Oldest profession

The biblical Tamar poses as a harlot to seduce Judah (Horace Vernet, Judah and Tamar, oil on canvas, 1840).

The oldest profession in the world (or the world's oldest profession) is a phrase that, unless another meaning is specified, refers to prostitution. However, it did not start to acquire that meaning until 1889, after a Rudyard Kipling story, and it did not do so universally until after World War I. Formerly, various professions vied for the reputation of being the oldest.

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