Balaam induced Moabite women to ensnare Israelite men into apostasy at Baal Peor. Philo, 1st century C.E., portrays these women as calculating prostitutes. Later, the Sifrei, ca. 3rd century, recasts the episode as a bawdy Roman farce—complete with marketplace, wine, and brothel-like seductions—portraying the Israelites less as tragic sinners and more as fools blinded by lust.
The only named character in the story of the spies whom Joshua sends to Jericho holds the key to the story’s message.
So why aren’t we told which mother actually stole the baby?
As Tamar gives birth to twins, the midwife ties red thread around Zerah’s wrist. The spies instruct Rahab to tie a red cord in her window. What is the significance of the red thread?
Rahab is a Canaanite prostitute who becomes faithful to the God of Israel, hiding two Israelite spies when the king of Jericho sends men to capture them. The rabbis imagine her as a superhumanly seductive woman who knows the secrets of all the men in Jericho, as well as the ultimate example of repentance. The biblical story, however, suggests a more complex character, who worked within the power structures around her.
Deuteronomy (23:18) states “Let there be no kadesh among the sons of Israel,” referring to ritualized male prostitution. What does this imply about regular male prostitution?
Leviticus 21 and Ezekiel 44 regulate whom priests may marry. What rationale lies behind these laws?
