Quand le Temple servait à démasquer (ou pas) l'adultère féminin : Nombres 5 et le traité Sotah de la Michna

International audienceNumbers 5 describes a divine ordeal that jealous husbands can use if they suspect their wives to be unfaithful. The whole rite occurs inside the Temple. It has been the subject of extensive discussions in rabbinic literature, with an entire michnaic tractate under the title Sotah. But surprisingly the Tannaitic ritual differs in many ways from the biblical one. Two main differences are taken here in consideration : first the extreme violence of the Sotah ritual against women ; then the change of location of the rite from inside to outside the Temple