Genesis 38:21

He asked the men who were there, ¹  “Where is the cult prostitute ²  who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.”

He asked the men who lived there, "Where is the shrine-prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?" "There hasn’t been any shrine-prostitute here," they said.

He asked the men of her place, saying, "Where is the temple prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?" But they said, "There has been no temple prostitute here."

So he asked the men who lived there, "Where can I find the prostitute who was sitting beside the road at the entrance to the village?" "We’ve never had a prostitute here," they replied.

He asked the men of that place, "Where's the prostitute that used to sit by the road here near Enaim?" They said, "There's never been a prostitute here."

And he put questions to the men of the place, saying, Where is the loose woman who was in Enaim by the wayside? And they said, There was no such woman there.

He asked the townspeople, "Where is the temple prostitute who was at Enaim by the wayside?" But they said, "No prostitute has been here."

Then he asked the men of that place, saying, "Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?" And they said, "There was no harlot in this place ."

He asked the men who were there, ¹  “Where is the cult prostitute ²  who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.”

¹ tn Heb “the men of her place,” that is, who lived at the place where she had been.

² sn The Hebrew noun translated “cult prostitute” is derived from a verb meaning “to be set apart; to be distinct.” Thus the term refers to a woman who did not marry, but was dedicated to temple service as a cult prostitute. The masculine form of this noun is used for male cult prostitutes. Judah thought he had gone to an ordinary prostitute (v. 15); but Hirah went looking for a cult prostitute, perhaps because it had been a sheep-shearing festival. For further discussion see E. M. Yamauchi, “Cultic Prostitution,” Orient and Occident (AOAT), 213-23.