Topical Bible: Harlotries

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Topical Encyclopedia

Definition and Usage:
The term "harlotries" in the Bible refers to acts of sexual immorality, often associated with idolatry and spiritual unfaithfulness. It is derived from the word "harlot," which denotes a prostitute or promiscuous woman. In a broader biblical context, harlotries symbolize the unfaithfulness of God's people when they turn away from Him to pursue other gods and sinful practices.

Old Testament References:
Harlotries are frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, particularly in the prophetic books, where they serve as a metaphor for Israel's unfaithfulness to God. The prophets often use the imagery of harlotry to describe the nation's idolatry and covenant infidelity.

· Hosea: The book of Hosea vividly portrays Israel's spiritual adultery. God commands Hosea to marry a promiscuous woman, Gomer, to symbolize Israel's unfaithfulness. Hosea 1:2 states, "When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, He said to him, 'Go, take for yourself a wife of harlotry and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is committing blatant acts of harlotry by forsaking the LORD.'"

· Ezekiel: The prophet Ezekiel also uses the imagery of harlotries to describe Jerusalem's idolatry. In Ezekiel 16, Jerusalem is depicted as an adulterous wife who engages in harlotries with foreign nations and their gods. Ezekiel 16:15 says, "But you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot because of your fame. You lavished your harlotries on everyone who passed by; your beauty was theirs for the asking."

· Jeremiah: The prophet Jeremiah condemns Judah for its spiritual harlotries, equating idolatry with adultery. Jeremiah 3:6 records, "During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, 'Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to prostitute herself there.'"

New Testament References:
While the New Testament does not use the term "harlotries" as frequently, the concept of spiritual unfaithfulness and immorality is addressed.

· Revelation: The book of Revelation uses the imagery of a harlot to symbolize the corrupt and idolatrous systems opposed to God. Revelation 17:1-2 describes, "Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, 'Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.'"

Theological Significance:
In the Bible, harlotries are not merely acts of physical immorality but are deeply symbolic of spiritual apostasy and betrayal. They represent the breach of the covenant relationship between God and His people. The prophets' use of this imagery underscores the seriousness of idolatry and the call to repentance and faithfulness.

Moral and Spiritual Lessons:
The biblical portrayal of harlotries serves as a warning against the dangers of idolatry and unfaithfulness. It calls believers to remain steadfast in their devotion to God, avoiding the allure of false gods and worldly temptations. The imagery of harlotries challenges the faithful to examine their own lives for areas of compromise and to seek a renewed commitment to their covenant relationship with God.

Strong's Hebrew

8457. taznuth -- fornication
... 8456, 8457. taznuth. 8458 . fornication. Transliteration: taznuth Phonetic
Spelling: (taz-nooth') Short Definition: harlotries. ...
/hebrew/8457.htm - 6k

2183. zenunim -- fornication
... Word Origin from zanah Definition fornication NASB Word Usage harlotries (5), harlotry
(8). whoredom. From zanah; adultery; figuratively, idolatry -- whoredom. ...
/hebrew/2183.htm - 6k

Library

Christ Precious to Believers
... this blind world seeth not his beauty. The painted harlotries of that which,
Madam Bubble, the world can see, and all men wonder after her. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/christ precious to believers.htm

And what did it Profit Me, that Scarce Twenty Years Old...
... good a portion of my substance into my own keeping; and I kept not my strength for
Thee, but wandered from Thee into a far country, to spend it upon harlotries ...
/.../augustine/the confessions of saint augustine/chapter xvi and what did.htm

He Very Easily Understood the Liberal Arts and the Categories of ...
... of my substance [345] into my own power; and I kept not my strength for Thee, [346]
but went away from Thee into a far country, to waste it upon harlotries. ...
/.../the confessions and letters of st/chapter xvi he very easily understood.htm

General Consistency of the Apostle.
... He does grant "indulgence," I allow;"not to adulteries, but to nuptials.
He does "spare," I allow;"marriages, not harlotries. ...
/.../tertullian/on modesty/chapter xvi general consistency of the.htm

Demonstration xxi. --Of Persecution.
... we see that Tyre was inhabited, and was opulent after she had wandered seventy years,
[1107] and after she had received the reward of her harlotries and after ...
/.../aphrahat/aphrahat select demonstrations/demonstration xxi of persecution.htm

Chapter xxxviii
... be burned," is final: "that she may be burned." The le before zenunim is a le of
relation (KS105) ""she is pregnant relative to her harlotries," in which ...
/.../leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xxxviii.htm

Thesaurus

Ohol'ibah (5 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 23:11 And her sister Oholibah saw this, yet was she more corrupt in her
doting than she, and in her harlotries more than her sister in her harlotries. ...
/o/ohol'ibah.htm - 7k

Harlotries (22 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Harlotries (22 Occurrences). 2 Kings 9:22 And it came
to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? ...
/h/harlotries.htm - 13k

Harlotry (37 Occurrences)
... By the ways hast thou sat for them, as an Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast
polluted the land with thy harlotries and with thy wickedness. (See NAS RSV). ...
/h/harlotry.htm - 17k

Jez'ebel (19 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 9:22 And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said: 'Is it peace,
Jehu?' And he answered: 'What peace, so long as the harlotries of thy mother ...
/j/jez'ebel.htm - 11k

Waysides (1 Occurrence)
... By the ways hast thou sat for them, as an Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast
polluted the land with thy harlotries and with thy wickedness. (See RSV). ...
/w/waysides.htm - 6k

Children's (28 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 16:36 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thy filthiness was poured out, and
thy nakedness uncovered through thy harlotries with thy lovers; and because ...
/c/children's.htm - 15k

Everywhere (53 Occurrences)
... 16:33 to all harlots gifts are given; but thou hast given thy gifts to all thy lovers,
and hast bribed them to come unto thee from every side in thy harlotries...
/e/everywhere.htm - 22k

Harlot (87 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 23:3 and they committed harlotries in Egypt; they committed harlotries in
their youth; there were their bosoms pressed, and there their virgin breasts ...
/h/harlot.htm - 46k

Harlot-gifts (1 Occurrence)
Harlot-gifts. Harlot, Harlot-gifts. Harlotries . Multi-Version Concordance ...
(DBY). Harlot, Harlot-gifts. Harlotries . Reference Bible.
/h/harlot-gifts.htm - 6k

Resources

What is the meaning of porneia in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

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Concordance

Harlotries (22 Occurrences)

2 Kings 9:22
And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?
(See JPS NAS RSV)

Jeremiah 3:2
Lift up thine eyes unto the bare heights, and see; where hast thou not been lain with? By the ways hast thou sat for them, as an Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
(See JPS)

Jeremiah 13:27
Thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy harlotry, on the hills in the field have I seen thy detestable acts. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! thou wilt not be made clean! When shall it ever be?
(See RSV)

Ezekiel 16:15
But thou didst trust in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by; his it was.
(See JPS NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 16:20
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,
(See JPS NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 16:22
And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast weltering in thy blood.
(See JPS NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 16:25
Thou hast built thy lofty place at the head of every way, and hast made thy beauty an abomination, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredom.
(See JPS)

Ezekiel 16:33
They give gifts to all harlots; but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and bribest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredoms.
(See JPS NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 16:34
And the contrary is in thee from other women, in that thou didst solicit to harlotry, and wast not solicited; and in that thou givest hire, and no hire is given unto thee, thus thou art contrary.
(See NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 16:36
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness uncovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers; and because of all the idols of thy abominations, and for the blood of thy children, that thou didst give unto them;
(See JPS NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 23:3
and they played the harlot in Egypt; they played the harlot in their youth; there were their breasts pressed, and there was handled the bosom of their virginity.
(See JPS)

Ezekiel 23:7
And she bestowed her whoredoms upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them; and on whomsoever she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself.
(See JPS NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 23:8
Neither hath she left her whoredoms since the days of Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her, and they handled the bosom of her virginity; and they poured out their whoredom upon her.
(See JPS NAS)

Ezekiel 23:11
And her sister Oholibah saw this, yet was she more corrupt in her doting than she, and in her whoredoms which were more than the whoredoms of her sister.
(See JPS NAS)

Ezekiel 23:14
And she increased her whoredoms; for she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,
(See JPS NAS)

Ezekiel 23:18
So she uncovered her whoredoms, and uncovered her nakedness: then my soul was alienated from her, like as my soul was alienated from her sister.
(See JPS NAS)

Ezekiel 23:19
Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, remembering the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
(See JPS NAS)

Ezekiel 23:29
and they shall deal with thee in hatred, and shall take away all thy labor, and shall leave thee naked and bare; and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be uncovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
(See JPS NAS)

Ezekiel 23:35
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
(See JPS NAS)

Ezekiel 23:43
Then said I of her that was old in adulteries, Now will they play the harlot with her, and she with them.
(See JPS)

Hosea 2:2
Contend with your mother, contend; for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband; and let her put away her whoredoms from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts;
(See JPS)

Nahum 3:4
because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.
(See JPS NAS RSV)

Subtopics

Harlotries

Related Terms

Harlotry (37 Occurrences)

Harlotries (22 Occurrences)

Crimes (22 Occurrences)

Crime (45 Occurrences)

Trading (24 Occurrences)

Committing (30 Occurrences)

Abel-shittim (1 Occurrence)

Abelshittim (1 Occurrence)

Shameless (2 Occurrences)