The Harlot, the Beast and the Sex Trafficker: Reflections on some Recent Feminist Interpretations of Revelation 17-18

Abstract

The image of the whore of Babylon in Rev 17-18 has often been used to support the idea of the prostitute as the ultimate sinner. This attitude may be contributing to a lack of involvement by Christians in counteracting contemporary sex-trafficking. Recent feminist scholarship has rightly pointed out the insidious nature of such interpretations of the passage. However, their focus on gender rather than the idolatrous greed which the whore represents, and which is the underlying cause of sex-trafficking, could unintentionally hinder effective campaigning and add to the suffering of victims.

Recent Feminist Approaches to Interpreting the New Testament

“…Others have taken a closer look at the gendered dynamics of the figure's portrayal (Pippin 2005;Nelavala 2009), though at least Hylen (2003) has cautioned against taking an all or nothing approach to reading this text through a lens of gender only (so also Økland 2003, 2005). Still others have drawn attention to the horrific nature of this text (Vander Stichele 2000, not only in its original context but also in its application to contemporary problems of sex trafficking (Carson 2011) or violence against women (Pillay 2019).…”