Original Word: זָנוּן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: zanuwn
Pronunciation: zeh-noo-neem
Phonetic Spelling: (zaw-noon')
KJV: whoredom
NASB: harlotry, harlotries
Word Origin: [from H2181 (זָנָה - played the harlot)]

1. adultery
2. (figuratively) idolatry

whoredom

From zanah; adultery; figuratively, idolatry -- whoredom.

see HEBREW zanah

Word Origin
from zanah
Definition
fornication
NASB Translation
harlotries (5), harlotry (8).

זְנוּנִים noun [masculine] fornication, plural abstract intensive (Ol^{§ 215 a}; Dl^{Pr. 74}, derived from √ זנן, Assyrian zanânu, fill full, compare Dl^ib.73) — ׳ז Hosea 1:2 5t., construct זְנוּנֵי Nahum 3:4 2t., זְנוּנַיִךְ Ezekiel 23:29, זְנוּנֶיהָ Hosea 2:4; Nahum 3:4.

a., sexual Genesis 38:24 (J) Hosea 1:2 (twice in verse).

b. international Nahum 3:4 (twice in verse).

c. religious 2 Kings 9:22; Ezekiel 23:11,29; Hosea 2:4; Hosea 2:6; Hosea 4:12; Hosea 5:4.

Meaning and Imagery

The word conveys a concentrated idea of sexual immorality that openly flaunts covenant boundaries. It evokes the public, habitual practice of prostitution and, by vivid extension, the brazen abandonment of exclusive allegiance to the LORD. Scripture frequently places the term beside sorcery, idolatry, and bloodshed, indicating that moral collapse in one area inevitably spreads to the whole life of a person or nation.

Occurrences in Narrative Literature

Genesis 38:24 introduces the charge against Tamar: “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has been guilty of prostitution, and behold, she is pregnant as a result.” The accusation underscores Judah’s hypocrisy and sets the stage for God’s vindication of Tamar’s righteous intent.

2 Kings 9:22 records Jehu’s challenge to Joram: “How can there be peace as long as the harlotries and sorceries of your mother Jezebel continue?” Here זָנוּן personifies the entrenched moral evil that demanded Jehu’s divinely sanctioned purge.

Prophetic Usage

Hosea repeatedly employs the word to expose Israel’s covenant infidelity. At the prophet’s commissioning the LORD declares, “Go, take to yourself a wife of prostitution and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is committing brazen prostitution by departing from the LORD” (Hosea 1:2). Hosea 4:12 explains the root: “For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God.”

Ezekiel 23 applies the same imagery to Jerusalem (Oholibah), indicting her for surpassing Samaria’s sins: “Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister” (Ezekiel 23:11).

Nahum 3:4 levels the charge against Nineveh, the oppressing world power: “all because of the harlotries of the alluring prostitute, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaves nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft.”

Theological Themes

1. Covenant Faithfulness: Marriage is the chief biblical metaphor for the covenant; therefore unchastity becomes the apt emblem of idolatry. זָנוּן warns that outward worship without heart-loyalty is spiritual adultery.
2. Divine Jealousy and Judgment: Each occurrence is embedded in an announcement of judgment. God does not tolerate divided affection; He disciplines His people and dismantles nations that market corruption.
3. Redemption and Restoration: Hosea’s marriage demonstrates that God’s response to unfaithfulness is not only judgment but pursuing love, culminating in the promise, “I will betroth you to Me forever” (Hosea 2:19).

Historical Insight

In the ancient Near East temple prostitution and political alliances with pagan states went hand in hand. Prophets exposed the religious, economic, and diplomatic dimensions of such harlotry. Calling Israel out from Canaanite fertility cults, they safeguarded monotheism and the messianic line. Likewise, condemning Nineveh’s “harlotries” unmasked Assyria’s brutal imperial propaganda that bought off client nations with luxury and sorcery.

Practical Ministry Implications

• Preaching: The word invites sermons that confront modern forms of spiritual compromise—materialism, syncretism, moral laxity—while holding out the gospel’s power to cleanse and restore.
• Counseling: Biblical counselors can trace destructive patterns back to heart-level unfaithfulness, applying Hosea’s picture of steadfast love to broken marriages and addictive behaviors.
• Discipleship: The term motivates believers toward single-minded devotion, echoing Paul’s pastoral jealousy: “I promised you to one husband, to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2).

Applications for Contemporary Believers

– Guard corporate worship from entertainment-driven idolatry.

– Cultivate personal integrity in sexuality, finance, and speech to reflect covenant loyalty.

– Intercede for nations, recognizing that societal injustice and occult fascination stand under the same indictment that fell on Jezebel and Nineveh.

Christological Fulfillment

Israel’s chronic זָנוּן sets the stage for the true Bridegroom who purchases His bride with His blood and washes her “by the washing with water through the word” (Ephesians 5:26). The Lamb’s wedding feast (Revelation 19:7) closes Scripture’s narrative arc: unfaithful humanity, redeemed and presented “without stain or wrinkle,” forever cured of prostitution of heart and made wholly His.

בִּזְנוּנֶ֔יהָ בזנוניה זְנוּנִ֔ים זְנוּנִ֖ים זְנוּנִים֙ זְנוּנֵ֞י זְנוּנֶ֙יהָ֙ זְנוּנַ֔יִךְ זנוני זנוניה זנוניך זנונים לִזְנוּנִ֑ים לזנונים מִזְּנוּנֵ֖י מזנוני biz·nū·ne·hā biznūnehā biznuNeiha liz·nū·nîm liznuNim liznūnîm miz·zə·nū·nê mizzənūnê mizzenuNei zə·nū·na·yiḵ zə·nū·nê zə·nū·ne·hā zə·nū·nîm zenuNayich zənūnayiḵ zənūnê zənūnehā zenuNei zenuNeiha zenuNim zənūnîmInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts