The wage or payment given to a prostitute. Used in the Mosaic law as something prohibited from being brought into the temple, and by the prophets as a metaphor for Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness.
The ethnan — the harlot's hire — becomes one of the prophets' sharpest images for Israel's spiritual adultery. When Hosea and Micah use this word, they indict Israel for taking God's blessings (grain, wine, silver, gold) and offering them to Baal as payment for fertility. Micah 1:7 declares Samaria's wealth would return to 'the wages of prostitutes.' Deuteronomy 23:18 prohibits bringing such wages into God's house — holiness requires separating worship from exploitation.