And the priest shall set the woman before the
Lord
In the east of the tabernacle, with her face to the west, where
was the holy of holies, so Ben Gersom; but not immediately for
they had her from place to place, as Jarchi says, till she was
weary, and her mind disturbed, that she might confess; and if she
said, I am defiled, she rent the writing of her dowry, and went
out; but if she said, I am pure, they brought her to the eastern
gate, the gate of Nicanor, for there they made women suspected of
adultery to drink the waters F20:
and uncover the woman's head;
as a token of her immodesty and non-subjection to her husband,
and that she might be seen by all, to cause shame in her:
according to the Misnah F21, the priest took off her clothes,
and loosed her hair--if she was clothed with white garments, he
clothed her with black; if she had on her ornaments of gold,
chains, earrings, or rings, he took them away from her, that she
might be unseemly, and whoever would might come and look at her:
and put the offering of memorial into her hands, which [is]
the
jealousy offering;
to weary her, as Jarchi says, that if perhaps her mind was
disturbed she would confess; and so in the Misnah F23 it is
said, that her husband put this offering into her hands to weary
her; but the true reason here seems to be, that it might appear
to be her own offering:
and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that
causeth
the curse;
not that the water was bitter of itself, for it was the water out
of the laver, and had nothing in it but the dust of the floor of
the tabernacle; though some think some bitter thing was put into
it, so Ben Gersom, as wormwood; but it is so called from the
effects of it on those that were guilty; it produced sad effects
in them, bitter and distressing, and made them appear to be
accursed ones, for it was not bitter till it entered, ( Numbers 5:24
) ; whereas it was not so to the innocent, nor attended with any
such consequence to them; so that there was nothing in the water
itself, but its efficacy was divine and supernatural.
F20 Sotah, c. 1. sect. 5.
F21 Sotah, c. 1. sect. 5, 6.
F23 Sotah, c. 2. sect. 1.
