Midvash

זָנָהzânâh

commit fornication, be a harlot

Pronunciation: zaw-naw' · Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) · H2181

Meanings

Qal: not, b (Deuteronomy 31:16; Genesis 38:34; Ezekiel 23:43)

1. be or act as a harlot (Genesis 38:24; Deuteronomy 22:21; Leviticus 21:9)

2. figurative of improper intercourse with foreign nations (religious reference sometimes involved) (Isaiah 23:17; Ezekiel 23:30; Ezekiel 16:26)

3. of intercourse with other deities, considered as harlotry, sometimes involving actual prostitution (Exodus 34:15; Exodus 34:16; Deuteronomy 31:16)

4. זונה of moral defection (Isaiah 1:21)

Pu`al: fornication was, done (Ezekiel 16:34)

Hiph`il: construct (Hosea 5:3; Hosea 4:10; Hosea 4:18)

1. cause to commit fornication

2. commit fornication

Same root

Where it appears

Appears 94 times in the Bible.

  • Genesis 34:31 “But why should we let him treat our sister like a prostitute?” they retorted angrily.
  • Genesis 38:15 Judah noticed her and thought she was a prostitute, since she had covered her face.
  • Genesis 38:24 About three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has acted like a prostitute. And now, because of this, she’s pregnant.” “Bring her out, and let her be burned!” Judah demanded.
  • Exodus 34:15 “You must not make a treaty of any kind with the people living in the land. They lust after their gods, offering sacrifices to them. They will invite you to join them in their sacrificial meals, and you will go with them.
  • Exodus 34:16 Then you will accept their daughters, who sacrifice to other gods, as wives for your sons. And they will seduce your sons to commit adultery against me by worshiping other gods.
  • Leviticus 17:7 The people must no longer be unfaithful to the Lord by offering sacrifices to the goat idols. This is a permanent law for them, to be observed from generation to generation.
See every passage

Source: Brown, Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain; markup by unfoldingWord, CC BY (github.com/unfoldingWord/Brown-Driver-Briggs-Enhanced).