Adultery

Adultery in biblical law denotes sexual intercourse between a married woman and any man other than her husband, or between a married man and another man's wife. The seventh commandment (Thou shalt not commit adultery, Exodus 20:14) placed the prohibition at the center of the Decalogue, and Mosaic law prescribed death for both parties when the act was proven before witnesses (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22). The procedural test for a wife suspected of adultery — the ordeal of bitter water described in Numbers 5:11–31 — is unique in the Pentateuch and reflects the gravity with which the offense was treated as a violation of covenant loyalty within marriage.

The prophets, especially Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Hosea, extend the concept to describe Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness to God as adultery against the covenant. In the New Testament, Jesus sharpens the definition inward — the one who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery in his heart (Matthew 5:28). The episode of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1–11) demonstrates both the legal severity of the charge and the mercy and moral seriousness with which Jesus responded to it.