What does קְדֵשָׁה (qĕdēšāh) mean in the Bible?
קְדֵשָׁה (qĕdēšāh): Sacred devotion corrupted: a woman consecrated to fertility cult prostitution, conflating religious and sexual transgression
Hebrew · H6948
קְדֵשָׁה
A female devotee (i.e. prostitute)
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קְדֵשָׁהH6948
Pronunciationqĕdēšāh
What does קְדֵשָׁה (qĕdēšāh) mean in the Bible?
קְדֵשָׁה (qĕdēšāh): Sacred devotion corrupted: a woman consecrated to fertility cult prostitution, conflating religious and sexual transgression
Full entry for קְדֵשָׁה (H6948) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H6948?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include shrine prostitute (2), . . . (1), is the shrine prostitute (1), shrine prostitutes (1).
Where does קְדֵשָׁה (qĕdēšāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 38:21. Its strongest book concentrations include Genesis (3), Deuteronomy (1), Hosea (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 Itshrine prostitute2×Genesis 38:21, Genesis 38:22
. . .1×Deuteronomy 23:17
is the shrine prostitute1×Genesis 38:21
shrine prostitutes1×Hosea 4:14
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 38:21הַקְּדֵשָׁ֛הtois the shrine prostituteArticle | Adjective - feminine singularGenesis 38:21קְדֵשָֽׁה׃toshrine prostituteAdjective - feminine singularGenesis 38:22קְדֵשָֽׁה׃toshrine prostituteAdjective - feminine singularDeuteronomy 23:17קְדֵשָׁ֖הto. . .Adjective - feminine singularHosea 4:14הַקְּדֵשׁ֖וֹתtoshrine prostitutesArticle | Adjective - feminine plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 38:21
Aligned rows5
Books represented3
Genesis3Deuteronomy1Hosea1
Source forms
קְדֵשָֽׁה׃2xqə·ḏê·šāhGenesis 38:21, Genesis 38:22
הַקְּדֵשָׁ֛ה1xhaq·qə·ḏê·šāhGenesis 38:21
הַקְּדֵשׁ֖וֹת1xhaq·qə·ḏê·šō·wṯHosea 4:14
קְדֵשָׁ֖ה1xqə·ḏê·šāhDeuteronomy 23:17
Parsing patterns
Adjective - feminine singular3xGenesis 38:21, Genesis 38:22, Deuteronomy 23:17
Article | Adjective - feminine plural1xHosea 4:14
Article | Adjective - feminine singular1xGenesis 38:21
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Sacred devotion corrupted: a woman consecrated to fertility cult prostitution, conflating religious and sexual transgression
Source Gloss
a female devotee (i.e. prostitute)
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Sacred devotion corrupted: a woman consecrated to fertility cult prostitution, conflating religious and sexual transgression
a female devotee (i.e. prostitute) BDB: temple-prostitute Usage: harlot, whore.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
קְדֵשָׁה 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.