: etc. The prohibition in the text, like many others, has no direct application to practices that were common among the Israelites at that time; but was intended to guard them against the enormities which were practised among the surrounding nations. Deu 22:21, Deu 22:29, Lev 19:29, Pro 2:16
whore: or, sodomitess, Rom 1:26
sodomite: Gen 19:4, Gen 19:5, Jdg 19:22, 1Ki 14:24, 1Ki 15:12, 1Ki 22:46, 2Ki 23:7, Rom 1:27, Rom 1:28, 1Co 6:9, 1Ti 1:10
Reciprocal: Gen 19:7 – General Gen 34:7 – thing Lev 20:13 – General 1Ki 3:16 – two women Job 36:14 – unclean Eze 16:33 – give Eze 16:50 – and committed Eph 5:3 – fornication
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Deu 23:17. There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel No common prostitute, such as were tolerated and encouraged by the Gentiles, and used even in their religious worship. Not that such practices were allowed to the strangers among them, as is evident from many passages of Scripture and reason; but that it was in a peculiar manner, and upon special reasons, forbidden to them, as being much more odious in them than in strangers. It is remarkable that the original words, which we render whore and sodomite, import a man or woman consecrated to some deity, who served their gods by prostitution.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Cultic personnel 23:17-18
Israelites were not to become or to dedicate their children as cult prostitutes, as the Canaanites did. They were not to offer to God money earned by prostitution to pay for a vow to Him either. The "dog" (Deu 23:18) was a male sanctuary prostitute (cf. Rev 22:15). Such men were common in Canaanite religion. [Note: Thompson, p. 242; Payne, p. 132.] The Hebrew terms used here to describe cult prostitutes (qedesa and qades) set them off from regular Israelites who practiced prostitution (zonah and keleb). Obviously any type of prostitution violated the spirit if not the letter of the seventh commandment.
God’s people should not rationalize immoral behavior by thinking that it will result in the greater glory of God (cf. Rom 6:1-2; Acts 5).