The Sotah Ritual In Ancient Israel

17 Pages 4200 Words

as of the HB, including Lev. 18:20 and Ezek. 18:6. Not only does the act render both participants impure, but adultery is one of the sexual crimes mentioned in Leviticus 18 which would cause the land to “spew out its inhabitants.”
This idea of purity also comes into play in understanding the sotah. The concept of purity versus impurity comes into play twice during this ceremony. Numbers 5:14 states, “…but if a fit of jealousy comes over him and he is wrought up about the wife who has defiled herself; or if a fit of jealousy comes over one and his wrought up about his wife although she has not defiled herself…” It is interesting to note that the verse uses the terms “defiled herself.” Instead of perhaps repeating the phrases from the beginning of the passage, about breaking the faith and going astray from her husband, the text focuses on the idea of a woman becoming impure because of her transgression. This defilement might be explained by a prohibition found in Deut 26:1-4 in which an Israelite man is forbidden to remarry...