Genesis 38:21

Gen 38:21 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].

Ver. 21. Where is the harlot?] The holy whore, as the Hebrew word importeth; such as committed that filthiness, under a pretence of holiness. Such, among the heathens, were the lewd worshippers of Priapus (this is thought to be Baalpeor); and Venus at Cyprus; where the maids, in honour of their goddess, prostituted their chastity to all that would, once a year. So in their Lupercals and Bacchanals at Rome, in quibus discurrebatur ad publicos concubitus, for like reason. Of such unclean persons, even by God’s house, we read in 2Ki 23:7, and of such as "sacrificed with harlots" in Hos 4:14, who brought their hire for a vow; called therefore, the price of a salt bitch (dog). {Deu 23:17-18} Vah propudium!

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 21. 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 Ge 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 ιεροδουλοι 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.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(21) Where is the harlot . . .?—Heb.,Whercisthe kedeshah (see Gen_38:15) that was at Enajim by the wayside? “Enajim (the two founts) by-the-wayside,” seems to have been the full name of the village. (See Gen_38:14.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. harlot] Heb. ḳedêshah, that is, a woman dedicated to impure heathen worship: see Deu_23:17; Hos_4:14. The Heb. word denotes “a woman dedicated to the service of some god, or goddess.” Her dedication consisted in the sacrifice of her chastity. This repulsive and strangely degrading custom prevailed generally among Semitic races, and was associated with the impure and immoral rites of the Phoenician, Syrian, and Babylonian worship.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her,.... That is, the Adullamite returned to him, and informed him that he could not find the harlot to whom he was sent to deliver the kid and receive the pledge, after he had made the strictest inquiry for her he could:

and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place; by which it appears, that near the place where Tamar was, there was a town or city, and which was so free from such infamous persons, that there was not one in it that was known to be of such a character, at least, that in such a public manner exposed herself: it would be well if the same could be said of many other places.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Harlot. Hebrew Kedesha a person consecrated to good or evil. Many nations esteemed prostitution, in honour of Venus, as a laudable action, 2 Kings xvii. 30. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

21. Openly by the wayside — Rather, at Enajim on the way. See on Gen_38:14.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, literally, the consecrated, the prostitute being regarded as "one devoted to the worship of Astarte, a goddess of the Canaanites, the deification of the generative and productive principle of nature," corresponding to the Babylonian Ashtarte, whose worship was of a grossly libidinous character (Herod., 1:199). Cf. Deu_23:19; Num_25:1; Hos_4:14; and vide Keil on Deu_23:19 that was openly by the way side? or, that was in Enajim on the way, (ut supra, ver. 14). And they said, There was no harlot (or kedeshah) in this place.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Adullamite

a person who lives in the village of Adullam. See how you translated this in Genesis 38:1. (See: How to Translate Names)

the men of the place

"some of the men who lived there"

cultic prostitute

"prostitute who serves in the temple"

Enaim

This is the name of a place. See how you translated this in Genesis 38:14. (See: How to Translate Names)

that we not be put to shame

When people found out what had happened they would ridicule Judah and laugh at him. This can be made clear and stated in active form. AT: "or else people will laugh at us when they find out what happened" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Active or Passive)

translationWords

prostitute

shame

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

הקדשה— means a woman who is devoted to, (מקדשת) and who is ever ready for illicit intercourse.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

וישאל..אנשי מקומה, in the alley where she lived. Yehudah must have asked her for her address; how else could he expect to redeem the items he had left with her? She had therefore named a certain alley as her address. When Chirom came there to seek her out at the address she had given Yehudah, and he did not see a harlot in that alley, he asked people of the alley if they knew where the harlot was who had been plying her trade at the road junction. The local residents told him: לא היתה בזה קדשה, that in that location there had not been any prostitute. Both the words בזה and מזה occur in the Torah as references to locations, as we know already from 37,17.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.