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The Strange Case of the Suspected Sotah (Numbers V 11-31)

The Strange Case of the Suspected Sotah (Numbers V 11-31) THE STRANGE CASE OF THE SUSPECTED SOTAH (NUMBERS V 11-31) by TIKVA FRYMER-KENSKY Ann Arbor The trial of the suspected adulteress in Num. v 11-31 is highly unusual within the corpus of Israelite Law. Like the case of the decapitated heifer (Deut. xxi 1-9) it is one of the few instances in which we have a detailed description of a ritual to be performed in answer to a crisis in the legal system: in the case of the decapitated heifer, the problem of an unsolved murder; in that of the Sotah, the issue of a suspected adulteress. The two crimes involved here-murder and adultery-are crucially dangerous to the fabric of Israelite society and are therefore punishable by death. In both circumstances-the discovery of a murdered body and the suspi- cions of a husband-it is impossible to "solve" the case by normal legal means, for in one case (the heifer) there is knowledge of a crime (murder) but no suspect, and in the other (the Sotah) there is a suspect (the wife) but no knowledge whether a crime has been committed. Since the issues of murder and adultery are too serious to be allowed to pass unpunished, special quasi-legal http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Vetus Testamentum Brill

The Strange Case of the Suspected Sotah (Numbers V 11-31)

Frymer-Kensky, Tikva
Vetus Testamentum , Volume 34 (1): 11 – Jan 1, 1984
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 1984 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0042-4935
eISSN
1568-5330
DOI
10.1163/156853384X00025
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

THE STRANGE CASE OF THE SUSPECTED SOTAH (NUMBERS V 11-31) by TIKVA FRYMER-KENSKY Ann Arbor The trial of the suspected adulteress in Num. v 11-31 is highly unusual within the corpus of Israelite Law. Like the case of the decapitated heifer (Deut. xxi 1-9) it is one of the few instances in which we have a detailed description of a ritual to be performed in answer to a crisis in the legal system: in the case of the decapitated heifer, the problem of an unsolved murder; in that of the Sotah, the issue of a suspected adulteress. The two crimes involved here-murder and adultery-are crucially dangerous to the fabric of Israelite society and are therefore punishable by death. In both circumstances-the discovery of a murdered body and the suspi- cions of a husband-it is impossible to "solve" the case by normal legal means, for in one case (the heifer) there is knowledge of a crime (murder) but no suspect, and in the other (the Sotah) there is a suspect (the wife) but no knowledge whether a crime has been committed. Since the issues of murder and adultery are too serious to be allowed to pass unpunished, special quasi-legal

Journal

Vetus Testamentum – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 1984

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