פירוש על ויקרא 18:20

AND THOU SHALT NOT LIE CARNALLY³⁰⁸Literally: “to seed.” See text further. WITH THY NEIGHBOR’S WIFE. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented: “For there is a threefold purpose to sexual intercourse: one is to beget children, a second is to relieve the body of its fluids, and the third is for passion, which is likened to that of the animals. Now when Scripture said l’zara,³⁰⁸Literally: “to seed.” See text further. it means ‘even l’zara’ [i.e., even for the purpose of begetting children], and thus it prohibited [having intercourse with another man’s wife] altogether.” It is possible that He said l’zara in order to mention the reason for the prohibition, since it will not be known to whom “the child” belongs, and as a result, great and wicked abominations³⁰⁹See Ezekiel 8:6 and 9. might be done by both.³¹⁰I.e., both the child and the father. For not knowing their true relationship, they might marry one of the forbidden relations, etc. Now Scripture did not mention [this expression l’zara further on when it speaks] of the punishment [for this sin],³¹¹Further, 20:10: And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife … both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. because even for intimacy of the first stage without emitting seed, he is already liable to punishment. It is for this reason that [in the case of a suspected adulteress] Scripture states, and a man lie with her carnally,³¹²Numbers 5:13. The Hebrew shichvath zera literally means “a lying of seed.” for it is on account of the zera³¹³Literally: “seed.” In the light of what Ramban has written above, it may also mean that his jealousy is aroused on account of his children, whose legitimacy will henceforth be questioned. that he suspects her. Similarly in the case of a betrothed bondswoman it also says, lieth carnally³¹⁴Further, 19:20. Here too the term used is shichvath zera, which literally means “a lying of seed.” with her, because the prohibition is on account of the child that he will beget from a bondwoman [who is betrothed to a Hebrew servant].³¹⁵Kerithoth 11 a.
The correct interpretation appears to me to be that since another man’s wife is completely forbidden to one, whosoever toucheth her shall not go unpunished,³¹⁶Proverbs 6:29. therefore Scripture had to say here l’zara.³⁰⁸Literally: “to seed.” See text further. For had it said only: “and thou shalt not lie with thy neighbor’s wife,” it would have appeared that it forbids [by punishment of excision] even lying with her just for embracing and kissing, since here [in this section] it speaks only of those forbidden relations that are punishable with excision. Therefore it was necessary to mention that the intimacy was l’zara,³⁰⁸Literally: “to seed.” See text further. in order to explain that He is prohibiting here sexual intercourse. This is also the reason for the expression in the case of the betrothed bondswoman,³¹⁴Further, 19:20. Here too the term used is shichvath zera, which literally means “a lying of seed.” because she is like another man’s wife. Similarly it states in the case of another man’s wife, And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife,³¹⁷Further, 20:10. and it does not state “lieth,” for it is not mere lying with her that He prohibits [under punishment of death]. He does not state here [in the verse before us forbidding intercourse with another man’s wife], “to uncover her nakedness,” for He only mentions this expression with reference to the next of kin and a menstruant,³¹⁸Verse 19. since the prohibition there is because of the uncovering, just as He said, for he hath made naked his near kin.³¹⁹Further, 20:19.

ואל אשת עמיתך לא תתן שכבתך לזרע, “and you must not lie carnally with the wife of your neighbour or colleague to defile yourself with her.” Ibn Ezra writes that cohabitation is an act that can be for one or more of three different purposes. 1) It is intended to impregnate one’s partner with one’s seed so as to produce offspring. 2) It may be designed to relieve oneself of excess pressures (moisture in the parlance of the author) built up in the body. 3) It can be engaged in so as to satisfy one’s lust, an act reducing man to the level of the beasts. The reason that the Torah adds the word לזרע, is to tell us that even when it is engaged in for an otherwise noble purpose, it is totally inadmissible when engaged in with someone else’s wife. Nachmanides writes that the reason the Torah added the word לזרע in our verse, is to remind us that if this were permitted, the father (and mother, if she is promiscuous) of any child resulting from such insemination would not know who the true father of such a child is. As a result of such lack of knowledge the earth would become full of abominations resulting from incestuous relationships even by Torah observing people. This is why the Talmud in Sotah 26 in commenting on Numbers 5,13 ושכב איש אותה שכבת זרע, “if some man has cohabited with her and left his sperm in her,” explains that the additional words שכבת זרע mean that if the wife is suspected of perverted sexual relations which could not result in her insemination, that she would not be given the special waters in order to determine if her professions of innocence were true. [it might explain the deceived husband’s rage, suspicion, as he would never know if the child his wife bears is his own. Ed.] This may also be the reason why Torah adds the words:שכבת זרע in Leviticus 19,20 as there too a doubt would surface about the paternity of any child born by that servant woman. In that instance even coitus interruptus is culpable, as the chance of a drop of semen having entered the vagina cannot be discounted. Personally, I feel (Nachmanides writing) that seeing that a married woman is totally out of bounds to any other man for any kind of intimacy, the words שכבת זרע or לזרע are perfectly justified, seeing that if the Torah had only written לא תתן שכבתך, I might have deduced that even if these two people had only kissed or embraced each other they would already have committed a capital offence. Therefore, the Torah added a word that clearly defines the offence as lying carnally with one another. The reason that in our verse the Torah omitted the customary words לגלות ערותה, “to reveal her nakedness”, is that this is a term fit to be used only in connection with people who are genetically related to one another.