What is the significance of Exodus 20:14? What is the implication of this Law.

[Jay Ross]

In the general English Translation, this one verse from the Ten Commandments is rendered thus: -

14 "You shall not commit adultery.

Should this law be understood literally as expressed in our English translation Bibles or is there deeper understanding that metaphorically paints a very different picture?

 

[lforrest]

In the general English Translation, this one verse from the Ten Commandments is rendered thus: -

14 "You shall not commit adultery.

Should this law be understood literally as expressed in our English translation Bibles or is there deeper understanding that metaphorically paints a very different picture?

There is the first commandment, knowing that other gods and idols are associated with evil spirits to follow them is a spiritual adultery.

So I expect the commandment about adultery is being literal.

 

[Jay Ross]

There is the first commandment, knowing that other gods and idols are associated with evil spirits to follow them is a spiritual adultery.

So I expect the commandment about adultery is being literal.

Well, if the English translation can be trusted, then a literal understanding may be acceptable. However, I believe that the Hebrew text is saying something very different, metaphorically.

Bible Hub gives this definition for H:5003 is: -

​

Could God be saying, "You are Mine, Israel, do not leave me and join yourself to or with another 'deity.'"

The Tenth Commandment deals with the subject matter of coveting you neighbour's wife, daughter, or servant, which come sunder the normal understanding of Adultery, where the coveting extents to actually lying with what you covet.

Is this not apostatizing which the 7th commandment is speaking out against with respect to God's relationship with Israel/God's Saints.

Does not God refer to Israel as the bride from this time onwards.

 

[theophilus]

Jesus explained the meaning of this command.

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
Matthew 5:27-30 ESV

Not only is the act of adultery forbidden but so are thoughts that could lead to the act. We can only see what people do; God sees their hearts and knows what they think. It is possible to live a life that outwardly appears to obey all of God's commands but to be guilty because of what we think.

 

[Jay Ross]

Jesus explained the meaning of this command.

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
Matthew 5:27-30 ESV

Not only is the act of adultery forbidden but so are thoughts that could lead to the act. We can only see what people do; God sees their hearts and knows what they think. It is possible to live a life that outwardly appears to obey all of God's commands but to be guilty because of what we think.

Yes, what you are saying is true, but is this also true of many other "sins," as well? Is not the net outcome that you commit an apostatized act and already have already turned towards another "deity".

Is not the sense that you are speaking of, is described in the Ten Commandment coveting another mans possessions, i.e. his wife or his servant, to the point where a person takes the other man's possession and lays with her? That is we are renouncing a religious or political belief or principle. We have in practice renounced God with our adulterous behaviour and in many cases put ourselves in His place in our lives thereby breaking our relationship with God.

Adultery is one of the visible manifestation of apostatizing our very soul.

 

[DPMartin]

In the general English Translation, this one verse from the Ten Commandments is rendered thus: -

14 "You shall not commit adultery.

Should this law be understood literally as expressed in our English translation Bibles or is there deeper understanding that metaphorically paints a very different picture?

why, are you looking for an excuse or justification to commit adultery?

its literal just like "thou shall not steal" no confusion no interpretations necessary.

 

[Jay Ross]

why, are you looking for an excuse or justification to commit adultery?

its literal just like "thou shall not steal" no confusion no interpretations necessary.

That is a very bold statement about my motives as to why I started this thread.

It is important for us to ask questions concerning what is meant in God's word. So much of what forms our doctrine and understanding of God is based on flawed understanding.

Can you prove beyond any doubt, that what your understanding is, is correct without making motherhood statements about others?

 

[Jim B]

In the general English Translation, this one verse from the Ten Commandments is rendered thus: -

14 "You shall not commit adultery.

Should this law be understood literally as expressed in our English translation Bibles or is there deeper understanding that metaphorically paints a very different picture?

I'll give you a clue... If it says "you shall not commit adultery", do you know what that means? It means that you shall not commit adultery. 8^)

This command is repeated in Leviticus 20:10 in a different form... "If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death."

 

[Jay Ross]

I'll give you a clue... If it says "you shall not commit adultery", do you know what that means? It means that you shall not commit adultery. 8^)

This command is repeated in Leviticus 20:10 in a different form... "If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death."

Your understanding from the English would be right if the very different Hebrew words in both Exodus 20:14 and Deuteronomy 5:18 which used the Hebrew Word תִּֿנְאָֽ֑ף was identical to the Hebrew Word יִנְאַ֖ף and יִנְאַף֙ found twice and only twice in Leviticus 20:10. Since the two references, Exodus 20:14 and Leviticus 20:10 use very different Hebrew words, then the meaning of the respective Hebrew Words must be also very different. My understanding of the Hebrew language is limited to say the least and I was looking for a person who was more learned than I to confirm what the meaning of Exodus 20:14 and Deuteronomy 5:18 was. I would have considered that Ten Commandment in Exodus 20:17 is more in line with our present day understanding of adultery and the meaning that you are pointing to.

However, if we look closely at Leviticus 20:10, and correctly paraphrase it, in our English Language, I feel that we would probably come to a very different conclusion. Here is the context of Lev 20:10 within the extended passage of where it is found: -

Leviticus 20:1-17: - Penalties for Breaking the Law
20: 1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Again, you shall say to the children of Israel:'Whoever of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who gives any of his descendants to Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from his people, because he has given some of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name. 4 And if the people of the land should in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him, 5 then I will set My face against that man and against his family; and I will cut him off from his people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with Molech.

6 'And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people. 7 Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

9 'For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him.
10 'The man who commits adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death. 11 The man who lies with his father's wife has uncovered his father's nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. 12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have committed perversion. Their blood shall be upon them. 13 If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. 14 If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you. 15 If a man mates with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them.

17 'If a man takes his sister, his father's daughter or his mother's daughter, and sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a wicked thing. And they shall be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered his sister's nakedness. He shall bear his guilt. 18 If a man lies with a woman during her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from their people.
19 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister nor of your father's sister, for that would uncover his near of kin. They shall bear their guilt. 20 If a man lies with his uncle's wife, he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness. They shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21 If a man takes his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing. He has uncovered his brother's nakedness. They shall be childless.

22 'You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. 23 And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they commit all these things, and therefore I abhor them. 24 But I have said to you, "You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey." I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples. 25 You shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean birds and clean, and you shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird, or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. 26 And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.

27 'A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.'"​

What is the outcome for “sex” and what is the outcome for Adultery/Apostatizing?

I am not sure that we yet have a full understanding of the Exodus 20:14 verse.

 

[Grailhunter]

Good discussion but I do not think you guys are getting to the crux of matter as it applies to us now. First let us sort this out.

1. First off even the early Jews disagreed on what “was” the Ten Commandments.

2. There were 14 “laws” given at Mt. Sinai and they were mostly summaries of laws that would be in the body of the 613 Mosaic Laws.

3. The story of and the ten laws called commandments by God are in Exodus 34:10-27. These are the Laws that God called commandments and these are the Laws that He said He would make a covenant between Him and the people and these are the laws He instructed Moses to write on the Tablets of the Testimony. “And he wrote on the tablets of the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.”

4. Yahweh never called the first ten or fourteen summaries of laws at Mt. Sinai…commandments.

5. Besides that if you take one or ten laws to observe and not observe the rest of the 600 laws you are in violation of whole law. This is extremely sacrilegious. According to Christ you will be the least in heaven. There is a danger in mixing these two religions. Christ explained that mixing these two religions would ruin both…The explanation of the “wine skins and the patch” Paul put a curse on it, “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by the law; you have fallen from grace.” If you read what Yahweh said that this law was to make a covenant between Him and the people….we are not part of that covenant and if you take that covenant you severe your connection to the New Covenant…a serious thing.

6. The actual Mosaic Law you are looking for is in:
Deuteronomy 22:22 - Do not commit adultery. “If a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel.”

7. Adultery is a sin in Christianity but under a different context and set of rules. In the context of Jewish Law, adultery was a property crime. Women were considered property. If a married woman had sex with anyone other than her husband she committed adultery. If a man had sex with another woman it was called “taking” a wife. The only way a man could commit adultery under the Mosaic Law was to have sex with another man's wife. Another thing, Jews did not have wedding ceremonies and the word wed or wedding does not occur in their language. This is not the context that Christians interpret adultery.

8. In that culture…adultery was considered more serious than murder. If someone wanted your wife they would kill you first. None of this is how Christians look at it.

9. In the New Testament Christ discussed adultery and divorce, but He is talking to Jews about the Mosaic Law. "...Moses permitted you...." Now how much of that pertains to Christians is a good point of debate. Keep in mind that the New Testament does not site a requirement for wedding ceremonies or vows either. Christianity would develop customs regarding weddings and vows long after the biblical era and the requirement for weddings would occur in late middle ages. And the Christian process of divorce is also a good point of debate. Christ only talks about the Mosaic process for divorce. No Christian process for divorce is discussed in the New Testament, Paul only refers to it as leave.

10. Again to the topic, the New Testament defines adultery as a serious sin. But we are not going to kill anyone for it. And looking at a woman because she is beautiful is not adultery.

11. The context and severity that the Mosaic Law places on adultery does not pertain to adultery in the New Testament. Our wives are not our property. The Mosaic Law mandates that marriage ends by execution. A husband did not have a choice, if his wife committed adultery she had to be executed to…"purge the evil from Israel." In Christianity adultery does not mandate the end of the marriage and reconciliation is preferred. There is no doubt that adultery is a serious sin, it is a breach of trust, and can lead to the destruction of a family…pain…suffering… broken hearts….all the things Satan likes….

12. But from here there is room for debate…what about the vows? What causes adultery? What should you do if it happens? What about divorce? Paul does not levy great sin on people that divorce. It is because people still look at the Mosaic Law they think if you remarry, that it is adultery, and that is not true. Paul gets into this discussion of remarriage but falls short of calling remarriage adultery. Likewise there can be a lot of reasons that would justify divorce beyond just unfaithfulness. Again, another good point of debate.

 

[Jay Ross]

Good discussion but I do not think you guys are getting to the crux of matter as it applies to us now.

I provided not commentary on the Leviticus 20:1-17 passage that I previous quoted in my last post.

The subject of this thread is what was Exodus 20:14 referring to in its two Hebrew word commandment. Should it be understood in a literal or metaphorical context.

Now the Leviticus 20 passage speaks of the becoming a candidate for the second death on a number of occasions in the chapter and just as we can become a candidate to the second death within the context of today's understanding of the statutes of God and their application to how we live out our lives in relationship with God, I believe that the application of Exodus 20:14 and Deuteronomy 5:18 should be viewed within the figurative context of Apostatizing our covenantal relationship with God.

Leviticus 20 is written within the context of what sins lead to a person dying the second death? Verse 10 could be understood within this context: -

'The man who commits adultery with another man’s, i.e. an Israelite’s, wife, or he who commits adultery with his neighbor's, i.e. a gentile’s, wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall die the second death.​

Now, people may not see the consequences in the same manner that I am suggesting but if God is to be the only God/husband of the Israelite nation, and is to be considered to be the "Wife" of God, then Israel turning to another husband is apostatizing one's allegiance to God and turning to Satan as the "new" husband of Israel.

Why else would God divorce Israel, but to remove this blight and consequence from Israel when He scattered them to the four compass points of the earth.

The discussion on this commandment is worth while to consider all the ins and outs of it.

 

[Grailhunter]

The title of this thread....
What is the significance of Exodus 20:14? What is the implication of this Law.
In the general English Translation, this one verse from the Ten Commandments is rendered thus: -
14 "You shall not commit adultery.
Should this law be understood literally as expressed in our English translation Bibles or is there deeper understanding that metaphorically paints a very different picture?

I explained this in detail in relation to the context that the scriptures were written, both the legal aspect and cultural perspective. And also went into how it relates to Christianity.

These verses do not illustrate or propose any metaphorical meanings. Adultery can and is used in the Old Testament as a metaphor when the scriptures are relating to Yahweh as husband and Israel as His wife and He accuses them of cheating on Him. But it is strictly from the perspective of the Jewish religion. We are not Jews. We are not of the Old Covenant. The morality that Christ taught by words, actions, and spirit are far superior than anything in the Old Testament. The Old Testament does not demonstrate the morality of the New Testament, in law, spirit, or actions.

 

[Jay Ross]

The title of this thread....
What is the significance of Exodus 20:14? What is the implication of this Law.
In the general English Translation, this one verse from the Ten Commandments is rendered thus: -
14 "You shall not commit adultery.
Should this law be understood literally as expressed in our English translation Bibles or is there deeper understanding that metaphorically paints a very different picture?

I explained this in detail in relation to the context that the scriptures were written, both the legal aspect and cultural perspective. And also went into how it relates to Christianity.

These verses do not illustrate or propose any metaphorical meanings. Adultery can and is used in the Old Testament as a metaphor when the scriptures are relating to Yahweh as husband and Israel as His wife and He accuses them of cheating on Him. But it is strictly from the perspective of the Jewish religion. We are not Jews. We are not of the Old Covenant. The morality that Christ taught by words, actions, and spirit are far superior than anything in the Old Testament. The Old Testament does not demonstrate the morality of the New Testament, in law, spirit, or actions.

I am not trying to shut down any discussion, but the Mt Sinai Covenant that God entered into at Mt Sinai which was the Kingdom of Priests, a Holy Nation and God's Possession among the Nations Covenant will be made like new again with the Israelite nation so as to bless the whole earth.

I am not sure that we can dismiss the Exodus 20:14 commandment so easily as you are wanting to do.

In Ezekiel 34:13 God makes a number of promises and I would expand and paraphrase the verse this way: -

And I will bring them out from among the people/nations and gather them from the countries/nations of the earth, and will place them in their own prepared fertile field; then I will feed them on the mountains/religion of Israel/Christ, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places where they are scattered living in all of the earth.​

God will, at this time, make like new again, the Covenant, that He made with the nation of Israel at Mt Sinai, which they rebelled against, so that the Descendants of Abraham can be a Blessing to all of the people of the World. They will have one shepherd and work with him in teaching those around them about the things of God.

 

[Grailhunter]

I am not trying to shut down any discussion, but the Mt Sinai Covenant that God entered into at Mt Sinai which was the Kingdom of Priests, a Holy Nation and God's Possession among the Nations Covenant will be made like new again with the Israelite nation so as to bless the whole earth.

I am not sure that we can dismiss the Exodus 20:14 commandment so easily as you are wanting to do.

In Ezekiel 34:13 God makes a number of promises and I would expand and paraphrase the verse this way: -

And I will bring them out from among the people/nations and gather them from the countries/nations of the earth, and will place them in their own prepared fertile field; then I will feed them on the mountains/religion of Israel/Christ, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places where they are scattered living in all of the earth.​

God will, at this time, make like new again, the Covenant, that He made with the nation of Israel at Mt Sinai, which they rebelled against, so that the Descendants of Abraham can be a Blessing to all of the people of the World. They will have one shepherd and work with him in teaching those around them about the things of God.

I figured that was what you were eluding to....
The whole Jewish kingdom nation millennium thing... the Mt Sinai Covenant that God entered into at Mt Sinai which was the Kingdom of Priests, a Holy Nation and God's Possession among the Nations Covenant. No no no the south will not rise again, nor will the Old Covenant.
As far as Exodus 20:14...adultery....no dismiss on adultery....Adultery is different in the Old Testament than in the New Testament. Serious in both, but different.

 

[Jay Ross]

I figured that was what you were eluding to....
The whole Jewish kingdom nation millennium thing... the Mt Sinai Covenant that God entered into at Mt Sinai which was the Kingdom of Priests, a Holy Nation and God's Possession among the Nations Covenant. No no no the south will not rise again, nor will the Old Covenant.
As far as Exodus 20:14...adultery....no dismiss on adultery....Adultery is different in the Old Testament than in the New Testament. Serious in both, but different.

Why do you believe the above that the South, i.e. Judah will not rise again, and nor will the Old Covenant?

What is in your heart to cause you to dismiss the nation of israel?

 

[Grailhunter]

Why do you believe the above that the South, i.e. Judah will not rise again, and nor will the Old Covenant?

What is in your heart to cause you to dismiss the nation of israel?

The nation of Israel has already risen.
Talking about the south of United States...a joke.