Pt1 'They Brought Them to Court and Stoned Them': Sex with a Betrothed Virgin as the Most Severe Sexual Prohibition in the Talmudic Literature

This is the first part of a two-part series. The outline for the series can be found below.

Sex¹ with a betrothed virgin (נערה המאורסה) is consistently viewed as among the gravest offenses in the Talmud, particularly when committed on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, when sex is prohibited.

This is inspired by the Bible in the the Book of Deuteronomy, which posits death by stoning for a woman found not to be a virgin at betrothal, or for consensual or non-consensual sex involving a betrothed woman; with “and [thus] you will eradicate (בערת) evil from your midst” as recurring explanation for this capital punishment.

The Biblical verses (Deuteronomy 22:25-27)

Deuteronomy.22.25-27 (translation JPS 1985, via Sefaria, with adjustments):²

ואם־בשדה ימצא האיש את־הנער המארשה

והחזיק־בה האיש, ושכב עמה

ומת האיש אשר־שכב עמה לבדו

ולנער לא־תעשה דבר

אין לנער חטא מות

כי כאשר יקום איש על־רעהו ורצחו נפש, כן הדבר הזה

כי בשדה מצאה

צעקה הנער המארשה

ואין מושיע לה

[But] if the man comes upon the engaged girl in the open country,

and the man lies with her by force,

only the man who lay with her shall die,

but you shall do nothing to the girl.

The girl did not incur the death penalty (חטא מות),

for this case is like that of a man attacking another and murdering him.

He came upon her in the open;

the engaged girl [must have] cried for help,

[but] there was no one to save (מושיע) her

In the Mishnah and Talmud

See Hebrew Wikipedia, “נערה המאורסה”, my translation, with slight adjustments:

In Jewish law (halacha), na'arah ha-me'orasah (נערה המאורסה) refers to a “young woman” (נערה - na’ara - between the ages of 12 and 12.5) who is a virgin (בתולה), betrothed (kiddushin / erusin) but not yet married (nissu'in / chupah).

In Halacha, there are stricter rules regarding a betrothed young woman compared to an adult woman (בוגרת - i.e above the halachic age of majority, which is age 12.5), a non-virgin young woman, or a young woman who is not betrothed in several legal matters.

A Betrothed Young Woman Who Has Been Unfaithful (זנתה)

In Halacha, "zenut"³ is, among other things, having forbidden sex.

The Bible states that a betrothed young woman who committed adultery (she’s already defined as the wife of the man who betrothed her), is sentenced to death by stoning (סקילה - sekilah). [This is as opposed to the capital punishment] other married women [who committed adultery], whose sentence is death by strangulation (חנק - chenek).

If witnesses come forward after she is married regarding her committing adultery during her betrothal period, she is stoned at the entrance of her father's house:

"Then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones until she dies, because she has committed a disgraceful act in Israel by being promiscuous in her father's house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst." (Deuteronomy 22:21).

If the witnesses come forward while she is still under her father's authority (רשות), meaning before the marriage, in a case where the majority of the city’s population is Jewish, she is stoned at the entrance of the city.

However, if the city is majority non-Jewish (רובה גוים), she is stoned at the entrance of the court, homiletically derived from the fact that the verse states "in your gates" - understood to imply “but not in non-Jews’ gates”.

Even if her legal status changed (השתנה דינה) between the time of the sin (חטא) and the time of punishment (עונש), and the witnesses testifying to her unfaithfulness came when she was already an adult, her sentence is still stoning.

This transgression is considered so severe that it warrants the death penalty by stoning (סקילה), placing it alongside other capital offenses like incest, homosexual sex, bestiality, blasphemy, idolatry, and child sacrifice:

The Mishnah in Sanhedrin 7:4 lists "one who has sex with a betrothed young woman" among its long list of those who are to be stoned to death (based on the biblical verses).

The Talmud goes further in its treatment of this sin by permitting a bystander to preemptively kill the “pursuer” of the transgression,⁴ to prevent the sin from happening.

According to Sanhedrin 73a, a person may be killed to prevent them from raping a betrothed virgin—a provision that extends only to the most heinous crimes including murder and male sodomy, but notably not to other sexual transgressions like bestiality.

This permission for preemptive lethal force by a bystander underscores the exceptional severity attributed to this transgression within the Talmudic legal framework.

The Talmud elsewhere discusses the cosmic dimensions of this transgression. In Sukkah 29a-b, the Talmud attributes solar eclipses to four societal failures, including ignoring "a betrothed young woman's public cries" during rape—a celestial response to the community's failure to protect victims from sexual violence.

Several biblical figures are associated with this transgression in aggadic (narrative) portions of the Talmud. Notably, R' Abba bar Zavda interprets Achan's "wanton deed (נבלה) in Israel" (Joshua 7:15) as sex with a betrothed virgin, drawing a textual parallel with Deuteronomy 22:21.

Similarly, R' Yoḥanan attributes five serious sins to Esau on the day of Abraham's death, including sex with a betrothed virgin—interpreted through textual association between "Esau came from the field" (Genesis 25:29) and "he found her in the field" (Deuteronomy 22:27), a context referencing rape.

The severity of this transgression is amplified when combined with other violations, as illustrated in the tale from Gittin 57a where "a father and son who had sex with a betrothed young woman on Yom Kippur" were brought to court and stoned, their punishment restoring proper grain prices—suggesting a divine economic response to the rectification of justice.

This compilation illuminates how the rabbis of the Talmud conceptualized sexual ethics, the boundaries of permitted sexuality, and the interconnection between sexual transgression and divine justice. The repeated association of this particular sexual sin with cosmic consequences, market disruptions, and the fate of biblical antagonists demonstrates its central position in Talmudic discourse on moral and sexual boundaries.

Outline

Intro

1. The Biblical verses (Deuteronomy 22:25-27)

2. In the Mishnah and Talmud

The Passages

1. List of Transgressions Liable for Death by Stoning (Mishnah Sanhedrin 7:4)

2. Preemptive Killing and Judicial Punishment: Distinctions in Preventing Transgressions (Mishnah Sanhedrin 8:7)

3. When Lethal Vigilante Force Is Justified: Halakhic Distinctions in Preventing Sexual and Violent Crimes (Sanhedrin 73a)

   1. If someone pursues another person to commit murder, sodomy, or forbidden sex—whether of a betrothed young woman or a woman forbidden by a prohibition carrying a death penalty or karet—the pursuer may be killed by a bystander to prevent the transgression

   2. …In case of a standard prohibition, such as a High Priest pursuing a widow or a regular priest pursuing a divorcée or ḥalutza, the pursuer is not killed by a bystander

   3. ….If the sex with the betrothed young woman has already occurred, the pursuer cannot be killed by a bystander

4. “Achan had sex with a betrothed young woman” (Sanhedrin 43b-44b)

5. Esau’s Five Serious Sins on the Day of Abraham’s Death (Bava Batra 16b): Sex with a Betrothed Girl Murder, Denial of God and the Resurrection; Despising the Birthright

6. Dream Interpretations Related to Sex with a betrothed young woman (Berakhot 56a-57b)

   1. “ ‘I saw [in a dream] that I was treading in the shade of a myrtle tree‘ — ‘You slept with a betrothed young woman’ ”

   2. “[One who dreams that] he had sex with a betrothed young woman — should anticipate Torah“

7. “[The laundryman] and his son had sex with a betrothed young woman on Yom Kippur“ (Bava Metzia 83b-84a)

8. “They found a father and son who had sex with a betrothed young woman on Yom Kippur; they brought them to court and stoned them,“ (Gittin 57a)

9. Solar eclipses occur due to four societal failures: failure to eulogize a chief justice; ignoring a betrothed young woman’s public cries (during rape); homosexuality; the simultaneous murder of two brothers (Sukkah 29a-b)

Appendix 1 - Liability and Execution for Sexual Transgressions (Mishnah Sanhedrin 7:4)

1. One who has sex with his mother, who is also his father's wife

2. One who has sex with his father's wife, who’s not his mother

3. One who has sex with his daughter-in-law

4. Homosexual sex or Bestiality

5. Why the Animal involved in Bestiality Is Stoned: Because a person ‘stumbled’ through it, or so people don’t point out the animal and say: ‘this is the animal because of which so-and-so was stoned’

Appendix 2 - Cosmic Consequences of Social Injustice and Arrogance (Sukkah 29a-b)

1. Eclipses occur due to four societal failures: forging slanderous documents; false testimony; raising sheep or goats in Eretz Yisrael; cutting down fruit trees

2. Homeowners’ wealth is handed over to ruling powers as punishment for: keeping paid debt notes (to fraudulently collect again), lending with interest, failing to protest wrongdoing despite having the power to do so, publicly pledging charity but not following through

3. Confiscation by the Government Treasury for Labor Violations and Arrogance

Appendix 3 - Hebrew Verbs for “Sex”

1. Euphemisms and Terminology for Sex in Classical Jewish Texts: From Biblical Language and Rabbinic Discourse to the Modern Era

2. The verbs ba’al (בעל) and ba al (בא על) in Mishnaic Hebrew

Appendix 4 -Biblical Verses relating to Adultery and a Non-Virgin Bride (Deuteronomy 22:21-24)

List of Transgressions Liable for Death by Stoning (Mishnah Sanhedrin 7:4)

Mishnah_Sanhedrin.7.4 (=Sanhedrin.53a.14)

This Mishnah lists the transgressions that are punishable by stoning.

These include sexual sins:

1. Incest with one's mother or father's wife (i.e. stepmother)

2. Sex with one's daughter-in-law (כלה)

3. Homosexual sex ( זכור)

4. Bestiality (including both men and women)

5. Sex with a betrothed young woman (נערה המארסה)

As well as non-sexual sins:

1. Blasphemy (מגדף)

2. Idolatry (עובד עבודה זרה)

3. Child sacrifice to Molekh

4. Witchcraft / divination (“Ov” and “Yidoni”)⁵

5. Shabbat desecration

6. Cursing one's parents (מקלל אביו ואמו)

7. Incitement to idolatry - inciting either individuals (מסית) or cities (מדיח)

8. Sorcery (“kishuf")⁶

9. Rebellious son (“ben sorer u-moreh“)⁷

אלו הן הנסקלין:

1. הבא

   1. על האם,

   2. ועל אשת האב,

   3. ועל הכלה,

   4. ועל הזכור,

   5. ועל הבהמה,

2. והאשה המביאה את הבהמה,

3. והמגדף,

4. והעובד עבודה זרה,

5. והנותן מזרעו למלך,

6. ובעל אוב וידעוני,

7. והמחלל את השבת,

8. והמקלל אביו ואמו,

9. והבא על נערה המארסה,

10. והמסית, והמדיח,

11. והמכשף,

12. ובן סורר ומורה.

These transgressors are those who are stoned to death:

One who

1. engages in intercourse

   1. with his mother;

   2. or with his father’s wife, even if she is not his mother;

   3. or with his daughter-in-law;

   4. or with a male;

   5. or with an animal;

2. and a woman who engages in intercourse with an animal.

3. And one who blasphemes,

4. and one who engages in idol worship.

5. And one who gives of his offspring to Molekh,

6. and a necromancer, and a sorcerer.

7. And one who desecrates Shabbat,

8. and one who curses his father or his mother,

9. and one who engages in intercourse with a betrothed young woman,

10. and an inciter who incites individuals to idol worship, and a subverter who incites an entire city to idol worship,

11. and a warlock,

12. and a stubborn and rebellious son.

Preemptive Killing and Judicial Punishment: Distinctions in Preventing Transgressions (Mishnah Sanhedrin 8:7)

Mishnah_Sanhedrin.8.7 (=Sanhedrin.73a.1)

The Mishnah states that certain transgressors may be killed to prevent their crimes: one pursuing⁸ after another to murder him, to commit male sodomy, or to have sex with a betrothed young woman.

However, those “pursuing” bestiality, Shabbat desecration, or idolatry are not killed preemptively, via informal vigilante justice.⁹

ואלו הן שמצילין אותן בנפשן:

הרודף

1. אחר חבירו להרגו,

2. ואחר הזכר,

3. ואחר הנערה המאורסה.

אבל

1. הרודף אחר בהמה,

2. והמחלל את השבת,

3. ועובד עבודה זרה –

אין מצילין אותן בנפשן.

And these are the ones who are saved from transgressing even at the cost of their lives; that is to say, these people may be killed so that they do not perform a transgression:

One who pursues

1. another to kill him,

2. or pursues a male to sodomize him,

3. or pursues a betrothed young woman to rape her.

But with regard to one who

1. pursues an animal to sodomize it,

2. or one who seeks to desecrate Shabbat,

3. or one who is going to engage in idol worship,

they are not saved at the cost of their lives.

Rather, they are forewarned not to transgress, and if they proceed to transgress after having been forewarned, they are brought to trial, and if they are found guilty, they are executed.

When Lethal Vigilante Force Is Justified: Halakhic Distinctions in Preventing Sexual and Violent Crimes (Sanhedrin 73a)

Sanhedrin.73a.9-10

If someone pursues another person to commit murder, sodomy, or forbidden sex—whether of a betrothed young woman or a woman forbidden by a prohibition carrying a death penalty or karet—the pursuer may be killed by a bystander to prevent the transgression

A baraita states that if someone pursues another person to commit murder, sodomy, or forbidden sex—whether of a betrothed young woman or a woman forbidden by a prohibition carrying a death penalty (חייבי מיתות בית דין) or karet—the pursuer may be killed to prevent the crime.

תנו רבנן:

אחד הרודף

1. אחר חבירו להרגו,

2. ואחר הזכר,

3. ואחר נערה המאורסה,

4. ואחר חייבי מיתות בית דין,

5. ואחר חייבי כריתות –

מצילין אותן בנפשו

The Sages taught yet another baraita on the topic of a pursuer:

One who pursues

1. another to kill him;

2. or pursues a male to sodomize him;

3. or pursues a betrothed young woman to rape her;

4. or pursues a woman who is forbidden to him by a prohibition, the violation of which renders him liable to receive a court-imposed death penalty;

5. or pursues a woman who is forbidden to him by a prohibition, the violation of which renders him liable to receive karet,

all these people are to be saved at the cost of the life of the transgressor.

…In case of a standard prohibition, such as a High Priest pursuing a widow or a regular priest pursuing a divorcée or ḥalutza, the pursuer is not killed by a bystander

However, if the prohibited sex is merely a standard prohibition, such as a High Priest pursuing a widow (for sex or marriage) or a regular priest pursuing a divorcée or ḥalutza, the pursuer is not killed (as the prohibition is not severe enough to warrant lethal intervention).

1. אלמנה לכהן גדול,

2. גרושה וחלוצה לכהן הדיוט –

אין מצילין אותן בנפשו

1. But with regard to a widow who is being pursued by a High Priest,

2. or a divorcée, or a woman who has performed ḥalitza [ḥalutza] who is being pursued by an ordinary priest,

they are not saved at the cost of the rapist’s life, because these unions are subject only to a mere prohibition.

….If the sex with the betrothed young woman has already occurred, the pursuer cannot killed by a bystander

If the sex with the betrothed young woman has already occurred, the man is not killed.

Additionally, if there is an alternative way to save her without killing the attacker,¹⁰ lethal force is not justified.

R' Yehuda adds that if the woman tells her rescuers to let the rapist go, it is assumed she does so out of fear for her life, and the rapist is not killed.

נעבדה בה עבירה –

אין מצילין אותה בנפשו.

יש לה מושיע –

אין מצילין אותה בנפשו.

רבי יהודה אומר:

אף האומרת:

״הניחו לו״

שלא יהרגנה

Furthermore, if a sin had already been committed with the betrothed young woman,

she is not saved at the cost of the rapist’s life.

In addition, if there is one to save her, i.e., if there is another way to save the betrothed young woman that does not involve killing the rapist,

she is not saved at the cost of his life.

R' Yehuda says:

Also, if the betrothed young woman says to those who come to rescue her:

“Let the rapist be”,

she is saying this so that he should not kill her, and therefore the rapist is not killed.

1. See my Appendix for a discussion of the Hebrew verbs used for sex.

2. See the accessible scholarly discussion of these passages at TheTorah.com in Cynthia Edenburg’s article “Deuteronomy's Uncompromising Demand for Women's Sexual Fidelity” (2014).

Especially ibid. “Case 4 – Sex with a Betrothed Maiden”.

3. זנות, "prostitution, promiscuity". Compare the related word zina / zana (זנה), and the extended discussion of the word in classical sources at Hebrew Wikisource: “ביאור: זנה“.

And compare the cognate Arabic / Islamic “zina”, see Wikipedia, “Zina“:

Zināʾ […] is an Islamic legal term referring to unlawful sexual intercourse.

According to traditional jurisprudence, zina can include adultery, fornication, prostitution, sodomy, incest, and bestiality.

Zina must be proved by testimony of four Muslim eyewitnesses to the actual act of penetration, confession repeated four times and not retracted later.

The offenders must have acted of their own free will.

Rapists could be prosecuted under different legal categories which used normal evidentiary rule […]

There are very few recorded examples of the stoning penalty for zinā being implemented legally […]

Muslim scholars have historically considered zinā a hudud sin, or crime against God.

It is mentioned in both Quran and in the Hadiths […]

The Quran deals with zinaʾ in several places. First is the Qur'anic general rule that commands Muslims not to commit zina:

“Do not go near adultery. It is truly a shameful deed and an evil way.” […]

Stoning punishment, a form of capital punishment for adultery, is not mentioned in the canonical text of the Quran.

Most of the rules related to fornication, adultery and false accusations from a husband to his wife or from members of the community to chaste women can be found in Surah an-Nur (the Light).

Compare the related Hebrew word זמה - zima - “licentiousness, sexual debauchery”.

This latter word is often used as part of the Talmudic idiom “steeped in lewdness“ (שטוף בזימה). See, for example, in my piece yesterday, “ ‘A Non-Jew Has No Father’: The Halachic Status of Convert Brothers and Their Wives in the Context of Levirate Marriage and Sexual Prohibitions (Yevamot 97b-98a)“, section “Even if a convert's biological father is known, the child has no halakhic relationship to him“:

הא דאמור רבנן:

אין אב לגוי,

לא תימא משום דשטופי בזמה

[…]

With regard to that which the rabbis (רבנן) said,

that a non-Jew has no father (i.e. doesn’t have patrilineage),

do not say that it is because they are so steeped (שטופי) in licentiousness (זמה)

[…]

Slaves in particular are noted for their zima, which is viewed in an essentialist lens, see my “Lives, Loves, and Hatreds: Psychological and Social Commentary on Human Behaviors, Group Dynamics, and Animal Traits (Pesachim 113b)“, section “A Slave’s Nature: Five Traits Attributed to Canaan's Descendants“, where I summarize:

The Talmud recounts that the biblical Canaan instructed his descendants in five traits typical of slaves:

mutual love, love of theft (גזל), love of promiscuous sex (זמה), hatred of masters, and lying.

And see Hebrew Wiktionary at the hyperlink, re the etymology:

The Talmudic rabbis interpreted the word zeh-mah (זה-מה - “this-what”); meaning, that in disordered relationships, it is not known who is the son of whom.

I cite the explanation in my piece “Wine, Wordplay, and Wedding Tensions: Bar Kappara’s Queries Regarding Biblical Denunciations and R' Yehuda HaNasi’s Unwilling Dance (Nedarim 51a)“, section “ ‘Zimma’ (lewdness)“, where I summarize:

R' Yehuda HaNasi asked Bar-Kappara to explain the term zimma (זימה - “lewdness”) as used in Leviticus 18:17, concerning a man who has sex with a woman and her daughter.

Bar-Kappara asked R' Yehuda to repeat the earlier gesture (dancing), which he did.

Bar-Kappara then explained that zimma is to be understood as "zo ma hi" ("what is she?"; emphasizing the confusion such sex creates, regarding the status of the resulting offspring and the complications they pose for incest prohibitions).

And see my footnote there, where I quote the same etymology as appearing in Yevamot.37b.3-7.

However, this is clearly a folk etymology; most likely, the word is a variant of the above-mentioned word zina.

4. Rodef - literally: “one who is running”, i.e. on the way to sin.

5. בעל אוב וידעוני.

On these biblical terms for prohibited forms of witchcraft and divination, see Witchcraft and divination in the Hebrew Bible - Wikipedia; and see העלאה באוב – ויקיפדיה.

6. מכשף; see איסורי כישוף ביהדות – ויקיפדיה.

7. בן סורר ומורה; see also Ki Teitzei - Wikipedia > “Deuteronomy 21:18–21—the wayward son”

8. רודף - literally: “running”.

In this and the following section, ed. Steinsaltz interprets that this is referring to rape.

However, this isn’t really warranted; the term “pursuing” doesn’t indicate that the other person is an unwilling victim, it merely means that the person is “pursuing” a sin.

This is clear from the parallel “pursuit” of idolatry and Shabbat desecration.

However, the recurring phrase “[we] save [him/her/them] at the cost of [his/their] life” (מצילין בנפשו) is fairly ambiguous, and appears to at times refer to the “pursuer”, and at times--where relevant--refer to the passive participant in the sex.

See also the final section of the baraita, which discusses “[if] there’s a “savior” (מושיע), alluding to the verse.

9. Instead, they are warned, and if they proceed, they are formally brought to trial and executed if found guilty.

10. “she has a savior (מושיע)”, alluding to the verse, the same phrase was used earlier, as I noted in my previous footnote.