The actual word word
whore does appear in the bible , but only specific versions of the bible . Where the word whore is absent, we find an equivalent in its place ; commonly *harlot *or
prostitute.
The King James Version of the bible appears to be the version where the word
whore appears most frequently , rather than its aforementioned synonyms.
Sad as it is, prostitution is one of the oldest, um, trades, in the business:
In biblical times, if a woman was without any husband or children, family, to support her, she could’ve easily been forced by her circumstances into prostitution - with no other way to survive.
There were also prostitutes who offered themselves, as they do today, for money or favors.
And there was another type of prostitute called a
temple prostitute (male and/or female) who plied their trade in the temples of false gods and false religions having sex with their worshipers.
The bible repeatedly relates the imagery of prostitution as applying to the people of God who are/were collectively unfaithful :
In the Old Testament Israel’s unfaithfulness to God is often presented metaphorically in terms of prostitution ; the unfaithful being compared to a prostitute or to one who runs after prostitutes seeking their service.
That same analogy could appear to apply to us collectively - as the people of God, if Revelation 17 is to be an indicator.
Three examples for comparison of biblical versions of Revelation 17:1-2 :
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
And there came one of the seven angels, who had the seven vials, and spoke with me, saying: Come, I will shew thee the condemnation of the great harlot, who sitteth upon many waters, With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication; and they who inhabit the earth, have been made drunk with the wine of her whoredom.
Then one of the seven angels who were holding the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come here. I will show you the judgment on the great harlot who lives near the many waters. The kings of the earth have had intercourse with her, and the inhabitants of the earth became drunk on the wine of her harlotry.”
I don’t think we need to be overly politically correct when speaking of biblical personalities. Father John Hardon S.J.'s
Modern Catholic Dictionary says “whore” is a valid word and he defines it thus, in biblical terms:
WHORE (biblical).
A woman regularly guilty of adultery or fornication, especially for money. In early biblical times selling daughters into prostitution was not uncommon. It is reprobated in the Old Testament (Leviticus 19:29). Genesis makes it clear that capital punishment was the penalty for whoredom (Genesis 38:24-25).
That being said , we need to be mindful of precisely whom we ascribe this undignified title to : RomanoAmerio, LilyM and Patrick457 have all confirmed that “whore” does not apply to the woman caught in adultery, and you yourself , flower lady , confirm the title could not apply to Mary Magdalen.Re this thread’s specific topic,the fine line, can be found in Father Hardon’s definition : To apply the title aptly the woman would have to be
regularly guilty of adultery - and we simply do not know this concerning the woman caught in adultery whom Jesus forgave.
Where the title
would appear to be applicable to a biblical personage (though I can tell you that, simply because I have a mother and a sister, as a man in today’s world, I feel uncomfortable using that term for any woman - regardless of her profession ) , would be in the case of Rahab the harlot who actually did more for the people of God in her day , than all the non-harlots combined.
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