The ordeal of the bitter water was a

trial by ordeal Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience. In medieval Europe, like trial by combat, t ...

administered to the wife whose husband suspected her of adultery but who had no witnesses to make a formal case. The ordeal is expanded in the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

, in the seventh tractate of ''

Nashim __notoc__ Nashim ( he, נשים "Women" or "Wives") is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud) containing family law. Of the six orders of the Mishnah, it is the shortest. Nashim consists of seven tractates: #'' Yevamot' ...

''. According to

Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonia ...

, a ''sotah'' ( he, שוטה / סוטה) is a woman suspected of

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

who undergoes the ordeal of bitter water or ordeal of jealousy as described and prescribed in the

Priestly Code The Priestly Code (in Hebrew ''Torat Kohanim'', תורת כהנים) is the name given, by academia,The book of Leviticus: composition and reception - Page 55 Rolf Rendtorff, Robert A. Kugler, Sarah Smith Bartel - 2003 "Research agrees that its r ...

, in the

Book of Numbers The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and ...

, the fourth book of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Mishnaic Hebrew based on the verse "if she has strayed" (verb: שטה ''satah'') in Numbers 5:12. According to

Tikva Frymer-Kensky Tikva Simone Frymer-Kensky (October 21, 1943 – August 31, 2006) was a professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School. She received her MA and PhD from Yale University. She had previously served on the faculties of Wayne State University ...

, the ritual is not actually an "ordeal" which provides a verdict on the woman's guilt for use by human judges, but rather takes the form of a "purgatory oath, in which the individual swearing the oath puts himself under divine jurisdiction, expecting to be punished by God if the oath-taker is guilty". This ritual is not to be confused with , in which a man accuses his newlywed bride of pre-marital sex.

Hebrew Bible

The account of the ordeal of bitter water is given in the Book of Numbers:

The ordeal

When a man suspects his wife of having sex with another man but has no witnesses, the woman is brought to a

kohen Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for " priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally ...

(priest), or before God. The woman is required by the biblical passage to have loosened hair during the ritual (). This is often taken to be a symbol of the woman's supposed shame, but according to

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

, it was merely the standard behaviour for anyone accused of any crime, when they appeared before the Sanhedrin. The husband was required to make a

sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

to God as part of the ritual, probably due to a general principle that no one should seek answers from God without giving something in return. This offering is placed in the wife's hands, and is literally described as ''her offering for her''. Scholars think that it is the man's offering, in relation to the ordeal of his wife, and that her holding of it is merely symbolic of this. The offering specified is one tenth of an ephah of

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

meal, unaccompanied by oil or frankincense; this is the cheaper type of

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cul ...

, unlike the flour specified for all other biblical sacrifices. The specification is now thought to be a rare survival of an earlier period, in which there was no restriction on the types of flour which could be used for sacrifices, although the Mishnah argues that it was a reference to the ''bestial'' nature of adultery, coarse flour being the ''food of beasts''. The ordeal consisted of the wife having to drink a specific potion administered by the priest. The text specifies that the potion should be made from water and dust. In the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

, the water used for the potion must be ''holy water'', and the

Targum A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...

interprets it as water from the '' Molten Sea'', but the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...

instead requires ''running water''. The passage states that the

curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particula ...

was washed into the water; it is thought that this idea derives from a belief that the words of a curse exist in their own right. Others argue that the curse is a

euphemism A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...

for a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemica ...

or infertility. The potion also had to be mixed in an earthenware vessel. This may have been because the potion was regarded as impure, and therefore also made the vessel impure, necessitating its subsequent destruction (see ). However, the Talmud and

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

explain that this vessel is chosen to contrast the woman's predicament with her behavior. She gave the adulterer to drink choice wine in valuable goblets; therefore, let her drink bitter water in a worthless clay vessel. If the woman was unharmed by the bitter water, the rules regard her as innocent of the accusation. The account in the Book of Numbers states that the man shall be ''free from blame'' (5:26).

The punishment

In cases of guilt, the text does not specify the amount of time needed for the potion to take effect; 19th century scholars suspected it was probably intended to have a fairly immediate effect.

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

records the traditional

rabbinical Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonia ...

view: "Her belly swells first and then her thigh ruptures and she dies". Others maintain that since the word "thigh" is often used in the Bible as a

for various reproductive organs, in this case it may mean the uterus, the placenta or an embryo, and the woman would survive. Several commentaries on the Bible maintain that the ordeal is to be applied in the case of a woman who has become pregnant, allegedly by her extramarital lover. In this interpretation, the bitter potion could be an

abortifacient An abortifacient ("that which will cause a miscarriage" from Latin: '' abortus'' "miscarriage" and '' faciens'' "making") is a substance that induces abortion. This is a nonspecific term which may refer to any number of substances or medications, ...

, inducing a purposeful

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

or miscarriage if the woman is pregnant with a child which her husband alleges is another man's. If the fetus aborts as a result of the ordeal, this presumably confirms her guilt of adultery, otherwise her innocence is presumed if the fetus does not abort. One translation to follow this suggestion is the ''

New International Version The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The ''NIV'' was created as a modern translation, by Bible scholars using the earliest a ...

'', which translates that the effect of the bitter water on an adulterous woman will be to make "your womb miscarry and your abdomen swell". Such a translation is effectively reading the Hebrew word ''yarek'' (יָרֵך) to mean "loins", a meaning it can carry. However,

rejected this interpretation on the grounds that the Biblical text does not limit the ordeal to pregnant women, and that the phrase ''venizreah zera'' ("she shall be sown with seed", the reward given to an innocent woman after the trial) refers to conception rather than delivery. Instead, Frymer-Kensky argues that the punishment "your belly will swell and your thigh will fall" most likely refers to a

uterine prolapse Uterine prolapse is when the uterus descends towards or through the opening of the vagina. Symptoms may include vaginal fullness, pain with sex, trouble urinating, urinary incontinence, and constipation. Often it gets worse over time. Low back ...

.Tikva Frymer-Kensky, "The Strange Case of the Suspected Sotah", in "Women in the Hebrew Bible", ed. Bach (1999, Routledge, New York and London, pages 463-474)

In rabbinic literature

According to the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

, it was the practice for the woman to first be brought to the

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin ( Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , '' synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as " rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temp ...

, before being subjected to the ordeal. Repeated attempts would be made to persuade the woman to confess, including multiple suggestions to her of possible mitigating factors; if she confessed, the ordeal was not required. The Mishnah reports that, in the time of the

Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...

, she was taken to the East Gate of the Temple, in front of the Nikanor gate. The Mishnah also states that the garment she was wearing was ripped to expose her heart.Mishnah, '' Sotah'', 1: 5 A rope was tied above her breasts so that her clothes did not completely fall off. The Mishnah mentions that while a guilty woman would normally die immediately from the trial, her death could also be delayed by one, two or three years, if she possessed offsetting merits.

Nachmanides Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...

points out that of all the

613 commandments The Jewish tradition that there are 613 commandments ( he, תרי״ג מצוות, taryag mitzvot) or mitzvot in the Torah (also known as the Law of Moses) is first recorded in the 3rd century AD, when Rabbi Simlai mentioned it in a sermon that ...

, it is only the ''sotah'' law that requires God's specific co-operation to make it work. The bitter waters can only be effective miraculously. Maimonides wrote: "When she dies, the adulterer because of whom she was compelled to drink will also die, wherever he is located. The same phenomena, the swelling of the belly and the rupture of the thigh, will also occur to him. All the above applies provided her husband never engaged in forbidden sexual relations in his life. If, however, her husband ever engaged in forbidden relations, the

itter Itter is a municipality in the Kitzbühel District in the Austrian state of Tyrol located 18.60 km west of Kitzbühel, 5 km southeast of Wörgl, and 2.5 km north of Hopfgarten im Brixental Hopfgarten im Brixental is a mark ...

waters do not check he fidelity ofhis wife." The rabbinical interpretation of is that when a woman accused of adultery who was innocent drinks the bitter water, even if she was previously unable to conceive, she will now conceive and give birth to a male.

Cessation of the ordeal

According to Mishnah, the practice was abolished some time during the first century CE under the leadership of Yohanan ben Zakkai. If it had not been abolished then according to Jewish Law the ritual would have ceased with the fall of the Temple (in approximately the year 70 CE), as it should not have been performed elsewhere. Explanations in rabbinical literature vary concerning cessation of the practice. Yohanan Ben Zakkai stated: Rav Hanina of Sura said:

Christian references

Although the actual ordeal was not practiced in Christianity it was referenced by Christian writers through the ages in relation to both the subject of adultery, and also the wider practice of

. Additionally, some early Christian legends, such as the

Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (or The Infancy Gospel of Matthew) is a part of the New Testament apocrypha. In antiquity the text was called The Book About the Origin of the Blessed Mary and the Childhood of the Savior. Pseudo-Matthew is one of a ...

, embroider the life of

Mary, mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

with accounts including Mary (and even Joseph) undergoing a version of the ordeal.

Textual analysis

Biblical critics from the 19th and early 20th centuries argued, based on certain textual features in the passage, that it was formed by the combination of two earlier texts. For example, the text appears to suggest first that the offering should occur before the ordeal (), and then that it should occur after it (). Due to the awkwardness of the idea that the wife has to drink the potion twice, textual scholars argue that either the first drinking must be a later addition to the text, or that the whole account of the ordeal must be spliced together from two earlier descriptions. Similarly, noting that there are two descriptions of the location for the ritual (in the presence of a priest () and ''before Yahweh'' ()) and two occasions on which the punishment for the woman is mentioned ( and ), the division into two earlier documents, first suggested by Bernhard Stade is typically as follows: * one account is the ordeal and sacrifice ''before God'', in which the possible miscarriage/abortion results from drinking the potion;Joseph Estlin Carpenter, and George Harford-battersby (and the Society of Historical Theology, Oxford), ''The Hexateuch'' (1900, republished 2003), volume 2, pages 191–192 * the other is merely a condemnation by a priest, in which the woman stands with hair loosened, her guilt is assumed, and divine intervention (due to the priest's involvement) will cause a miscarriage/abortion as punishment. Other early biblical scholars thought that the ordeal is itself a fusion of two earlier rituals (pre-dating the original priestly text), one using water, and the other dust. The use of dust might be connected to necromancy. In other historic Semitic cultures there are many instances in which ''holy water'' was regarded as taboo, and therefore that contact with it, or its consumption, was dangerous. However, recent Biblical scholars have recognized that whatever "literary prehistory" the text may have had, it now has a unified structure, and the repetitions in the text are simply examples of typical Biblical style rather than proof of multiple authorship.

Similar rituals

Trials by ordeal are found in other societies of the

ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...

such as in the Laws of Hammurabi (§132). Pre-Islamic Arabic culture similarly had an adultery ordeal, although in scientific terms, compared to the Israelite ritual it relied more on nausea, than on directly poisoning the woman. In this pre-Islamic Arabic ritual, the woman simply took oaths attesting to her innocence, and asking the divinity to cause her to have a miscarriage/abortion, should she be lying.'' Kitab al-Aghani'', 1:156:3+ Ordeals involving the risk of harm, including potential injury resulting from the drinking of certain potions, were common in antiquity; in parts of Europe, their judicial use even lasted until the late Middle Ages. Such ordeals were once believed to result in a direct decision by a deity, about the guilt or innocence of the party/parties undertaking the ordeal; typically divine intervention was believed to prevent the innocent being harmed, or to ensure that the guilty were.

Modern applications

According to scholars such as Helena Zlotnick, after the ordeal of bitter water was no longer practiced it remained a reference point in the search for replacements for the test of adultery.Helena Zlotnick, ''Dinah's Daughters: Gender and Judaism from the Hebrew Bible to ... '' 2002 Page 111. "The question that has never been asked by modern interpreters of the history of the ordeal of the bitter water is what replaced the ordeal after its abolition 41 In other words, what legal procedures were available to investigate and prosecute ...One underlying quest of this chapter is a search for the alternative that replaced the pre-70 procedures of detecting adulteresses, assuming that husbands did continue to suspect their wives of adultery and that sexual loyalty .."