Genesis 38:21
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.
American King James Version (AKJV)
Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.
American Standard Version (ASV)
Then he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the prostitute, that was at Enaim by the wayside? And they said, There hath been no prostitute here.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And he put questions to the men of the place, saying, Where is the loose woman who was in Enaim by the wayside? And they said, There was no such woman there.
Webster's Revision
Then he asked the men of that place, saying, where is the harlot that was openly by the way-side? and they said, There was no harlot in this place.
World English Bible
Then he asked the men of her place, saying, "Where is the prostitute, that was at Enaim by the road?" They said, "There has been no prostitute here."
English Revised Version (ERV)
Then he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was at Enaim by the way side? And they said, There hath been no harlot here.
Clarke's Genesis 38:21 Bible Commentary
Where is the harlot that was openly by the wayside? - Our translators often render different Hebrew words by the same term in English, and thus many important shades of meaning, which involve traits of character, are lost. In Genesis 38:15, Tamar is called a harlot, זונה zonah, which, as we have already seen, signifies a person who prostitutes herself for money. In this verse she is called a harlot in our version; but the original is not זונה but קדשה kedeshah, a holy or consecrated person, from קדש kadash, to make holy, or to consecrate to religious purposes. And the word here must necessarily signify a person consecrated by prostitution to the worship of some impure goddess.
The public prostitutes in the temple of Venus are called ἱεροδουλοι γυναικες, holy or consecrated female servants, by Strabo; and it appears from the words zonah and kedeshah above, that impure rites and public prostitution prevailed in the worship of the Canaanites in the time of Judah. And among these people we have much reason to believe that Astarte and Asteroth occupied the same place in their theology as Venus did among the Greeks and Romans, and were worshipped with the same impure rites.