Essay for Deuteronomy 22:22
כִּֽי־יִמָּצֵ֨א אִ֜ישׁ שֹׁכֵ֣ב ׀ עִם־אִשָּׁ֣ה בְעֻֽלַת־בַּ֗עַל וּמֵ֙תוּ֙ גַּם־שְׁנֵיהֶ֔ם הָאִ֛ישׁ הַשֹּׁכֵ֥ב עִם־הָאִשָּׁ֖ה וְהָאִשָּׁ֑ה וּבִֽעַרְתָּ֥ הָרָ֖ע מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ס)
If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so shalt thou put away the evil from Israel.
The Five Books of Moses, by Everett Fox
The definition used here is the classic biblical one: a married woman and a man, married or not. In Mesopotamia it was possible to pay off the aggrieved husband, but not in ancient Israel, where adultery was seen as attacking the moral foundations of society and perhaps also the symbolism of the close relationship between God and Israel.
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