Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear Patrina,

>  > Deuteronomy 23:18 - You shall not bring the hire of a zonah, or the
> >  price of a dog (?male prostitute), into the house of YHWH your Elohim
> >  for any vow: for both of these are an abomination to YHWH your Elohim. 
>
> I really should have included the previous verse - I recollected about
> not bringing the hire of a whore to the temple, and went straight to
> that verse only, but the previous verse is important too:
>
> Deuteronomy 23:17 - None of the daughters of Israelis to be a kadeshah,
> nor any of the sons of Israel be a kadesh.
>
> This is not the only time that Deuteronomy states prohibitions against
> actions regarded as sanctioned in earlier times.  Deuteronomy also says
> that YHWH hates the setting up of pillars (Deut 16:22), and yet El
> accepts it, and the libations poured upon it without a problem in
> Genesis 31:13.  Given that YHWH does not change (Malachi 3:6), one has
> to assume that the early religious worship was of Canaanitic El (and
> various members of his pantheon) and that syncretism with YHWH was the
> norm until post-exilic times.

HH: One does not have to assume that the patriarchs were engaged in 
Canaanite worship. The name El is used of YHWH throughout the Tanach. 
And the meaning of the pillar is clarified by the context. The kind 
that YHWH hates are the Canaanite kind, but Moses himself sets up 
pillars (Ex 24:4; same word as in Dt 16:22). Yahweh approves of a 
pillar in Isa 19:19. Context is determinative.

                                        Yours,
                                        Harold Holmyard

> Patrina Nuske Small
> Adelaide, South Australia
> --
>   Patrina
>   patrina AT bestmail.us
>
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