ADULTERY

ADUL'TERY, noun [Latin adulterium. See Adulterate.]1. Violation of the marriage bed; a crime, or a civil injury, which introduces, or may introduce, into a family, a spurious offspring.By the laws of Connecticut, the sexual intercourse of any man, with a married woman, is the crime of adultery in both:such intercourse of a married man, with an unmarried woman, is fornication in both, and adultery of the man, within the meaning of the law respecting divorce; but not a felonious adultery in either, or the crime of adultery at common law, or by statute. This latter offense is, in England, proceeded with only in the ecclesiastical courts.In common usage, adultery means the unfaithfulness of any married person to the marriage bed. In England, Parliament grant absolute divorces for infidelity to the marriage bed in either party; and the spiritual courts divorce a mensa et thoro.2. In a scriptural sense, all manner of lewdness or unchastity, as in the seventh commandment.3. In scripture, idolatry, or apostasy from the true God. Jeremiah 3:8.4. In old laws, the fine and penalty imposed for the offense of adultery 5. In ecclesiastical affairs, the intrusion of a person into a bishopric, during the life of the bishop.6. Among ancient naturalists, the grafting of trees was called adultery being considered as an unnatural union.

---

Is a criminal connection between persons who are engaged, one or both, to keep themselves wholly to others; and thus it exceeds the guilt of fornication, which is the same intercourse between unmarried persons. As the highest sin of its kind, and son including all other sins of the flesh, it is forbidden in the seventh commandment. Where polygamy was allowed, as among the ancient Jews, illicit intercourse between a married man and a woman who was married, nor betrothed, constituted not adultery, but fornication. Fornication may be, in some sense, covered by a subsequent marriage of the parties; but adultery cannot be so healed. Hence God often compares himself to a husband jealous of his honor, Jer 31:32; and hence the forsaking of the true God is compared to fornication and adultery of the vilest kind, Jer 3:9; Eze 23:36-49. By the Law of Moses, both the man and the woman who had committed adultery were punished with death, Le 20:10; 21:9; Joh 8:5. A woman suspected of this crime might, in order to clear herself, drink the "water of jealousy," as prescribed in Nu 5:1-31.

---

Adultery. 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 discovering the guilty party, and of bringing about a divorce. It has been inferred from John 8:1-11 that this sin became very common during the age preceding the destruction of Jerusalem.

Idolatry, covetousness, and apostasy are spoken of as adultery spiritually (Jer. 3:6, 8, 9; Ezek. 16:32; Hos. 1:2:3; Rev. 2:22). An apostate church is an adulteress (Isa. 1:21; Ezek. 23:4, 7, 37), and the Jews are styled “an adulterous generation” (Matt. 12:39). (Comp. Rev. 12.)

---

ADULTERY. → General scriptures concerning Ge 20:3; 2Sa 12:14; Job 24:15-18; 31:1,9-12; Pr 2:16-19; 5:3-22; 6:24-29,32,33; 7:5-23; 9:13-18; 22:14; 23:27,28; 29:3; 30:18-20; 31:3; Isa 57:3,4; Jer 3:1; 5:7,8; 7:9,10; 23:10; Eze 18:5,6; Ho 4:1,2,11; Mt 5:28,32; 15:19; 19:9; Mr 7:21; 10:11,12,19; Lu 16:18; Ac 15:20,29; Ro 1:28,29,32; 7:3; 1Co 5:9,10; 6:15-18; 10:8; 2Co 12:21; Ga 5:19,21; 1Ti 1:9,10; 2Ti 3:6; Jas 2:11; 1Pe 4:3,4; 2Pe 2:9,10,14; Jude 1:7; Re 2:20-22; 9:21 → See LASCIVIOUSNESS → See RAPE → See SENSUALITY → See SODOMY → See WHORE → See WHOREDOM → FORBIDDEN Ex 20:14; Le 18:20; 19:29; De 5:18; 23:17; Mt 5:27; 19:18; Lu 18:20; Ac 15:20; Ro 13:9,13; 1Co 5:9-11; 6:13,15,18; 10:8; Eph 4:17,19,20; 5:3,11,12; Col 3:5; 1Th 4:3-5,7; Jas 2:11 → FORGIVENESS OF. INSTANCES OF Jud 19:1-4; Joh 8:10,11 → PENALTIES FOR Ge 20:7; 26:11; 38:24; Ex 22:16,17; Le 19:20-22; 20:10-12; 21:9; Nu 5:11-29; De 22:13-29; 27:20,22,23; 2Sa 12:10-12; Jer 29:22,23; Eze 16:38,40,41; 23:45,47,48; Mal 2:5; Joh 8:4,5; 1Co 5:1-13; 6:9,10; 10:8; Ga 5:19,21; Eph 5:5,6; Heb 13:4; Re 18:9,10; 21:8; 22:15 → FIGURATIVE Jer 3:2; Eze 16:15,16; Ho 1
* See WHOREDOM
* See IDOLATRY

→ INSTANCES OF
* Sodomites Ge 19:5-8
* Lot Ge 19:31-38
* Shechem Ge 34:2
* Reuben Ge 35:22
* Judah Ge 38:1-24
* Potiphar's wife Ge 39:7-12
* The Levite's concubine Jud 19:2
* The Gibeahites Jud 19:22-25
* Gilead Jud 11:1
* Samson Jud 16:1
* Sons of Eli 1Sa 2:22
* David 2Sa 11:1-5
* Amnon 2Sa 13:1-20
* Absalom 2Sa 16:22
* Israelites Ex 32:6,25; Jer 29:23; Eze 22:9-11; 33:26; Ho 7:4
* Herod Mt 14:3,4; Mr 6:17,18; Lu 3:19
* The Samaritan woman Joh 4:17,18
* The woman brought to Jesus in the temple Joh 8:4-11
* Corinthians 1Co 5:1-5
* Heathen Eph 4:17-19; 1Pe 4:3

---

(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 penalty of death was seldom or never inflicted. The famous trial by the waters of jealousy, (Numbers 5:11-29) was probably an ancient custom, which Moses found deeply seated --(But this ordeal was wholly in favor of the innocent, and exactly opposite to most ordeals. For the water which the accused drank was perfectly harmless, and only by a miracle could it produce a bad effect; while in most ordeals the accused must suffer what naturally produces death, and be proved innocent only by a miracle. Symbolically adultery is used to express unfaithfulness to covenant vows to God, who is represented as the husband of his people.)

---

General references to Ex 20:14; Le 20:10; Job 24:15; Mt 5:27; 19:9; Ro 7:3 1Co 6:9; 2Pe 2:14 --Spiritual. SEE Israel a type, ISRAEL-THE JEWS

---

adultery. Adultery, n. a defilement of the marriage bed

---

A‐dul″ter‐y (�), n.; pl. Adulteries(�). [[L. adulterium. See Advoutry.]] 1. 1. The unfaithfulness of a married person to the marriage bed; sexual intercourse by a married man with another than his wife, or voluntary sexual intercourse by a married woman with another than her husband.
☞ It is adultery on the part of the married wrongdoer. The word has also been used to characterize the act of an unmarried participator, the other being married. In the United States the definition varies with the local statutes. Unlawful intercourse between two married persons is sometimes called double adultery; between a married and an unmarried person, single adultery. 2. 2. Adulteration; corruption. B. Jonson.
3. 3. (Script.) (a) Lewdness or unchastity of thought as well as act, as forbidden by the seventh commandment. (b) Faithlessness in religion. Jer. iii. 9.
4. 4. (Old Law) The fine and penalty imposed for the offense of adultery.
5. 5. (Eccl.) The intrusion of a person into a bishopric during the life of the bishop.
6. 6. Injury; degradation; ruin.
You might wrest the caduceus out of my hand to the adultery and spoil of nature. B. Jonson.