Water of jealousy

The water of jealousy (Hebrew mey hama'arim, "bitter waters that bring the curse") was a ritual ordeal administered to a wife suspected of adultery when there was no witness to confirm or deny the charge (Numbers 5:11–31). The priest mixed dust from the tabernacle floor with holy water in an earthen vessel, wrote out the curse on a scroll, washed the ink into the water, and gave the woman the bitter water to drink after she had sworn an oath of innocence. If she were guilty, the text states the water would cause her abdomen to swell and her thigh to fall, bringing the curse upon her; if innocent, she would be free and would conceive children. The rite operated as a divine judgment in the absence of human evidence, placing the outcome entirely in God's hands. It is unique in the Mosaic law as a trial by ordeal and represents one of the few cases in Israelite law where a matter could not be resolved by witnesses alone.