Deuteronomy and adultery: A commandment to live free

Abstract

As the seventh commandment, “and you will not commit adultery,” Deut 5:18 is placed among the listing of covenant obligations that proceed from the primary divine declaration, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Deut 5:6). Adultery as a willful act crosses the boundary lines that protect another man’s family. Legal stipulations within Deuteronomy call for the adulterer to be stoned—man and woman alike if she is married (Deut 22:22). Special regulations exist for virgins based on their status of being betrothed or not, and whether the sexual act occurred in the town or in the open country (22:23–29). In a patriarchal world, women more than men bore the shame and oppression of this commandment. Viewing adultery in the context of the biblical views of marriage and the use of Deuteronomy in the teachings of Jesus on divorce sheds needed light on this commandment. Adultery is likewise paralleled in Jewish tradition with the command to have no other gods. This metaphorical use of adultery is a key theme of the prophets in decrying the nation’s apostasy. Viewed as a whole, the thrust of the Deuteronomy Decalogue is freedom, emphasized at its beginning and again in the instructions for keeping the Sabbath when Exodus and Sabbath are tied together in Deut 5:15. To live in covenant with God is to live free from bondage. Freedom is maintained by observing the obligations of covenant, and one of those obligations is not to commit adultery.