Naso - Numbers 4:21-7:89

,Sotah

Introduction

It is important to remember, when studying the Torah that it is a book of supernaturalism.

There's a lot of people who are fans of the Torah who are also uncomfortable with the supernaturalism, and so they will often seek natural explanations for supernatural narratives.

An example of supernaturalism is sotah, or "the trial of bitter waters".

When pondering why this trial only occurred in the wilderness, and there is no mention of it anywhere else in the Tanach, the ancient sages came up with various reasons. The Rambam, for example, wrote that sexual promiscuity was rampant, and so God apparently changed his mind. And so this special potion taken before Yahweh that caused one's digestive system to expand to unknown limits no longer worked and it was not put into practice.

But there are existing legends that this potion was so powerful, that if you had secretly committed adultery, it would kill you just by taking a whiff of it:

Although this legend does contradict the apologetic that it ended somewhat earlier. But again, it is just a legend, and this trial is one that is certainly not natural.

Some rationalists claim that the entire process was psychosomatic, and that once the people realized that it was nonsense, nobody had any effects from this mumbo-jumbo and because it lost its power, the priesthood stopped engaging in such a trial.

And yet, you have commentators who wrote that God, who normally did not require supernatural actions to occur in order to perform a mitzvah (a commandment), except on rare occasions, made sotah an exception.

The verses that explain what sotah is (5:15-5:27) are often cited by some as "proof" that God approved of abortions. While there are other verses that indicate that accidentally killing the fetus is not a capital offense (Exodus 21:22), but accidentally killing the mother is (Exodus 21:23).

So I wanted to put this out of the way before discussing this odd religious ritual - this is not about aborting a fetus. It is about abusing a woman suspected of adultery, but for which there are no witnesses, and so she is brought before Yahweh who will judge her.

It is interesting to note that adultery has a punishment of being stoned to death, and that this is the only sin where you can bring in God as a witness and executioner.

So before we discuss how this ritual was supposed to work, let's look at a woman's role in Scripture.

Women in the Bible

First, the Torah holds that women are property, and they are owned by their father (if there is no father, then the responsibility falls to other family members). A marriage is the contractual agreement between the buyer and the seller. The buyer, upon purchase, would be called her Ba'al which translates as "lord", "master", "owner", or "husband". If the conditions of the contract were broken by the seller, for example, if he sold the buyer a non-virgin, but for a virgin's price (double the price of a used item), then the buyer could protest, bring them before the court, and if found in his favor, his money would be returned and the female would be put to death.

Ownership of the woman was sacrosanct. If a man rapes a non-virgin unmarried female, there is no punishment decreed by the Torah (the Jewish sages later added a fine). If she was owned, the rapist is put to death (betrothal was the process of giving something of value, and so, she is still his property and all punishments for laying with a married woman extend to a betrothed woman). If the woman cannot prove that she resisted, then she also will be put to death.

I explain this in better detail in another post at this link.

Adultery

Adultery is the coital sexual act between a man, married or not, and a female owned by another. A married man can be intimate with as many females as he chooses (polygamy was an available option back then even though modern Rabbis generally forbid it). He could even acquire one or more concubines or conjugal slaves. 

A woman, on the other hand, had no such option available to her. The husband could set up a tent and put his woman in there and use her when required, so long as he provided her with food, clothing, and intimate time together. Also, a woman, as property, could never divorce her owner since, as property, she owns nothing, not even herself. Even her word, a vow, can be taken from her by her male guardian. Any divorce can only be initiated by the owner (a process that is still in effect today within Jewish communities.) If the husband refuses, she is classified as an agunah, ("chained") for the rest of her life. A similar result occurs when the man goes on a trip, is killed, and the body is never found. Here too, the woman is agunah.

An agunah can never remarry for the rest of her life, and having coitus with a man who is not her husband would be adultery. In Rabbinical literature, such as the Talmud, there are discussions concerning what sexual activities are permitted to her (non-coitus activities with another woman would be acceptable, while even secluding herself with a man would lead to an investigation).

As noted, the penalty for adultery is stoning.

To be a victim of this type of punishment was considered, in Rabbinical literature, as one of the worst ways to be executed, even more than being strangled or burned.

So what would be a worse way to die than being stoned to death?

In the trial of sotah, they abuse her to get her to admit her guilt. If she is guilty, she is convicted of being an adulteress. For someone to admit adultery, this person must believe that such an act was even worse.

The Process

The following is the process based on the text. Please note that nowhere in the text does it indicate that she is pregnant, but it is entirely about the suspicion of adultery.

Verses 12-14 tell us that the husband suspects infidelity, even though he has no proof. Verse 14 is interesting in that is says that a ruach of jealousy came upon him. A ruach, which is often translated as "spirit", is a device used by God to manipulate people to act in a way that He wants. He has used a lying ruach, an evil ruach, a ruach of wisdom, and so forth. 

Verse 15 has the husband give his wife over to the priest, along with an offering of barely.

Verse 16 is where the priest brings her into the holiest of places, and she stands there before Yahweh, and I would think that she should be very afraid at that point.

Verse 17 begins the making of the potion. An earthenware vessel is filled with holy water (which is perhaps the water that the priests wash their hands or feet in), and some dust from the ground that is in that holy place.

Verse 18 describes how the woman is humiliated. She is set before Yahweh, her hair let down, and he puts the meal offering in her hand while he raises his vessel of water and dust.

Verse 19-22 has the priest give the woman one last chance to confess, or swear that she is innocent. He threatens her, telling her that if she does swear, and she is guilty, that he womanhood will no longer function and her insides will swell up and out. (The term "thigh" refers to the reproductive organs. For a man, it's the penis. For the woman, it's generally though of as being the uterus. The "uterus will fall" is likely a figurative use, as in she will become infertile, based on the language of verse 28, which tells us that if innocent, she will be able to have  many more children. So if guilty, she will not because the uterus no longer functions, is gone, or she died in the process). The woman than acknowledges and swears by saying "Amen. Amen!"

Verse 23-24 has the priest write these words on a parchment, and then dissolve it in the magic water mixture. He gives it to the woman for drinking.

Verse 25-26 is when the priest takes the barely offering from the woman and waves it before Yahweh, burns it, and has the woman then drink the magic potion.

Verse 27 repeats the curse, providing that she did sin.

Verse 28 tells us that if she did not sin then she will be very fertile (literally, "she will seed a seed"). There is a legend that honorable women who were infertile, such as Hannah, the mother of Samuel, considered going through this process just for the blessing of being innocent!

Verses 29-31 ends with telling us that the husband is not at fault here, and no judgement is held against him in any case.

Conclusion

The process of sotah is a misogynist act against women consisting of a supernatural ritual to get women to confess to imaginary crimes through fear and intimidation. There is no similar act against a suspected adulterer, only the woman.

There is no abortion here, but there is a threat of infertility and either disfigurement or death.

Whether it was actually done or not is questionable, since it is a supernatural act. But the fact that it was considered a mitzvah at all taints the ethical demands of the text.