Genesis 38:14-15

38:14 So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because ¹  she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.) ² 

38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute ³  because she had covered her face.

Genesis 38:2

38:2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man ⁴  named Shua. ⁵  Judah acquired her as a wife ⁶  and had marital relations with her. ⁷ 

Genesis 9:22

9:22 Ham, the father of Canaan, ⁸  saw his father’s nakedness ⁹  and told his two brothers who were outside.

Genesis 9:1

God’s Covenant with Humankind through Noah

9:1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

Isaiah 3:16-24

Washing Away Impurity

3:16 The Lord says,

“The women ¹⁰  of Zion are proud.

They walk with their heads high ¹¹ 

and flirt with their eyes.

They skip along ¹² 

and the jewelry on their ankles jingles. ¹³ 

3:17 So ¹⁴  the sovereign master ¹⁵  will afflict the foreheads of Zion’s women ¹⁶  with skin diseases, ¹⁷ 

the Lord will make the front of their heads bald.” ¹⁸ 

3:18 ¹⁹ At that time ²⁰  the sovereign master will remove their beautiful ankle jewelry, ²¹  neck ornaments, crescent shaped ornaments, 3:19 earrings, bracelets, veils, 3:20 headdresses, ankle ornaments, sashes, sachets, ²²  amulets, 3:21 rings, nose rings, 3:22 festive dresses, robes, shawls, purses, 3:23 garments, vests, head coverings, and gowns. ²³ 

3:24 A putrid stench will replace the smell of spices, ²⁴ 

a rope will replace a belt,

baldness will replace braided locks of hair,

a sackcloth garment will replace a fine robe,

and a prisoner’s brand will replace beauty.

Isaiah 23:16

23:16 “Take the harp,

go through the city,

forgotten prostitute!

Play it well,

play lots of songs,

so you’ll be noticed!” ²⁵ 

Jeremiah 4:30

4:30 And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction, ²⁶ 

you accomplish nothing ²⁷  by wearing a beautiful dress, ²⁸ 

decking yourself out in jewels of gold,

and putting on eye shadow! ²⁹ 

You are making yourself beautiful for nothing.

Your lovers spurn you.

They want to kill you. ³⁰ 

Jeremiah 4:1

4:1 “If you, Israel, want to come back,” says the Lord,

“if you want to come back to me ³¹ 

you must get those disgusting idols ³²  out of my sight

and must no longer go astray. ³³ 

Jeremiah 2:9

The Lord Charges Contemporary Israel with Spiritual Adultery

2:9 “So, once more I will state my case ³⁴  against you,” says the Lord.

“I will also state it against your children and grandchildren. ³⁵ 

Revelation 17:3-5

17:3 So ³⁶  he carried me away in the Spirit ³⁷  to a wilderness, ³⁸  and there ³⁹  I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 17:4 Now ⁴⁰  the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, ⁴¹  and adorned with gold, ⁴²  precious stones, and pearls. She held ⁴³  in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things and unclean things from her sexual immorality. ⁴⁴  17:5 On ⁴⁵  her forehead was written a name, a mystery: ⁴⁶  “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.”

[38:14]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text simply has “because,” connecting this sentence to what precedes. For stylistic reasons the words “she did this” are supplied in the translation and a new sentence begun.

[38:14]  ² tn Heb “she saw that Shelah had grown up, but she was not given to him as a wife.”

[38:15]  ³ tn Heb “he reckoned her for a prostitute,” which was what Tamar had intended for him to do. She obviously had some idea of his inclinations, or she would not have tried this risky plan.

[38:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “a man, a Canaanite.”

[38:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and his name was Shua.”

[38:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he took her.”

[38:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[9:22]  ⁸ sn For the second time (see v. 18) the text informs the reader of the relationship between Ham and Canaan. Genesis 10 will explain that Canaan was the ancestor of the Canaanite tribes living in the promised land.

[9:22]  ⁹ tn Some would translate “had sexual relations with,” arguing that Ham committed a homosexual act with his drunken father for which he was cursed. However, the expression “see nakedness” usually refers to observation of another’s nakedness, not a sexual act (see Gen 42:9, 12 where “nakedness” is used metaphorically to convey the idea of “weakness” or “vulnerability”; Deut 23:14 where “nakedness” refers to excrement; Isa 47:3; Ezek 16:37; Lam 1:8). The following verse (v. 23) clearly indicates that visual observation, not a homosexual act, is in view here. In Lev 20:17 the expression “see nakedness” does appear to be a euphemism for sexual intercourse, but the context there, unlike that of Gen 9:22, clearly indicates that in that passage sexual contact is in view. The expression “see nakedness” does not in itself suggest a sexual connotation. Some relate Gen 9:22 to Lev 18:6-11, 15-19, where the expression “uncover [another’s] nakedness” (the Piel form of גָּלָה, galah) refers euphemistically to sexual intercourse. However, Gen 9:22 does not say Ham “uncovered” the nakedness of his father. According to the text, Noah uncovered himself; Ham merely saw his father naked. The point of the text is that Ham had no respect for his father. Rather than covering his father up, he told his brothers. Noah then gave an oracle that Ham’s descendants, who would be characterized by the same moral abandonment, would be cursed. Leviticus 18 describes that greater evil of the Canaanites (see vv. 24-28).

[3:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “daughters” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV).

[3:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “with an outstretched neck.” They proudly hold their heads high so that others can see the jewelry around their necks.

[3:16]  ¹² tn Heb “walking and skipping, they walk.”

[3:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “and with their feet they jingle.”

[3:17]  ¹⁴ tn In the Hebrew text vv. 16-17 and one long sentence, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud and walk…, the sovereign master will afflict….” In v. 17 the Lord refers to himself in the third person.

[3:17]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 18 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[3:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the daughters of Zion.”

[3:17]  ¹⁷ tn Or “a scab” (KJV, ASV); NIV, NCV, CEV “sores.”

[3:17]  ¹⁸ tn The precise meaning of this line is unclear because of the presence of the rare word פֹּת (pot). Since the verb in the line means “lay bare, make naked,” some take פֹּת as a reference to the genitals (cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV, CEV). (In 1 Kgs 7:50 a noun פֹּת appears, with the apparent meaning “socket.”) J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:139, n. 2), basing his argument on alleged Akkadian evidence and the parallelism of the verse, takes פֹּת as “forehead.”

[3:18]  ¹⁹ sn The translation assumes that the direct quotation ends with v. 17. The introductory formula “in that day” and the shift from a poetic to prosaic style indicate that a new speech unit begins in v. 18.

[3:18]  ²⁰ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[3:18]  ²¹ tn Or “the beauty of [their] ankle jewelry.”

[3:20]  ²² tn Heb “houses of breath.” HALOT 124 s.v. בַּיִת defines them as “scent-bottles”; cf. NAB, NRSV “perfume boxes.”

[3:23]  ²³ tn The precise meaning of many of the words in this list is uncertain.

[3:24]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and it will be in place of spices there will be a stench.” The nouns for “spices” and “stench” are right next to each other in the MT for emphatic contrast. The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[23:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “so you will be remembered.”

[4:30]  ²⁶ tn Heb “And you that are doomed to destruction.” The referent is supplied from the following context and the fact that Zion/Jerusalem represents the leadership which was continually making overtures to foreign nations for help.

[4:30]  ²⁷ tn Heb “What are you accomplishing…?” The rhetorical question assumes a negative answer, made clear by the translation in the indicative.

[4:30]  ²⁸ tn Heb “clothing yourself in scarlet.”

[4:30]  ²⁹ tn Heb “enlarging your eyes with antimony.” Antimony was a black powder used by women as eyeliner to make their eyes look larger.

[4:30]  ³⁰ tn Heb “they seek your life.”

[4:1]  ³¹ tn Or “If you, Israel, want to turn [away from your shameful ways (those described in 3:23-25)]…then you must turn back to me.” Or perhaps, “Israel, you must turn back…Yes, you must turn back to me.”

[4:1]  ³² tn Heb “disgusting things.”

[4:1]  ³³ tn Or possibly, “If you get those disgusting idols out of my sight, you will not need to flee.” This is less probable because the normal meaning of the last verb is “to wander,” “ to stray.”

[2:9]  ³⁴ tn Or “bring charges against you.”

[2:9]  ³⁵ tn The words “your children and” are supplied in the translation to bring out the idea of corporate solidarity implicit in the passage.

[17:3]  ³⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s invitation to witness the fate of the prostitute.

[17:3]  ³⁷ tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).

[17:3]  ³⁸ tn Or “desert.”

[17:3]  ³⁹ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

[17:4]  ⁴⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the detailed description of the woman, which is somewhat parenthetical in nature.

[17:4]  ⁴¹ tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

[17:4]  ⁴² tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).

[17:4]  ⁴³ tn Grk “pearls, having in her hand.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[17:4]  ⁴⁴ tc Several mss (including 1611 1854 2053 Ï^K pc) read “sexual immorality on/of the earth” (πορνείας τῆς γῆς, porneia" th" gh") instead of “her sexual immorality.” Other mss (א sy^h** [co]) read “her sexual immorality and the earth’s” (πορνείας αὐτῆς καὶ τῆς γῆς, porneia" aujth" kai th" gh"). The translation is a rendering of πορνείας αὐτῆς, found in {A 1006 2344 al}. It seems that the first reading “sexuality immorality on/of the earth” was a scribal mistake in which letters may have been confused (auths would have been read as thsghs), or was perhaps influenced by the presence of “of the world” (τῆς γῆς) at the end of v. 5. The original wording seems to be “her sexual immorality”; codex א has conflated the two readings.

[17:5]  ⁴⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:5]  ⁴⁶ tn Some translations consider the word μυστήριον (musthrion, “mystery”) a part of the name written (“Mystery Babylon the Great,” so KJV, NIV), but the gender of both ὄνομα (onoma, “name”) and μυστήριον are neuter, while the gender of “Babylon” is feminine. This strongly suggests that μυστήριον should be understood as an appositive to ὄνομα (“a name, i.e., a mystery”).