What does קָדֵשׁ (qādēš) mean in the Bible?
קָדֵשׁ (qādēš): Cultic male prostitute devoted to idolatrous worship; perversion of qōdeš (holy) through sexual defilement
Hebrew · H6945
קָדֵשׁ
A (quasi) sacred person , i.e. (technically) a (male) devotee (by prostitution) to licentious idolatry
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קָדֵשׁ H6945
Pronunciation qādēš
What does קָדֵשׁ (qādēš) mean in the Bible?
קָדֵשׁ (qādēš): Cultic male prostitute devoted to idolatrous worship; perversion of qōdeš (holy) through sexual defilement
Full entry for קָדֵשׁ (H6945) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H6945?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include male shrine prostitutes (2), a shrine prostitute (1), among the male shrine prostitutes (1), of the male shrine prostitutes (1), the male shrine prostitutes (1).
Where does קָדֵשׁ (qādēš) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Deuteronomy 23:17. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Kings (3), 2 Kings (1), Deuteronomy (1), Job (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It male shrine prostitutes 2× 1 Kings 14:24, 1 Kings 22:46
a shrine prostitute 1× Deuteronomy 23:17
among the male shrine prostitutes 1× Job 36:14
of the male shrine prostitutes 1× 2 Kings 23:7
the male shrine prostitutes 1× 1 Kings 15:12
Show sample aligned rows
Deuteronomy 23:17 קָדֵ֖שׁ to a shrine prostitute Adjective - masculine singular 1 Kings 14:24 קָדֵ֖שׁ to male shrine prostitutes Adjective - masculine singular 1 Kings 15:12 הַקְּדֵשִׁ֖ים to the male shrine prostitutes Article | Adjective - masculine plural 1 Kings 22:46 הַקָּדֵ֔שׁ to male shrine prostitutes Article | Adjective - masculine singular 2 Kings 23:7 הַקְּדֵשִׁ֔ים to of the male shrine prostitutes Article | Adjective - masculine plural Job 36:14 בַּקְּדֵשִֽׁים׃ to among the male shrine prostitutes Preposition-b, Article | Adjective - masculine plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Deuteronomy 23:17
Aligned rows 6
Books represented 4
Deuteronomy 1 1 Kings 3 2 Kings 1 Job 1
Source forms
קָדֵ֖שׁ 2x qā·ḏêš Deuteronomy 23:17, 1 Kings 14:24
בַּקְּדֵשִֽׁים׃ 1x baq·qə·ḏê·šîm Job 36:14
הַקָּדֵ֔שׁ 1x haq·qā·ḏêš 1 Kings 22:46
הַקְּדֵשִׁ֖ים 1x haq·qə·ḏê·šîm 1 Kings 15:12
הַקְּדֵשִׁ֔ים 1x haq·qə·ḏê·šîm 2 Kings 23:7
Parsing patterns
Adjective - masculine singular 2x Deuteronomy 23:17, 1 Kings 14:24
Article | Adjective - masculine plural 2x 1 Kings 15:12, 2 Kings 23:7
Article | Adjective - masculine singular 1x 1 Kings 22:46
Preposition-b, Article | Adjective - masculine plural 1x Job 36:14
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Cultic male prostitute devoted to idolatrous worship; perversion of qōdeš (holy) through sexual defilement
Source Gloss
a (quasi) sacred person , i.e. (technically) a (male) devotee (by prostitution) to licentious idolatry
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Cultic male prostitute devoted to idolatrous worship; perversion of qōdeš (holy) through sexual defilement
a (quasi) sacred person, i.e. (technically) a (male) devotee (by prostitution) to licentious idolatry BDB: temple-prostitute Usage: sodomite, unclean.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
קָדֵשׁ is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain