Sex Crimes in the Laws of the Hebrew Bible

ASOR

We intereviewed Dr. Bruce Wells on his recent Near Eastern Archaeology magazine article, "Sex Crimes in the Laws of the Hebrew Bible." Although biblical texts identify a range of sexual behavior as illicit, adultery is the only sexual act addressed in the law collections of the Hebrew Bible as a crime – i.e., as a serious harm against another person for which punishments beyond financial compensation are allowed. Some scholars have argued that the treatment of adultery in biblical law is better and more favorable toward women than that found in the cuneiform law collections; others have argued precisely the opposite. What is more likely is that biblical law is largely in keeping with how ancient Near Eastern societies other than Israel and Judah handled adultery and should not necessarily be evaluated as either better or worse from a modern perspective.