have prostituted themselves (Hebrew zanah, which means "commit fornication"): Israel must worship only the Lord (Exodus 20:3). Israel's covenant with the LORD was like a marriage (see Hosea 1:2). Worshiping other gods was like spiritual adultery.
Many Canaanite religions were fertility cults. This verb refers to prostitution at Canaanite pagan worship shrines. They believed these acts would make the land fertile through magic rites involving sexual intercourse.
The Hebrew word for goat demons is the plural form of "a male goat." In ancient times, the male goat symbolized fertility or a god of the underworld. During King Jeroboam I's reign, many Levites from the northern kingdom moved to Jerusalem. The use of goats and bulls in northern worship shocked them (2 Chronicles 11:15–16).