H8457 H8457
Harlotry, fornication; sexual and spiritual promiscuity, especially as a prophetic metaphor for idolatry.
An abstract noun for sexual immorality that carries enormous theological weight in Ezekiel's allegories. All twenty-two occurrences fall in Ezekiel 16 and 23, where Jerusalem and Samaria are personified as adulterous women whose 'harlotries' represent covenant unfaithfulness through political alliances and idol worship. The suffixed forms ('your harlotries,' 'their harlotries') make the accusation intensely personal. German 'Hurerei' and French 'fornication' preserve the moral severity, while Spanish uses circumlocutions ('fornicaciones de ti') that reflect the Hebrew possessive constructions.
Senses
1. harlotry, sexual immorality — Fornication, prostitution, or promiscuity, used both for literal sexual unfaithfulness and -- more prominently -- as a prophetic metaphor for Israel's spiritual infidelity through idolatry and forbidden political alliances. Every occurrence is confined to Ezekiel 16 and 23, the two great allegories of Jerusalem and Samaria as unfaithful wives. The noun always appears with possessive suffixes ('your harlotries,' Ezek 16:15, 22, 25, 33; 'their harlotries,' Ezek 23:8, 17), making the charge directly personal. Multilingual evidence -- 'Hurerei/Hurereien' (deu), 'fornication' (fra), 'fornicaciones' (spa) -- consistently renders the term with moral severity. 22×
AR["(زِنَاكِ)", "[زِنَاكِ]", "[مِنْ-زِنَاكِ]", "بِزِنَاهُمْ", "زِنَاكِ", "زِنَاهَا", "زِنَاهُمْ", "فِي-زِنَاكِ", "وَزِنَاكِ"]·ben["(তোমার-বেশ্যাবৃত্তি।)", "[তোমার-বেশ্যাবৃত্তি]", "ও-তোমার-বেশ্যাবৃত্তি", "তোমার-বেশ্যাবৃত্তি", "তোমার-বেশ্যাবৃত্তিতে", "তোমার-বেশ্যাবৃত্তিতে।", "বেশ্যাবৃত্তি-তাদের", "বেশ্যাবৃত্তিগুলি-তার", "বেশ্যাবৃত্তিগুলি-তোমার", "বেশ্যাবৃত্তিগুলির-তার", "বেশ্যাবৃত্তিতে-তাদের"]·DE["Hurerei", "deine-Hurereien", "in-deine-Hurereien", "und-Hurerei"]·EN["and-harlotries-your", "harlotries-your", "harlotry-your", "her-harlotries", "her-harlotry", "in-harlotries-your", "their-lust", "with-their-harlotry", "your-harlotries"]·FR["et-fornication", "fornication"]·heb["[מתזנתך]", "[תזנתך]", "ב-תזנותייך", "ב-תזנותם", "ו-תזנותייך", "תזנותה", "תזנותיה", "תזנותייך", "תזנותך", "תזנותם"]·HI["अपनी-व्यभिचार", "उसकी-व्यभिचार", "और-व्यभिचारों-तेरे", "में-अपनी-व्यभिचार", "में-व्यभिचारों-तेरे", "व्यभिचार-तेरा"]·ID["(persundalanmu).", "-persundalanmu", "[dari-persundalanmu]", "[persundalanmu]", "dalam-persundalanmu", "dalam-persundalanmu,", "dalam-persundalanmu.", "dan-persundalanmu,", "dengan-perzinahan-mereka", "perzinahan-mereka", "perzinahan-perzinahanmu", "perzinahan-perzinahannya"]·IT["e-prostituzione", "prostituzione"]·jav["(laku-jina-panjenengan)", "[laku-jina-panjenengan]", "[saking-laku-jina-panjenengan]", "ing-jinah-piyambakipun-sedaya", "jinah-panjenengan.", "jinah-piyambakipun", "jinah-piyambakipun-sedaya", "laku-jina-panjenengan", "lan-laku-jina-panjenengan", "wonten-ing-laku-jina-panjenengan"]·KO["[네-음행들을]", "[네-음행들이]", "그녀의-음행들을", "그들의-음행들로", "그들의-음행을", "그리고-그녀를", "그리고-네-음행들을", "네-음행들에서", "네-음행들을", "네-음행을"]·PT["com-sua-prostituição", "de-tua-prostituição", "e-tuas-prostituições", "em-tuas-prostituições", "sua-prostituição", "suas-prostituições", "tua-prostituição", "tuas-prostituições"]·RU["(блудодеяния-твои)", "[ктив]", "блуд", "блудодеяние-твоё", "блудодеяния-твои", "блудом", "больше", "в-блудодеяниях-твоих", "её", "и-блуд", "и-блудодеяния-твои", "и-она", "свой"]·ES["(fornicaciones-de-ti)", "[de-fornicaciones-de-ti]", "[fornicación-de-ti]", "con-fornicación-de-ellos", "en-fornicaciones-de-ti", "fornicaciones-de-ella", "fornicaciones-de-ti", "fornicación-de-ella", "fornicación-de-ellos", "fornicación-de-ti", "y-fornicaciones-de-ti"]·SW["haku", "katika-ukahaba-wako", "kwa-ukahaba-wako", "kwa-ukahaba-wao", "ukahaba-wake", "ukahaba-wako", "ukahaba-wao", "wako"]·TR["az-mı", "fahisheliklerinde", "fahisheliklerini", "fahisheliklerinle", "ve-ardından", "ve-fahisheliklerini", "zinalarıyla", "zinanı", "zinasalıklarını", "zinasalığını", "zinaslıklarını", "zinasına", "zinasını"]·urd["(تیری-حرامکاریاں)", "[تیری-حرامکاری]", "[تیری-حرامکاریوں-سے]", "اور-تیری-حرامکاریوں", "اپنی-حرامکاری", "اپنی-حرامکاریاں", "تیری-حرامکاریوں-میں", "زناکاری-اپنی", "زناکاریاں-اس-کی", "زناکاریاں-اپنی", "زناکاریوں-سے"]
Ezek 16:15, Ezek 16:20, Ezek 16:20, Ezek 16:22, Ezek 16:25, Ezek 16:25, Ezek 16:26, Ezek 16:29, Ezek 16:33, Ezek 16:34, Ezek 16:36, Ezek 23:7 (+10 more)
Related Senses
H2896a 1. good (quality or moral) (305×)H7563 1. wicked person (259×)H7451c 1. moral evil or wickedness (234×)H5771 1. iniquity, sin, wrongdoing (222×)H6662 1. righteous person (substantive) (195×)G0266 1. sin, failure, transgression (173×)H2403b 1. sin, transgression (170×)H2617a 1. Covenant faithfulness, steadfast love (167×)H2398 1. Qal: to sin, commit sin (165×)H6666 1. righteousness, moral uprightness (145×)G5485 1. grace, divine favor (141×)H7451a 1. morally evil, wicked (129×)H2403b 2. sin-offering, sacrifice for sin (120×)G2570 1. good, right, excellent (98×)H6588 1. transgression, offense against God (88×)G0018 1. good (moral quality) (85×)H2896b 1. good, what is good (85×)H7451b 1. evil, wickedness (moral) (83×)H7451a 2. evil, harm, calamity (80×)G1342 1. righteous, upright (of persons) (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [תַּזְנוּת] n.f.abstr. fornication;—sf. תַּזְנוּתֵךְ Ez 16:20 (Kt) v 25 (Kt) v 29; תַּזְנֻתֵךְ Ez 16:26; תַּזְנוּתָם Ez 23:8, 17; תַּזְנוּתַיִךְ Ez 16:15, 34, 36; תַּזְנֻתַיִךְ Ez 16:22; תַּזְנוּתָ֑יִךְ Ez 16:20(Qr)v 25(Qr)v 33; 23:29, 35; תַּזְנוּתֶיהָ Ez 23:7, 8, 11, 14, 18, 19, 43. These are all international mingled with religious references.