Leviticus 21:9

Hebrew Bible

5 Priests must not have a bald spot shaved on their head, they must not shave the corner of their beard, and they must not cut slashes in their body. 6 “‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord’s gifts, the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy. 7 They must not take a wife defiled by prostitution, nor are they to take a wife divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8 You must sanctify him because he presents the food of your God. He must be holy to you because I, the Lord who sanctifies you all, am holy. 9 If a daughter of a priest profanes herself by engaging in prostitution, she is profaning her father. She must be burned to death. 10 “‘The high priest—who is greater than his brothers, and on whose head the anointing oil is poured, and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments—must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments.

Revelation 17:16

New Testament

12 The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive ruling authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 These kings have a single intent, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful.” 15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw (where the prostitute is seated) are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. 16 The ten horns that you saw, and the beast—these will hate the prostitute and make her desolate and naked. They will consume her flesh and burn her up with fire.

 Notes and References

"... In the Old Testament the language of double punishment found in 18:6 is never applied to foreigners, indeed it is only applied to Israel/Jerusalem (Jeremiah 16:18, Isaiah 40:2). This particular punishment given to Babylon also very closely follows that of the punishment for a priest’s daughter who had committed adultery. In Leviticus 21:9 the law stated that the priest’s daughter was to be killed by immolation, this punishment was not the typical punishment for adultery. The allusion to the priest’s daughter is not the only reference to the priesthood in ch. 17 and 18. The priestly families had a flourishing trade that benefitted both their families and the temple. And what would the trade be in? The trade included the items mentioned in 18:11, the chief items being food supplies, precious metals, luxury goods and clothing. Not only this, but the headband, the name of the whore on her forehead carries references to the high priest. The high priest, primarily on the great Day of Atonement wore an inscribed headband. According to Edmondo Lupieri, “This headband served as a reminder to God of his ability and duty to sanctify Israel by blotting out her sins.” ..."

Bott, Ruth Re-Imagining the Whore: An Intertextual and Intratextual Feminist Reading of Revelation's Woma/en (pp. 1-21) Institute for Christian Studies, 2015

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