Vayikra 20:10

10 And the ish that committeth adultery with the wife of another ish, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the no’ef (adulterer) and the no’efet (adulteress) shall surely be put to death.

Vayikra 20:10 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 20:10

And the man that committeth adultery with [another] man's
wife
Which is a breach of the seventh command, ( Exodus 20:14 ) ;

[even he] that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife:
which is only an explanation of the former clause; though the Jewish writers, as Jarchi and Ben Gersom, say this is so expressed to except the wife of a stranger, or a Gentile; but it means whether a Gentile or an Israelite; and which may be confirmed by the instance of Phinehas slaying a prince of Israel, that lay with a Midianitish woman, ( Numbers 25:6-8 ) :

the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death;
on account of her that is espoused, by strangling, with a hard napkin within a soft one; and on account of her that is married, by casting stones; even both the adulterer and adulteress, as the Targum: and the Jews say F2, strangling was thus performed; they that were strangled were fixed up to their knees in dung, and then they put a hard napkin within a soft one, and rolled it about his neck, and one drew it to him this way, and another drew it to him that way, until he expired: and there is no unlawful copulation punished with strangling, according to Maimonides F3, but lying with another man's wife; and who observes, that the death which is spoken of in the law absolutely, that is, without specifying any kind of death, is strangling; but stoning seems rather meant, agreeably to ( Deuteronomy 22:24 ) ( John 8:5 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F2 Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 3.
F3 Hilchot lssure Biah, c. 1. sect. 6.

Vayikra 20:10 In-Context

8 And ye shall be shomer over My chukkot, and do them: I am Hashem who sets you apart as kodesh.
9 For every one that curseth his av or his em shall be surely put to death; he hath cursed his av or his em; his dahm shall be upon him.
10 And the ish that committeth adultery with the wife of another ish, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the no’ef (adulterer) and the no’efet (adulteress) shall surely be put to death.
11 And the ish that lieth with the wife of his av hath uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death; their dahm shall be upon them.
12 And if an ish lie with his kallah (daughter-in-law), both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed tevel (perversion); their dahm shall be upon them.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.