Deuteronomy 23:18

 Deuteronomy 23:18

Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

a. NLT: When you are bringing an offering to fulfill a vow, you must not bring to the house of the LORD your God any offering from the earnings of a prostitute, whether a man or a woman, for both are detestable to the LORD your God. [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. NIV: You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute into the house of the LORD your God to pay any vow, because the LORD your God detests them both. [THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.]

c. Young’s Literal Translation: thou dost not bring a gift of a whore, or a price of a dog, into the house of Jehovah thy God, for any vow; for the abomination of Jehovah thy God are even both of them. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

d. Amplified Bible: You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the price of a dog (a sodomite) into the house of the Lord your God as payment of a vow, for both of these [the gift and the giver] are an abomination to the Lord your God. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

e. Septuagint: Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, nor the price of a dog into the house of the Lord thy God, for any vow; because even both are an abomination to the Lord thy God.

f. Stone Edition Torah/Writings/Prophets: You shall not bring a harlot’s hire or the exchange for a dog to the House of HASHEM, your God, for any vow, for both of them are an abomination of HASHEM, your God. [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ldt.]

 

1. “Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore…”

a. [Thou shalt] not [Strong: 3808 lo' lo or lowi {lo}; or loh (Deut. 3:11) {lo}; a primitive particle; not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles (as follows):--X before, + or else, ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (X as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, + of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.]

b. bring [Strong: 935 bow' bo a primitive root; to go or come (in a wide variety of applications):--abide, apply, attain, X be, befall, + besiege, bring (forth, in, into, to pass), call, carry, X certainly, (cause, let, thing for) to come (against, in, out, upon, to pass), depart, X doubtless again, + eat, + employ, (cause to) enter (in, into, -tering, -trance, -try), be fallen, fetch, + follow, get, give, go (down, in, to war), grant, + have, X indeed, (in-)vade, lead, lift (up), mention, pull in, put, resort, run (down), send, set, X (well) stricken (in age), X surely, take (in), way.

1). This is clearly speaking about “bringing” and offering to the Lord. The same Hebrew word is used in Malachi when speaking about the tithe.

2). Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

c. [the] hire [Strong: 868 'ethnan eth-nan' the same as 866; a gift (as the price of harlotry or idolatry):--hire, reward.] [Gesenius: hire of prostitute, price, hire (of harlot), of idolatrous Israel, Jerusalem, Tyre (fig.)]

d. [of a] whore [Strong: 2181 zanah zaw-naw' a primitive root (highly-fed and therefore wanton); to commit adultery (usually of the female, and less often of simple fornication, rarely of involuntary ravishment); figuratively, to commit idolatry (the Jewish people being regarded as the spouse of Jehovah):--(cause to) commit fornication, X continually, X great, (be an, play the) harlot, (cause to be, play the) whore, (commit, fall to) whoredom, (cause to) go a-whoring, whorish.] [Blue Letter Bible: Translated: harlot (36 times), go a whoring (19 times), whoredom (15 times), whore (11 times), commit fornication (3 times), whorish (3 times), harlot (along with 802 *'ishshah) a woman (used in the same wide sense as ''enowsh' (582)):--(adulter)ess, each, every, female, X many, + none, one, + together, wife, woman. Often unexpressed in English (2 times), whore’s (along with 802 (1 time).]

2. “…or the price of a dog…”

a. [or the] price [Strong: 4242 mchiyr mekk-eer' from an unused root meaning to buy; price, payment, wages:--gain, hire, price, sold, worth.]

b. [of a] dog [Strong: 3611 3611 keleb keh'-leb from an unused root means. to yelp, or else to attack; a dog; hence (by euphemism) a male prostitute:--dog.] 

1). Robert A.J. Gagnon writes in The Bible And Homosexual Practice, citing Martti Nissinen, “The slur “dog” was applied to the assinnus, the “men-women” devoted to Ishtar who feminized their appearance, probably underwent castration, and for a fee allowed themselves to be penetrated anally by other males. The Syrian galli who performed a similar role in their devotion to the goddesses Atargatis or Cybele during the Hellenistic and Roman periods were called “holy” (hieroi).”

2). Don Costello: Here, Moses is writing and warning the second generation Israelites, who were just about to enter Canaan, not to engage in temple prostitution, which was a common practice in Cannan. Women and men offered their sexual services for payment and the money would go into the idolatrous temple coffers. Within the nations of Cannan and many other ancient nations there was an idolatrous philosophy where the people believed that goddesses would “transform their masculinity into femininity” or their femininity into masculinity. Now folks refer to it as gender dysphoria, distress over the desire to be a different gender. It is a mental and spiritual disorder and can be fixed through redemption in Christ Jesus. Back then when idolatry ruled over civilizations, they said the goddess stole my masculinity.  

3. “…into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow…”

a. [into the] house [Strong: 1004 bayith bah'-yith probably from 1129 abbreviated; a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.):--court, daughter, door, + dungeon, family, + forth of, X great as would contain, hangings, home(born), (winter)house(-hold), inside(-ward), palace, place, + prison, + steward, + tablet, temple, web, + within(-out).]

b. [of the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yhovah yeh-ho-vaw' from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

c. [thy] God [Strong: 430 'elohiym el-o-heem' plural of 433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:--angels, X exceeding, God (gods)(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.]

d. [for] any [Strong: 3605 kol kole or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso(-ever).]

e. vow [Strong: 5088 neder neh'-der or neder {nay'-der}; from 5087; a promise (to God); also (concretely) a thing promised:--vow((-ed)).]

1). Adam Clarke’s Commentary: Many public prostitutes dedicated to their gods a part of their impure earnings; and some of these prostitutes were publicly kept in the temple of Venus Melytta, whose gains were applied to the support of her abominable worship.

4. “…for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.”

a. for [Strong: 3588 kiy kee a primitive particle (the full form of the prepositional prefix) indicating causal relations of all kinds, antecedent or consequent; (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed:--and, + (forasmuch, inasmuch, where-)as, assured(-ly), + but, certainly, doubtless, + else, even, + except, for, how, (because, in, so, than) that, + nevertheless, now, rightly, seeing, since, surely, then, therefore, + (al- )though, + till, truly, + until, when, whether, while, whom, yea, yet.]

b. even [Strong: 1571 gam gam by contraction from an unused root meaning to gather; properly, assemblage; used only adverbially also, even, yea, though; often repeated as correl. both...and:--again, alike, also, (so much) as (soon), both (so)...and , but, either...or, even, for all, (in) likewise (manner), moreover, nay...neither, one, then(-refore), though, what, with, yea.

c. both [these] [Strong: 8147 shnayim shen-ah'-yim dual of 8145; feminine shttayim {shet-tah'-yim}; two; also (as ordinal) twofold:--both, couple, double, second, twain, + twelfth, + twelve, + twenty (sixscore) thousand, twice, two.]

d. [are] abomination [Strong: 8441 tow`ebah to-ay-baw' or tonebah {to-ay-baw'}; feminine active participle of 8581; properly, something disgusting (morally), i.e. (as noun) an abhorrence; especially idolatry or (concretely) an idol:-- abominable (custom, thing), abomination.]

e. [unto the] LORD [Strong: 3068 * Yhovah] [Strong: from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

f. [thy] God [430 * 'elohiym] [Strong: plural of 433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:--angels, X exceeding, God (gods)(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.]

1). Both of these behaviors, female and male homosexual cult prostitution were abominations and the monies received for them forbidden to be brought into the temple.

2). Family Bible Notes:  The gains and the practices of iniquity are an abomination to the Lord; and no offerings are acceptable to him but those of honest, upright, believing, and affectionate hearts.

3). Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible: Thou shall not bring the hire of a whore,.... Which was given to her as a reward for the use of her body: or the price of a dog; not of the firstborn of a dog, the price for the redemption of it, as some; nor for the loan of a hunting dog, or a shepherd's dog for breed, as Josephus (z) interprets this law. Abarbinel understands it figuratively of a sodomite, comparable to a dog, for his uncleanness and impudence; see Revelation 22:15; and the price of such an one the gain he got by the prostitution of his body to unnatural lusts; and so as the hire of a whore answers to one in Deuteronomy 23:17, the price of a dog to a sodomite here; and in this he is followed by some, nor is it a sense to be despised; though the Jews (a) understand it literally of a dog, and of the exchange of another creature with that; so Onkelos renders it,"the exchange of a dog:''now neither of these might a man bring into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow;