Qadištu: Difference between revisions

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''Qadištu'' is the Akkadian form of a feminine noun derived from the Semitic triconsonantal root q-d-š, meaning "holy" or "set apart".

''Qadištu'', along with its Hebrew cognate which occurs in the Bible, has since the mid-19th century been interpreted as meaning "sacred prostitute", i.e. a priestess who perform sex acts as a cultic function, though that interpretation has been challenged in current scholarship.<ref name="degrado">{{Cite Journal|article= The ''qdesha'' in Hosea 4:14: Putting the (Myth of the) Sacred Prostitute to Bed|author=Jessie DeGrado|journal=Vetus Testamentum|page=pp. 8-40|volume=68|issue=1|doi=10.1163/15685330-12341300|published=January 12, 2018}}</ref>

In Akkadian the word ''qadištu'' is used exclusively for female cultic functionaries with a diverse set of roles, primarily cultic practices but also wet-nursing and possibly midwifery; it has no sexual connotations. However, in Hebrew, the term came to be used for either a priestess or a prostitute (but never both at the same time), and had even been generalized to refer to any single unmarried woman who was employed outside of the household.<ref name="degrado"/>

|ja=カディシュトゥ ''Kadishutu''{{Exp|As a group}}<br>女魔 ''Joma''{{Exp|As a race}}

|jaM=Qadištu<br>Female demon