Capital Punishment for Adultery in the Old Testament

The Old Testament prescribes capital punishment for adultery, specifically stoning, as stated in Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22 ^{[1, 2]}. This punishment applied to both the adulterer and the adulteress, provided the woman was married or betrothed. The law distinguished between a married or betrothed woman and a bondwoman, with the latter being subject to scourging rather than death (Leviticus 19:20-22) ^[1].

The biblical basis for this punishment is rooted in the Decalogue, where adultery is listed as a major transgression (Exodus 20:14). The severity of the punishment reflects the societal and religious importance of marital fidelity in ancient Israel. Adultery was considered not only a personal sin but also a social wrong that threatened the fabric of the community ^[2].

The application of this law is illustrated in various biblical narratives. For instance, the story of Tamar and Judah in Genesis 38 shows that the penalty for adultery was considered severe enough to be a deterrent. Tamar, accused of adultery, was sentenced to be burned, highlighting the seriousness with which this offense was viewed ^[7].

The Mosaic law also provided for an ordeal to test the suspicion of adultery, known as the "water of jealousy" (Numbers 5:11-31). While there is no recorded instance of this law being applied, it demonstrates the societal concern with maintaining marital purity ^{[2, 12]}.

The penalty for adultery was not limited to the individuals involved. The community played a role in its enforcement, with witnesses being the first to cast stones (Deuteronomy 13:9; 17:7) ^[6]. This communal aspect underscores the societal implications of adultery.

In interpreting the severity of the punishment for adultery, various traditions offer different perspectives. Some view it as a reflection of the cultural and historical context of ancient Israel. For example, John Chrysostom notes that the severity of punishment in the Old Testament was tempered by the dispensation of grace in the New Testament ^[9].

The Reformed tradition, as represented by Calvin, emphasizes the natural law aspect of the prohibition against adultery, arguing that it is condemned by common sense and is a grave offense against both God and human society ^[10]. Matthew Henry, a Nonconformist/Puritan commentator, also highlights the severity of the punishment as a means to deter the sin ^[8].

In contrast, the Jewish Rationalist tradition, as seen in Abraham Ibn Ezra's commentary, focuses on the legal and textual aspects, explaining that Leviticus 20:10 provides the punishment for adultery, which was previously prohibited in Leviticus 18:20 ^[11].

The historical development of the law and its application is also noteworthy. Flavius Josephus notes that Moses forbade adultery entirely, emphasizing the importance of wedlock and the legitimacy of children ^[3].

The punishment for adultery in the Old Testament is closely tied to the societal and religious norms of ancient Israel. While the specifics of its application are subject to interpretation, the severity of the punishment reflects the importance of marital fidelity in the biblical worldview.

The biblical text also links adultery with other serious offenses, such as idolatry and bloodshed, as seen in Ezekiel 16:38 and 23:37 ^{[4, 5]}. This association underscores the gravity with which adultery was viewed, not just as a personal sin but as a communal and religious transgression.

Sources

Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Adultery — (Exodus 20:14) The parties to this crime, according to Jewish law, were a married woman and a man who was not her husband. The Mosaic penalty was that both the guilty parties should be stoned, and it applied as well to the betrothed as to the married woman, provided she were free. (22:22-24) A bondwoman so offending was to be scourged, and the man was to make a trespass offering. (Leviticus 19:20-22) At a later time, and when owing, to Gentile example, the marriage tie became a looser bond of union, public feeling in regard to adultery changed, and the pena”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Adultery — Conjugal infidelity. An adulterer was a man who had illicit intercourse with a married or a betrothed woman, and such a woman was an adulteress. Intercourse between a married man and an unmarried woman was fornication. Adultery was regarded as a great social wrong, as well as a great sin. The Mosaic law (Num. 5:11-31) prescribed that the suspected wife should be tried by the ordeal of the "water of jealousy." There is, however, no recorded instance of the application of this law. In subsequent times the Rabbis made various regulations with the view of disc”
Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 12, section 1: . Several Laws. 1. As for adultery, Moses forbade it entirely, as esteeming it a happy thing that men should be wise in the affairs of wedlock; and that it was profitable both to cities and families that children should be known to be genuine. He also abhorred men's lying with their mothers, as one of the greatest crimes; and the like for lying with the father's wife, and with aunts, and sisters, and sons' wives, as all instances of abominable wickedness. He also forbade a man to lie with his wife when she was defiled by her nat”
Ezekiel “For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery; and they have also caused their sons, whom they bore to me, to pass through the fire to them to be devoured. -- Ezekiel 23:37”
Ezekiel “Ezekiel 16:38 (BSB) — And I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and those who shed blood; so I will bring upon you the wrath of your bloodshed and jealousy.”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Punishments — Antiquity of -- Ge 4:13,14. Power of inflicting, given to magistrates -- Job 31:11; Ro 13:4. Designed to be a warning to others -- De 13:11; 17:13; 19:20. Were inflicted On the guilty. -- De 24:16; Pr 17:26. Without pity. -- De 19:13,21. Without partiality. -- De 13:6-8. By order of magistrates. -- Ac 16:22. By order of kings. -- 2Sa 1:13-16; 1Ki 2:23-46. Immediately after sentence was passed. -- De 25:2; Jos 7:25. By the witnesses. -- De 13:9; 17:7; Joh 8:7; Ac 7:58,59. By the people. -- Nu 15:35,36; De 13:9. By soldiers. -- 2Sa 1:15; Mt 27:27-35. Some”
CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 2 (Gen 24-50), section 15.14: protect himself from public infamy. This passage, however, teaches, what I have said before, that fornication is condemned by the common sense of men, lest any one should seek to excuse himself on the ground of ignorance. 24. And it came to pass about three months after . Tamar might sooner have exposed the crime; but she waited till she should be demanded for capital punishment; for then she would have stronger ground for expostulation. The reason why Judah subjects his daughter-in-law to a punishment so severe, was, that he de”
Leviticus (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Leviticus 20:10: Sins against the seventh commandment are here ordered to be severely punished. These are sins which, of all others, fools are most apt to make a mock at; but God would teach those the heinousness of the guilt by the extremity of the punishment that would not otherwise be taught it. I. Lying with another man's wife was made a capital crime. The adulterer and the adulteress that had joined in the sin must fall alike under the sentence: they shall both be put to death, Lev 20:10. Long before this, even in Job's time, this was reputed a heinous crime and an iniqui”
CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on 1 & 2 Corinthians: persisted in the same things, had none at all been punished, much more would this have been their feeling. For which reason in that dispensation death is immediately inflicted upon the adulterer and the manslayer; but in this, if through repentance they are absolved, they have escaped the punishment. However, both here one may see some instances of heavier punishment, and in the Old Testament some less severe, in order that it may be signified in every way that the covenants are akin to each other, and of one and the same lawgiver: and you may se”
CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 2 (Gen 24-50), section 15.15: much more vile, and how much less excusable, is our negligence at this day, which cherishes adulteries, by allowing them to pass with impunity. Capital punishment, indeed, is deemed too severe for the measure of the offense. Why then do we punish lighter faults with greater rigor? Truly, the world was beguiled by the wiles of Satan, when it suffered the law, engraven on all by nature, to become obsolete. Meanwhile, a pretext has been found for this gross madness, in that Christ dismissed the adulteress in safety, ( John 8:11 ,) ”
Sefaria (Jewish (Rationalist)) “Abraham Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 20:10: [AND THE MAN THAT COMMITTETH ADULTERY WITH ANOTHER MAN’S WIFE.] Scripture next mentions, and the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife , 38 Shall be put to death. for she was prohibited. 39 Scripture earlier prohibited adultery (Lev. 18:20). However, Lev. 18:20 does not describe the punishment for this sin. Our verse does. The prohibition against adultery is not stated in our verse, for it was stated in Lev. 18:20. The meaning of even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor’s wife is similar to he hath cursed his father or his mother (v”
Numbers (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Numbers 5:29: This is the law of jealousies--Adultery discovered and proved was punished with death. But strongly suspected cases would occur, and this law made provision for the conviction of the guilty person. It was, however, not a trial conducted according to the forms of judicial process, but an ordeal through which a suspected adulteress was made to go--the ceremony being of that terrifying nature, that, on the known principles of human nature, guilt or innocence could not fail to appear. From the earliest times, the jealousy of Eastern people has established”

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