Interpretation of Exodus 20:17 Command Against Adultery

The seventh commandment in the Decalogue, "You shall not commit adultery," appears in Exodus 20:14 (YLT) ^[2]. This command is reiterated in other biblical texts, such as Luke 18:20, where Jesus lists it among the commandments one must keep ^[1].

The immediate literary context of Exodus 20:14 is the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, following the Israelites' exodus from Egypt. These commandments form the foundational ethical and moral code for the Israelite nation, establishing their covenant relationship with God ^[4]. The command against adultery is situated between the prohibition against murder (Exodus 20:13) and stealing (Exodus 20:15), indicating its significance within the moral framework ^[1].

In ancient Israelite society, adultery was defined as sexual intercourse between a married woman and a man who was not her husband ^[3]. The Mosaic Law prescribed stoning as the penalty for both guilty parties, and this applied even to a betrothed woman who was free, as well as to a married woman ^[3]. If a bondwoman committed this offense, she was to be scourged, and the man was required to make a trespass offering ^[3]. The severity of the punishment underscores the gravity with which this sin was viewed in the Old Testament.

The Hebrew word for adultery, na'af (נָאַף), specifically refers to illicit sexual relations involving a married person. While the commandment directly prohibits adultery, many interpreters understand it to encompass a broader range of sexual sins. Tyndale House suggests that in Exodus 20:14, "this term represents all sexual sins, among which adultery most clearly indicates breaking faith" ^[7]. Adultery is seen as a breach of faith with one's spouse, satisfying sexual desires outside the covenant of marriage ^[7].

Jesus expanded on the meaning of this commandment in Matthew 5:27-30, moving beyond the physical act to include the lustful intent of the heart ^{[7, 10]}. John Gill notes that the Jewish tradition of Jesus' time had interpreted the command against adultery as referring only to the physical act, but Jesus challenged this narrow interpretation ^[6]. Matthew Henry, a Nonconformist commentator, states that "Thou shalt not commit adultery" includes "a prohibition of all other acts of uncleanness, and the desire" ^[10]. Adam Clarke, a Methodist commentator, also emphasizes that "the act itself, and every thing leading to the act, is prohibited by this commandment" ^[5].

Theological traditions have consistently viewed adultery as a grave sin. Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologica, places adultery among the vices opposed to temperance, arguing that it is particularly opposed to the love of one's neighbor ^[8]. He connects the commandments to charity, which is enjoined in the two precepts concerning the love of God and neighbor ^[8]. The Babylonian Talmud, reflecting rabbinic thought, even extends the prohibition to include masturbation, interpreting "You shall not commit adultery" to mean "there shall not be adultery among you, whether you masturbate with your hand or with your foot" ^[11]. This demonstrates a broad understanding of the command to include various forms of sexual impurity.

The sin of adultery is also highlighted in other biblical narratives. For instance, God gave Abimelech a stern warning against committing adultery with Sarah, emphasizing that it was a capital offense and a "great sin" (Genesis 20:3, 9) ^[9]. This illustrates God's urgent intervention to prevent the violation of marital purity ^[9].

The command against adultery, therefore, is not merely a legalistic prohibition but a foundational principle for maintaining the sanctity of marriage, family, and community. It reflects a divine concern for faithfulness, purity, and justice within human relationships, extending from outward actions to inward desires ^{[5, 7, 10]}.

Sources

Luke “Luke 18:20 (LITV) — You know the commandments: "Do not commit adultery," "do not murder," "do not steal," "do not bear false witness," "honor your father and your mother." Ex. 20:12-16”
Exodus “Exodus 20:14 (YLT) — `Thou dost not commit adultery.”
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”
Exodus (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Exodus 20 (introduction): The preface to the ten commandments, Exo 20:1, Exo 20:2. The First commandment, against mental or theoretic idolatry, Exo 20:3. The Second, against making and worshipping images, or practical idolatry, Exo 20:4-6. The Third, against false swearing, blasphemy, and irreverent use of the name of God, Exo 20:7. The Fourth, against profanation of the Sabbath, and idleness on the other days of the week, Exo 20:8-11. The Fifth, against disrespect and disobedience to parents, Exo 20:12. The Sixth, against murder and cruelty, Exo 20:13. The Seventh, against adul”
Exodus (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Exodus 20:14: Thou shalt not commit adultery - Adultery, as defined by our laws, is of two kinds; double, when between two married persons; single, when one of the parties is married, the other single. One principal part of the criminality of adultery consists in its injustice. 1. It robs a man of his right by taking from him the affection of his wife. 2. It does him a wrong by fathering on him and obliging him to maintain as his own a spurious offspring - a child which is not his. The act itself, and every thing leading to the act, is prohibited by this commandment; for our Lor”
Matthew (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Matthew 5:27: Ye have heard that it was said,.... These forms of speech, as well as what follows, by them of old time, have been explained, in ver. 21. The law here mentioned, thou shalt not commit adultery, is recorded in Exo 20:14 and the meaning of our Lord is, not that the then present Jews had heard that such a law had been delivered "to the ancients", their fathers, at Mount Sinai; for that they could read in their Bibles: but they had received it by tradition, that the sense of it, which had been given to their ancestors, by the ancient doctors of the church, was, that ”
Exodus (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Exodus 20:14: 20:14 adultery: Here this term represents all sexual sins, among which adultery most clearly indicates breaking faith. Adulterers satisfy their sexual desires as they please, and they break faith with their spouse in so doing. Jesus expanded on this command in Matt 5:27-30.”
theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part (Secunda Secundae), Of the Precepts of Temperance, Art. 1: Article: Whether the precepts of temperance are suitably given in the Divine law? I answer that, As the Apostle says (1 Tim. 1:5), "the end of the commandment is charity," which is enjoined upon us in the two precepts concerning the love of God and of our neighbor. Wherefore the decalogue contains those precepts which tend more directly to the love of God and of our neighbor. Now among the vices opposed to temperance, adultery would seem most of all opposed to the love of our ne”
Genesis (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Genesis 20:3: 20:3-7 God gave Abimelech a stern warning against committing adultery; it was a capital offense (cp. Exod 20:14), viewed throughout the ancient Near East as a “great sin” (Gen 20:9). 20:3 that night God came . . . in a dream: God urgently intervened to stop Abimelech from violating Sarah’s purity shortly before God’s promise was fulfilled (18:10; 21:1-3).”
Matthew (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Matthew 5:27: We have here an exposition of the seventh commandment, given us by the same hand that made the law, and therefore was fittest to be the interpreter of it: it is the law against uncleanness, which fitly follows upon the former; that laid a restraint upon sinful passions, this upon sinful appetites, both which ought always to be under the government of reason and conscience, and if indulged, are equally pernicious. I. The command is here laid down (Mat 5:27), Thou shalt not commit adultery; which includes a prohibition of all other acts of uncleanness, and the desi”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 13b.4: And Rabbi Elazar says, with regard to the severity of this transgression: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even when you make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood” (Isaiah 1:15)? These are those men who commit adultery with the hand, by masturbating. Likewise, the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: When it is stated in the Ten Commandments: “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:13), this means that there shall not be adultery among you, whether you mastur”

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