A Critical Response to Karin Adams's Reinterpretation of Hosea 4:13-14

Abstract

(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.) From her first sentence, Karin Adams indicates her support for a movement in ancient studies to discredit any potential indications of sacred prostitution in the ancient world.1 Her focus is on Hos 4:13-14 where the ... (qedesâ) seems to be identified with the ... (zonâ). There are three locations in the Hebrew Scriptures where the term ... occurs, and in each case the ... seems to be identified as a ...: Gen 38:21-22; Deut 23:17-18; and Hos 4:14. A few additional texts may also be read as indicating sacred prostitution (e.g., Prov 7:10-20; Numbers 25), but without the term ... Based on the meaning of term itself, the ... (holy one, fem.) seems to be a priestess of some sort, and the only three texts in which this term occurs seem to associate it with the term .... Those who would deny the concept of sacred prostitution in this Hebrew literature have an uphill battle against apparent identity. Adams focuses her analysis on the text in Hosea. I. ... and ... An important part of Adams's argument assumes that the verb ... is specific to prostitution, like the term ... Although ... has the form of the qal participle of the verb ..., it functions as an independent noun, for it has a semantic range distinct from ... is a term that designates a prostitute, a female who exchanges sexual favors for payment. stability of this definition is indicated in such texts as Ezek 16:34, where the ... of the parable is contrasted with other ..., for she pays her paramours instead of receiving payment from them. Only stable, restricted usage can stand up to such ironic use. In contrast, the verb ... indicates fornication, any of a variety of sexual relationships outside of the marriage contract. This verb does not seem to be restricted to prostitution. Likewise, the abstract nouns ... (zenut) and ... (taznut) do not seem to be restricted to prostitution and have the broader meaning of fornication. verb ... occurs six times in the parable of Oholah and Oholibah in Ezekiel 23, along with eleven occurrences of ...t and one occurrence of .... In the Hebrew Scriptures only Ezekiel 16 can compete for such a concentration of these terms. At no point in ... 23 is either woman accused of taking payment for .... noun/ participle ... occurs only once in Ezekiel 23 (v. 44), in a statement that compares Oholah and Oholibah to a ... while distinguishing them from the ... of the comparison. In this chapter ... has a semantic range distinct from that of the verb ... and the abstract nouns ... and ...t. If we understand ... as having a broader semantic domain than ..., certain texts become less problematic. Deuteronomy 22:20-21 is the case of the daughter who is married but is found by her husband not to be a virgin. She is said not to be a virgin because she did ... while part of her father's household. There is no requirement here that she received payment for her sexual activity. Any form of fornication could be responsible for her loss of virginity. Likewise, Judg 19:2 need not require that the concubine sell her sexual services to another man. verb ... need indicate only that she had sexual relations with a man other than the Levite who holds her concubine contract. Genesis 38:24 may be understood as a play on these semantic ranges, because Tamar did indeed masquerade as a ..., but the speaker knew only that she fornicated (...) and became pregnant from her fornications (...). There is one more use of ... that is interesting in the controversy over sacred prostitution in antiquity. ... is often used figuratively for inappropriate religious behavior among Israelites, especially idolatry and worship of other gods. In Num 25:1-2 the verb ... does double duty, for the Israelites worshiped the god Baal of Peor, which is figurative fornication, and also fornicated literally with the women of Midian. literal activity with the women is the first topic of this verb, The people began to fornicate with the daughters of Midian. …