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  • From: Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
  • To: Bearpecs AT aol.com
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] "Sodomite" in 2 Kings 23.7 & Homosexuality
  • Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 09:29:22 +0100

On 14/07/2004 05:04, Bearpecs AT aol.com wrote:


...

I also think it is likely that a qadesha associated with a sanctuary may not have been a "temple prostitute" in the sense of a woman who commited sexual acts for cultic, ritual reasons. I am not aware of any evidence that ancient Israel practiced ritual sex for cultic purposes -- or even acknowledged for example any sympathetic magic of human sex encouraging agricultural fertility. (And if you say that all the evidence has been expurgated from the Bible, then why would the mention of qedeshot not also be expurgated?) Rather, I would suggest that a qedesha may have been a woman (presumably a slave) dedicated to the sanctuary, just as other items were dedicated to the sanctuary. Her income would then have belonged to the sanctuary. Thus, she may have been a prostitute, and a "holy" prostitute in the sense that her cost went to the upkeep of the holy sanctuary, but not a "temple prostitute" in the classic meaning of the term. (A qadesh -- whether performing homosexual or heterosexual acts -- would similarly have been a sanctuary prostitute but did not engage in sex for cultic purposes.) This would be just as deplorable in the eyes of the Bible as temple prostitution, but I suggest is more consistent with what we know of the theological environment.


The answer to your theory is in what Yigal wrote:

In all of
these, it refers to something that the Bible regards negatively, some
forbidden practice. Since the root QD$ is usually related to things
"sacred", one would assume that here, too, the reference is to some
forbidden cultic activity.


Furthermore, in many of the references QADESH is linked to the idolatrous practices of the neighbouring nations. It is clear that, to the faithful Israelites who wrote the Bible books, this was something alien, idolatrous and detestable which had been imported into Israelite religion by syncretists. Ritual sex for cultic purposes was indeed never a part of normative Yahwism. But the Bible repeatedly tells us that non-normative pagan practices were imported into Yahwism, and condemned by the biblical authors. Even without the explicit references, we would expect cultic prostitution to be one of these practices. 2 Kings 23:7 is one of the passages in which these practices are condemned, in that they were stamped out by Josiah who is commended as the ideal faithful king (v.25).

So, although we cannot be sure exactly what a QADESH did, we cannot argue that it was not temple prostitution because this was not an Israelite practice. Israelite practice in the pre-exilic period did not always match the ideals of the Deuteronomist, and the texts bear witness to that in their condemnations. Indeed, at times, such as the reign of Manasseh, Israelite practice was much like that of the surrounding nations, including child sacrifice (2 Kings 21:6), and the use of the word QADESH in association with such periods suggests that temple prostitution was included.


--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/





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