Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

August 17, 2018

No, Ancient Israelites Didn’t Practice “Cult Prostitution”

A theory based on a mistranslation.

Biblical Hebrew contains two words that translate as “prostitute”: zonah and k’deshah, with the latter deriving from the same root as the word kadosh, or “holy.” For this reason, the New American Standard Version and some other popular Bible translations render k’deshah as “cult prostitute,” reflecting the practice of some ancient pagan sects. Citing the work of the scholar Edward Lipiński, Bible History Daily explains that this view is incorrect:

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