Jews and Prostitution in the Tanakh

As part of my ongoing series of articles on the subject of immorality in the Torah and the Tanakh (aka the 'Jewish Bible') we should cover the attitude displayed in these two foundational texts of Judaism towards the 'oldest profession': (1) prostitution.

Before we delve into this attitude however we should remember that in Judaism the Tanakh is the channelled (and usually prophetic) word of Yahweh and is the secondary text by which jewish religious law (i.e., halakhah) is set. The better known Mishnah and Gemara (aka the Talmuds or the Oral Torah) only attempt to codify - and to an extent interpret - the Written Torah or Tanakh more broadly: they do not supplant it or what it says.

The other matter which we should note before we go forward is that the statements of the Tanakh on adultery are often used to try and counterbalance what the Tanakh says about prostitution. This however disingenuous because while some statements in the Tanakh (as well as in the Written Torah) (2) in relation to adultery to bear upon prostitution: most of them do not.

The reason for this is fairly simple in so far as a prostitute and her customer are not necessarily married so are not accordingly ipso facto adulterous although they would necessarily be classed as unclean and degenerate for engaging in the practice. The use of the statements in regard to adultery is simply as a rationalization in order to try and explain away what the (Written) Torah (as well as the Tanakh) tells us about the relationship of jews to the ancient sex trade.

We should also point out that prostitution in the Tanakh is not the same thing as sacred prostitution: (3) as the former is for the benefit of the individual (as they keep the payment) and the latter is for the benefit of a cult/sect/religious group (as the proceeds go not to the prostitute but to their cult/sect/religious group).

Once again these passages tend to be confused by those trying to minimize what the Tanakh actually says on the subject: as the attitude to sacred prostitution is condemnatory, while the attitude to prostitute is implicitly laudatory. Thus those seeking to justify their religiously-based objections to prostitution tend to quote the Tanakh passages relating to sacred prostitution as if they were aimed at prostitution more broadly in order to support those views.

To wit let us begin with what the book of Joshua says on the subject:

'And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went, and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Ra'hab and lodged there.' (4)

In addition to:

'And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction; only Ra'hab the harlot and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers that were sent.' (5)

As well as:

'And Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the harlot's house, and bring out from it the woman, and all who belong to her, as you swore to her.”' (6)

In the above excerpts from the book of Joshua it is clear that Yahweh regards Ra'hab the prostitute rather highly having made her disposed to assist Joshua's two spies by protecting them by concealing them from the soldiers of Jericho when they were spotted entering her house. Further the fact that Joshua's two spies lodged at Ra'hab is suggestive of the fact that they availed themselves of her services as a prostitute and that in granting her a special merciful dispensation Yahweh is endorsing the socio-economic position of this prostitute.

This is in direct contradiction to the meaning often placed on this passage in so far as Ra'hab's status as a prostitute is only remarked on as being symptomatic of the 'merciful nature' of Yahweh and the jews. This is hardly the case precisely because while Yahweh (through the agency of Joshua) spares the life of Ra'hab and her family: he spares no one else in Jericho instead commanding them to be exterminated.

Why would not killing one family make Yahweh (and the jews) - while murdering the rest of the population of a city - merciful?

This clearly suggests Yahweh's approval for prostitution in general and that a prostitute accordingly is a worthy friend of the jews.

This general approval for prostitution is further demonstrated in the book of Proverbs in verses often quoted as being condemnations of prostitution. More specifically I am referring to Proverbs 5, 6, 7 and 23.

As these are long passages I will not quote them here: rather I will summarize them, quote key passages and point out the vital importance of the precise wording in understanding what is actually being referred to.

Now all four passages are full or partial warnings in relation to 'loose women' and how dangerous such women are to the material circumstances of a man as well as his religious obligations to Yahweh. This is usually assumed to include both adulteresses and prostitutes since both are explicitly mentioned in Proverbs 6 and 23.

However this is not actually the case as the phrase that is repeated in all four verses is a warning to preserve the individual jew 'from the loose woman, from the adventuress with her smooth words.' That the 'adventuress' is not a prostitute but actually an adulteress is indicated by the following passages, which I quote:

'Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; for a harlot may be hired for a load of bread, but an adulteress stalks a man's very life.' (7)

In addition to:

'And behold, a woman meets him, dressed as a harlot, wily of heart.

[…]

Come, let us take our fill of love till morning; let us delight ourselves with love. For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey.' (8)

As well as:

'My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways. For a harlot is a deep pit; an adventuress is a narrow well. She lies in wait like a robber and increases the faithless among men.' (9)

In the above passages from the book of Proverbs we can quickly see that when we are warned about the 'adventuress': we are actually being warned specifically against the adulteress not the prostitute.

In the first instance while a prostitute can be hired for a loaf of bread with relatively little consequences: an adulteress will seek multiple encounters with her lover and thus bring her lover into difficulty with her husband and his wife as well as the jewish authorities.

This is clearly then a condemnation of adultery and while prostitution isn't described in overly positive terms: it is somewhat socially and religious acceptable, while adultery is most certainly not.

In the second instance we are told of a woman whose husband is away on a long journey who tries to seduce a man by dressing as a prostitute and regaling him with her great desire to bed him then and there.

This is again clearly not a reference to prostitution itself, but rather to adulteresses who use the medium of a prostitute's style of clothing to attract men to them while their husbands are away. What this suggests to us is once again that prostitution was socially and religiously acceptable among the jews, while adultery was not.

In the third instance we see a slightly veiled description of the difference between a prostitute and an adulteress. The metaphor might not be obvious at first, but it is can be explained both easily and concisely.

The son is told that life is like travelling on a road: you are going from one place (birth) to another place (death). On the way there are both possibilities and dangers which can beset you at any turn. One of these dangers are shallow pits in the ground, while another is deep pits in the ground. A deep pit you are likely to see before you fall into and thus go around it, while a shallow pit you are unlikely to see until such time as you are already falling into it.

The prostitute is the deep pit in this metaphor as her status and means of employment are well-known and obvious. Thus while her sin is much greater than that of adulteress (indicated by the depth of the pit): men are far less likely to fall into her clutches, because she is a known and obvious danger.

The adulteress on the other hand is the shallow pit who seems on the face of it to be a virtuous woman who is loyal to her husband. Thus while the sin of the adulteress is much less than that of the prostitute: men are far more likely to fall into her clutches, because she is an unknown and subtle danger.

From the foregoing discussion then we can see that these passages from the book of Proverbs are not condemning prostitution at all, but rather condemning adultery and; if not overtly supporting, tacitly accepting prostitution on a social and religious level.

Thus in summary we can see that the Tanakh does not condemn prostitution at all and in fact implicitly supports it by holding up renowned prostitutes as virtuous women and universally describing adulteresses as the problem in relation to sin, while accepting prostitution as part and parcel of this mortal veil.

References

(1) This isn't actually correct as can be demonstrated by the simple thought of experiment of: if prostitution is the oldest profession then how did the customer pay the prostitute?

(2) See my article: https://karlradl14.substack.com/p/jews-adultery-and-prostitution-in

(3) See my article: https://karlradl14.substack.com/p/jews-and-sacred-prostitution-in-ancient

(4) Josh. 2:1 (RSV)

(5) Josh. 6:17 (RSV)

(6) Josh. 6:22 (RSV)

(7) Prov. 6:25-26 (RSV)

(8) Prov. 7: 10; 18-19 (RSV)

(9) Prov. 23:26-28 (RSV)