Pt2 '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 second and final part of a two-part series. Part 1 is here; the outline for the series can be found at Part 1.

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

R' Abba bar Zavda interprets the phrase “he has committed a wanton deed in Israel” (Joshua 7:15) as a euphemism for Achan's sexual offense (בעל) with a betrothed virgin.

This phrase parallels Deuteronomy 22:21, which describes such an act as “committing a wanton deed in Israel.”¹

וכי עשה נבלה בישראל.

אמר רבי אבא בר זבדא:

מלמד:

שבעל עכן נערה המאורסה.

כתיב הכא ״וכי עשה נבלה״,

וכתיב התם ״כי עשתה נבלה בישראל״

With regard to Achan, the verse states: “And because he has committed a wanton deed in Israel” (Joshua 7:15).

R' Abba bar Zavda says:

This teaches that

Achan engaged in sexual intercourse with a betrothed young woman.

This offense is also alluded to by the wording of the verse:

Here, with regard to Achan, it is written: “And because he has committed a wanton deed,”

and there, with regard to a betrothed young woman who committed adultery, it is written: “Because she has committed a wanton deed in Israel, to play the harlot in her father’s house” (Deuteronomy 22:21).

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

Bava_Batra.16b.13-14

R' Yoḥanan states that the biblical Esau committed 5 serious sins on the same day Abraham died: sex with a betrothed girl, murder, denial of God, denial of resurrection, and despising the birthright.

These are all homiletically derived from biblical verses:

1. Sex with a Betrothed Girl (בא על נערה מאורסה): The phrase “Esau came from the field” (Genesis 25:29) is linked to “he found her in the field” (Deuteronomy 22:27)²

2. Murder (הרג את הנפש): Esau is described as “faint” (עיף), which is matched to Jeremiah 4:31, where the soul faints from slaying (implying he had just killed someone).

3. Denial of God:³ Esau’s words “What use is this to me?” (Genesis 25:32) contrast with “This is my God and I will glorify Him” (Exodus 15:2; implying rejection of direct experience of God).

4. Denial of Resurrection (כפר בתחיית המתים): Esau says “I am going to die” (showing disbelief in life after death).

5. Despising the Birthright (שט את הבכורה): Finally, the verse explicitly states: “And Esau despised the birthright” (Genesis 25:34; confirming his contempt for spiritual inheritance).

אמר רבי יוחנן:

חמש עבירות עבר אותו רשע באותו היום:

1. בא על נערה מאורסה,

2. והרג את הנפש,

3. וכפר בעיקר,

4. וכפר בתחיית המתים,

5. ושט את הבכורה

1. בא על נערה מאורסה –

   1. כתיב הכא: ״ויבא עשו מן השדה״,

   2. וכתיב התם: ״כי בשדה מצאה״.

2. הרג את הנפש –

   1. כתיב הכא: ״עיף״,

   2. וכתיב התם: ״אוי נא לי, כי עיפה נפשי להרגים״.

3. וכפר בעיקר –

   1. כתיב הכא: ״למה זה לי״,

   2. וכתיב התם: ״זה אלי ואנוהו״.

4. וכפר בתחיית המתים –

   1. דכתיב: ״הנה אנכי הולך למות״.

5. ושט את הבכורה –

   1. דכתיב: ״ויבז עשו את הבכורה״.

R’ Yoḥanan says:

That wicked Esau committed five transgressions on that day that Abraham died:

1. He engaged in sexual intercourse with a betrothed maiden,

2. he killed a person,

3. he denied the principle of God’s existence,

4. he denied resurrection of the dead,

5. and he despised the birthright.

The Gemara cites proofs to support these charges.

1. He engaged in sexual intercourse with a betrothed maiden,

   1. as it is written here: “And Esau came in from the field”;

   2. and it is written there with regard to rape of a betrothed maiden: “For he found her in a field” (Deuteronomy 22:27).

2. He killed a person,

   1. as it is written here: “And he was faint”;

   2. and it is written there: “Woe is me, for my soul faints before the slayers” (Jeremiah 4:31).

3. And he denied the principle of God’s existence,

   1. as it is written here: “What profit is this to me” (Genesis 25:32);

   2. and it is written there: “This is my God and I will glorify Him” (Exodus 15:2). When he questioned the profit of “this,” he was challenging the assertion that “this is my God.”

4. And he denied resurrection of the dead,

   1. as it is written: “Behold, I am at the point of death” (Genesis 25:32), indicating that he did not believe in resurrection after death.

5. And he despised the birthright,

   1. as it is written: “And Esau despised the birthright” (Genesis 25:34).

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

In the extended aggadic sugya on dream interpretations, for two relevant sections.

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

See footnote.⁴

אמר ליה: חזאי דדריכנא בטונא דאסא.

אמר ליה: בא על נערה המאורסה.

He said to him: I saw that I was treading in the shade of a myrtle tree.

He said to him: You slept with a betrothed young woman, as it was customary to make a canopy of myrtle for the betrothal.

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

See footnote.⁵

הבא על נערה מאורסה —

יצפה לתורה

One who sees that he had relations with (הבא על) a betrothed young woman in a dream,

he should anticipate Torah (יצפה לתורה)

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

See footnote,⁶ where (as I summarize there):

“Witnesses reassured R' Elazar ben Shimon, revealing that the laundryman was indeed a grievously wicked person:

He and his son were guilty of the (egregious) sin of having sex with (בעלו) a betrothed young woman on Yom Kippur”.

אמרו ליה:

רבי!

אל ירע בעיניך

שהוא ובנו בעלו נערה מאורסה ביום הכפורים.

Those who were present said to him:

Our teacher!

let it not be bad in your eyes that you caused his death,

as this laundryman was a wholly wicked person;

you should know that he and his son both engaged in intercourse with a betrothed young woman on Yom Kippur.

“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)

See footnote,⁷ where (as I summarize there, with adjustments):

“The second tale [of the righteous community of Kefar Sekhanya of Egypt] connects an increase in (grain?) prices⁸ to a sinful act committed by a father and son, who had sex with a betrothed woman on Yom Kippur.

After their sin was discovered and they were stoned (to death) by the Jewish court, the grain prices returned to normal.”

פתח אידך ואמר:

מעשה ועמדו ארבעים מודיות בדינר;

נחסר השער מודיא אחת,

ובדקו, ומצאו:

אב ובנו שבאו על נערה מאורסה ביום הכפורים;

והביאום לבית דין, וסקלום,

וחזר השער למקומו.

Another Sage began his remarks and said:

It once happened that the market price of forty se’a of grain stood at one dinar.

And then the rate went down one se’a [modeya], so that only thirty-nine se’a were sold for a dinar.

And they checked to see what sin had caused this, and they found:

a father and son who had engaged in sexual intercourse with a betrothed young woman on Yom Kippur.

They brought the offenders to court and stoned them,

and the rate returned to its former level.

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)

Sukkah.29a.13-29b.2

A baraita states that solar eclipses (חמה לוקה) occur due to four societal failures (each is seen as a severe breakdown of justice or social solidarity):

1. Failure to properly eulogize (נספד כהלכה) a chief justice (אב בית דין)

2. Ignoring a betrothed young woman’s public cries⁹

3. Homosexual sex (משכב זכור)

4. The simultaneous murder¹⁰ of two brothers

תנו רבנן:

בשביל ארבעה דברים חמה לוקה:

1. על אב בית דין -- שמת, ואינו נספד כהלכה,

2. ועל נערה המאורסה -- שצעקה בעיר, ואין מושיע לה,

3. ועל משכב זכור,

4. ועל שני אחין שנשפך דמן כאחד

The Sages taught that

on account of four matters the sun is eclipsed:

1. On account of a president of the court who dies and is not eulogized appropriately, and the eclipse is a type of eulogy by Heaven;

2. on account of a betrothed young woman who screamed in the city that she was being raped and there was no one to rescue her;

3. on account of homosexuality;

4. and on account of two brothers whose blood was spilled as one.

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

The mishna--after listing transgressions punishable by stoning¹¹--states the following:

One who has sex with his mother, who’s also his father's wife

• One who has sex with his mother (who is also his father's wife):

  • Is liable (חיב) for the following transgressions:¹²

    • Sex with his mother

    • Sex with his father's wife

• R' Yehuda's opinion:

  • Only one sin-offering is required, for having sex with his mother.

אלו הן הנסקלין:

[...]

הבא על האם --

חיב עליה

• משום אם

• ומשום אשת אב

רבי יהודה אומר:

אינו חיב אלא משום האם בלבד

These transgressors are those who are stoned to death:

[...]

The mishna elaborates: One who unwittingly has sex with his mother who is also his father’s wife

is liable to bring two sin-offerings for his sex with her:

• One due to the prohibition against having sex with one’s mother

• and one due to the prohibition against having sex with one’s father’s wife.

R' Yehuda says:

He is liable to bring only one sin-offering, due to the prohibition against having sex with one’s mother.

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

Similarly:

• One who has sex with his father's wife (not his mother):

  • Is liable for the following transgressions:

    • Sex with his father's wife

    • Sex with a married woman (אשת איש - i.e. adultery; cf. Wikipedia, “Thou shalt not commit adultery”)

  • This applies:

    • Whether his father is alive or dead

    • Whether she is betrothed or fully married

הבא על אשת אב --

חיב עליה

• משום אשת אב

• ומשום אשת איש,

• בין בחיי אביו

• בין לאחר מיתת אביו,

• בין מן הארוסין

• בין מן הנשואין

One who unwittingly has sex with his father’s wife while his father is married to her

is liable to bring two sin-offerings:

• One due to the prohibition against having sex with one’s father’s wife

• and one due to the prohibition against having sex with a married woman.

He is liable due to the former prohibition both

• during his father’s lifetime

• and after his father’s death,

and whether the relationship between the woman and his father is

• one of betrothal

• or one of marriage.

One who has sex with his daughter-in-law

• One who has sex with his daughter-in-law (כלתו):

  • Is liable for the following transgressions:

    • Sex with his daughter-in-law

    • Sex with a married woman

  • This applies:

    • Whether his son is alive or dead

    • Whether she is betrothed or fully married

הבא על כלתו --

חיב עליה

• משום כלתו

• ומשום אשת איש,

• בין בחיי בנו

• בין לאחר מיתת בנו,

• בין מן הארוסין

• בין מן הנשואין

Likewise, one who unwittingly has sex with his daughter-in-law during his son’s lifetime

is liable to bring two sin-offerings for his sex with her:

• One due to the prohibition against having sex with one’s daughter-in-law,

• and one due to the prohibition against having sex with a married woman.

The former liability applies both

• during his son’s lifetime

• and after his son’s death,

and whether the relationship between the woman and his son

• is one of betrothal

• or one of marriage

Homosexual sex or Bestiality

• Punishment by stoning:¹³

  • A man who has sex with a male (=homosexual sex) or with an animal (=bestiality)

  • A woman who has sex with an animal

הבא

• על הזכור

• ועל הבהמה,

והאשה המביאה את הבהמה

A man who has sex

• with a male

• or with an animal,

and a woman who has sex with an animal,

are executed by stoning.

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”

The mishna asks why the Bible says that the animal--in the case of bestiality--is punished by stoning, if only the person sinned. Two reasons are given:

1. “Because a stumbling (תקלה) was caused to a person by it”

2. “So that this animal will not pass through the marketplace (שוק - souk), and they’ll say: ‘This is the animal because of which so-and-so (פלוני) was stoned’ “ ¹⁴

אם אדם חטא, בהמה מה חטאת?

אלא --

לפי שבאת לאדם תקלה על ידה,

לפיכך אמר הכתוב תסקל.

דבר אחר:

שלא תהא בהמה עוברת בשוק

ויאמרו: "זו היא שנסקל פלוני על ידה"

The animal is likewise stoned to death

The mishna asks: If the person sinned by doing this, how did the animal sin?

Rather,

because a calamity was caused to a person by it,

therefore the verse states that it should be stoned, so that it does not cause another to sin.

Alternatively,

it is so that this animal will not pass through the marketplace,

and those who see it will say: This is the animal because of which so-and-so was stoned, and its existence would shame his memory.

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

Sukkah.29a.13-29b.2

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

Another four causes are given for eclipses:

1. Forging documents¹⁵

2. Giving false testimony

3. Raising sheep or goats (“small livestock”) in populated areas of Eretz Yisrael (a known prohibition due to property damage)

4. Chopping down fruit trees¹⁶

ובשביל ארבעה דברים מאורות לוקין:

1. על כותבי פלסתר,

2. ועל מעידי עדות שקר,

3. ועל מגדלי בהמה דקה בארץ ישראל,

4. ועל קוצצי אילנות טובות.

And on account of four matters the heavenly lights are eclipsed:

1. On account of forgers of a fraudulent document [pelaster] that is intended to discredit others;

2. on account of testifiers of false testimony;

3. on account of raisers of small domesticated animals in Eretz Yisrael in a settled area;

4. and on account of choppers of good, fruit-producing trees.

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

Homeowners’ (בעלי בתים) possessions (נכסי) end up being seized (נמסרין) by the government (מלכות) as punishment for:

1. Keeping (משהי) paid (פרועים) debt notes (to fraudulently collect again)

2. Lending with interest

3. Failing to protest (למחות) wrongdoing despite having the power to do so

4. Publicly pledging (פוסקים) charity but not following through

ובשביל ארבעה דברים נכסי בעלי בתים נמסרין למלכות:

1. על משהי שטרות פרועים,

2. ועל מלוי ברבית,

3. ועל שהיה ספק בידם למחות, ולא מיחו,

4. ועל שפוסקים צדקה ברבים, ואינן נותנין

And on account of four matters the property of homeowners is delivered to the monarchy as punishment:

1. On account of those keepers of paid promissory notes, who keep these documents instead of tearing them or returning them to the borrowers, as that would allow the lender to collect money with the note a second time;

2. and on account of lenders with interest;

3. and on account of those who had the ability to reprimand sinners and did not reprimand them;

4. and on account of those who issued a commitment to give charity in public and ultimately do not give the charity to which they committed.

Confiscation by the Government Treasury for Labor Violations and Arrogance

Rav states that property is confiscated into the government treasury¹⁷ due to:

1. Delaying (כובשי) or withholding (עושקי) a laborer’s wages (שכר שכיר)

2. Shirking burdens (“remove yoke from their necks”) while pushing them onto others

3. Arrogance (גסות הרוח)

אמר רב:

בשביל ארבעה דברים נכסי בעלי בתים יוצאין לטמיון:

1. על כובשי שכר שכיר,

2. ועל עושקי שכר שכיר,

3. ועל שפורקין עול מעל צואריהן, ונותנין על חבריהן,

4. ועל גסות הרוח

Rav said:

On account of four matters the property of homeowners is confiscated by the state treasury [timyon]:

1. On account of those who delay payment of the salary of hired laborers (see Leviticus 19:13; Deuteronomy 24:15);

2. on account of those who withhold the salary of hired laborers and do not pay at all;

3. and on account of those who throw off the yoke of communal responsibility from their own necks and place that yoke on the necks of their friends;

4. and on account of the arrogance of those who, due to their wealth, exercise power over the community.

Appendix 3 - Hebrew Verbs for “Sex”

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

The following is my translation of Hebrew Wikipedia, יחסי אישות (הלכה), section “טרמינולוגיה”.

Tashmish HaMita (תשמיש המיטה - tashmish for short) is the common term for sexual relations in all Jewish sources since the time of the Tannaim (the sages of the Mishnah) [...]

In the Bible, numerous terms describe sexual activity, such as:

1. vayicham ("he was warm"—I Kings 1),

2. yedi'ah ("knowing"),

3. shichvah ("lying with"),

4. bi'ah ("coming into"),

5. kirvah ("approaching"),

6. gilui ("uncovering").

The term be'ilah ("cohabitation") appears infrequently in the Bible but is more common in talmudic literature.

Talmudic literature developed numerous euphemisms and indirect terms, including:

1. davar mitzvah ("a matter of mitzvah"),

2. derekh eretz ("the way of the land"),

3. davar aḥer ("another thing"),

4. hergel davar ("habitual matter"),

5. asiyat melakhah ("performing work"),

6. asiyat tzerakhim ("attending to needs"),

7. lesaper ("to tell") and ledaber ("to speak").

Additional metaphorical (euphemistic) expressions borrowed from the realm of eating and drinking include:¹⁸

1. akhal ("ate"),

2. sa'ad ("dined"),

3. nehama ("bread"),

4. leḥem setarim ("hidden bread"),

5. te'imat tavshil ("tasting a dish"),

6. shoteh be-kos ("drinking from a cup"),

7. arikhut shulḥan ("setting the table"),

8. pat be-salo ("bread in his basket").

In Kabbalistic literature, the term ḥibbur ("union") appears frequently. In the Shulchan Aruch, the laws related to sexual relations are categorized under Hilchot Tzniut (Laws of Modesty).

The term yachsei ishut ("marital relations") generally refers to sexual relations between a man and a woman. Occasionally, this term also refers to relationships between unmarried couples, particularly in legal contexts such as rabbinical courts and Israeli civil law.

This term is relatively modern, combining yachsei min ("sexual relations") with the halakhic term ishut ("marriage"), which is defined as "the entirety of the relationship between a husband and wife that derives from their marital bond."

The phrase yachsei ishut appears frequently in responsa literature starting in the early 20th century, but most later rabbinic literature preferred to use the traditional term tashmish hamita.

In rabbinic literature dealing with these laws, various euphemisms are used to describe aspects of sexual relations, reflecting the emphasis on maintaining refined language. For example, a woman’s genital area is referred to as oto makom ("that place").

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

The following is an expansion of an extended note in my previous piece: “ “Today is Yom Kippur, and several virgins had sex in Neharde’a”: Anecdotes of Sinning on Yom Kippur (Yoma 19b-20a)”.

The Aramaic verb used in this context (אבעול) takes a passive form,¹⁹ reflecting the woman's grammatically passive position in the sexual act. This is expressed in Hebrew as נבעלה / נבעלת (niv'alah / niv'elet).

This passive construction stands in contrast to the active verb בעל / בועל (ba'al / bo'el), which designates the active participant in sexual intercourse. The linguistic distinction between active and passive sexual roles is similarly found in another Hebrew verb pair: רבע (rava) for the active role versus נרבע (nirva) for the passive role.

Modern standard English lacks a precise, non-vulgar equivalent for these passive sexual verbs. Formal English (in legal and scientific contexts uses “penetration”, compare Wikipedia entries “Sexual penetration” and “Penile–vaginal intercourse”.

The closest approximations to the Hebrew verb ba’al would be highly colloquial and vulgar expressions like "[he] fucked, screwed, nailed."

In Talmudic Hebrew, the passive verb נרבע (nirva) is typically used to refer specifically to the passive male participant in homosexual sex or bestiality.

The Talmudic text frequently employs these active-passive verb pairs together to describe sexual acts from both participants' perspectives, maintaining a consistent grammatical distinction that reflects the physical roles in intercourse.

Notably, there is frequent slippage between two distinct but similar Hebrew expressions: בעל (ba'al) and בא על (ba al). The verbs are essentially synonymous, and sound are written similarly, but they are not etymologically related.

Ba'al (בעל) originally means 'owner' or 'master'. When used as a verb in sexual contexts, it (in theory, from an etymological perspective) carries connotations of dominance or possession. The man 'masters' or 'takes possession' of the woman. This is consistent with broader biblical and early rabbinic uses of the root ba’al across domains like marriage (a husband is a ba'al), property ownership, and control.

Ba al (בא על), by contrast, literally means 'came upon'. It is a verbal phrase built from the common verb בא ('to come') plus the preposition על ('upon'). When used sexually, ba al is a description of physical action: a man comes onto or enters the woman. It frames the act more mechanically, less tied to ideas of ownership or authority.

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

See Wikipedia, “Deuteronomy 22”, section “Family and sex laws (22:13-30)”:

Deuteronomy 22:13–21 deals with situations in which a woman is accused by her husband of having been a non-virginal bride.

No witnesses or positive evidence of wrongdoing are required for her to be stoned to death as a consequence of this; rather, it is up to her parents to prove that she was a virgin by presenting the tokens of her virginity.

Deuteronomy.22.20-24 (translation JPS 1985, via Sefaria, with adjustments):²⁰

ואם־אמת היה הדבר הזה

לא־נמצאו בתולים לנער

והוציאו את־הנער אל־פתח בית־אביה

וסקלוה אנשי עירה באבנים ומתה

כי־עשתה נבלה בישראל

לזנות בית אביה

ובערת הרע מקרבך

But if it [=the charge] proves true,

the girl was found not to have had her virginity (בתולים),

then the girl shall be brought out to the entrance of her father’s house,

and the men of her town shall stone her (סקלוה) to death;

for she did a shameful thing (נבלה) in Israel,

committing fornication (לזנות) [while under] her father’s authority.

Thus you will eradicate (בערת) evil from your midst.

כי־ימצא איש שכב עם־אשה בעלת־בעל

ומתו גם־שניהם

• האיש השכב עם־האשה

• והאשה

ובערת הרע מישראל

If a man is found lying with another man’s wife,

both of them shall die —

• the man

• and the woman with whom he lay

And [thus] you will eradicate evil from Israel.

כי יהיה נער בתולה מארשה לאיש

ומצאה איש בעיר

ושכב עמה

והוצאתם את־שניהם אל־שער העיר ההוא

וסקלתם אתם באבנים, ומתו:

• את־הנער -- על־דבר אשר לא־צעקה בעיר

• ואת־האיש -- על־דבר אשר־ענה את־אשת רעהו

ובערת הרע מקרבך

In the case of a maiden (נער) who is engaged (מארשה) to a man —

if [another] man comes upon her in town

and lies with her,

you shall take the two of them out to the gate of that town

and stone them to death:

• the maiden -- because she didn’t scream (צעקה) [for help] in the town,

• and the man -- because he violated (ענה) his peer’s wife.

And [thus] you will eradicate evil from your midst

1. In the biblical verses about the rape of a betrothed virgin (see Part 1), suggesting Achan had sex with a betrothed virgin

I cited this Talmudic passage previously, see “Pt2 The Confession, Punishment, and Atonement of Achan in Joshua 7 (Sanhedrin 43b-44b)“, section “Achan’s Multiple Additional Major Transgressions and Their Scriptural Allusions (Joshua 7:11, 15)“, sub-section “Achan's Sex with a Betrothed Virgin (Joshua 7:15; Deuteronomy 22:21)“.

2. In the biblical verses about the rape of a betrothed virgin (see Part 1), suggesting Esau had sex with a betrothed virgin.

3. כפר בעיקר.

The same thing—”denied (כָּפַר - kafar; see below) God” (עיקר)—using the same idiom, is said elsewhere in the Talmud, this time about the biblical Adam, see my piece “Pt2 The First Man: Talmudic Reflections on Adam's Creation (Sanhedrin 38a-39b)“, section “Adam was a heretic; concealed his circumcision; and was a disbeliever“:

רב נחמן אמר:

כופר בעיקר היה

כתיב הכא

[...]

וכתיב התם

[...]

Rav Naḥman says:

He [=Adam] was a denier of the fundamental principle of belief in God.

It is written here:

[...]

and it is written there:

[...]

This Hebrew term and idiom is cognate with the Arabic / Islamic kufr.

See Wikipedia, “Kafir“:

Kāfir […] is an Arabic-language term used by Muslims to refer to a non-Muslim, more specifically referring to someone who disbelieves in the Islamic God, denies his authority, and rejects the message of Islam as the truth.

Kafir is often translated as 'infidel', 'truth denier', 'rejector', 'disbeliever', 'unbeliever'.

The term is used in different ways in the Quran, with the most fundamental sense being ungrateful toward God.

Kufr means 'disbelief', 'unbelief', 'non-belief', 'to be thankless', 'to be faithless', or 'ingratitude'.

The opposite term of kufr ('disbelief') is iman ('faith'), and the opposite of kafir ('disbeliever') is mu'min ('believer') […]

[T]he word kāfir [etymologically means] a person who hides or covers.

Ideologically, it implies a person who hides or covers the truth.

4. Cited in my piece “Pt1 Selected Dream Interpretations, Especially Those Relating to Illicit Sex (Berakhot 56a-57b)“, section “Treading in the shade of a myrtle tree = had sex with a betrothed young woman“.

5. Cited in my piece “Pt2 Selected Dream Interpretations, Especially Those Relating to Illicit Sex (Berakhot 56a-57b)“, section “Sex with a betrothed young woman = anticipate Torah“.

And see there the homiletic derivation for this from a biblical prooftext.

6. Cited in my piece “Pt2 Thief-Catching, Corpulence, and Virility: Stories of R' Elazar ben Shimon and R' Yishmael ben Yosei (Bava Metzia 83b-84a)“, section “R' Elazar ben Shimon and the Laundryman: A Tale of Moral Judgment, Regret, and Divine Validation“.

7. Cited in my piece “Three Talmudic Stories about the Righteous Community of Kefar Sekhanya of Egypt (Gittin 57a)“, section “Story #2 - Divine Justice and Community Response“.

8. שער - from 40 se’a (מודיות) of grain for a dinar, to 39.

9. During rape.

This is phrased in a literary way, alluding to the verse cited in the intro: “a betrothed young woman who ‘screamed in the city’ (צעקה בעיר - the phrase used in the biblical verse), and there’s no savior (מושיע) for her”.

See the same allusions to the biblical used elsewhere in the Talmud, as I note in Part 1 of this series.

10. נשפך דמן כאחד - literally: “blood was spilled as one”.

11. Cited in my main piece, in Part 1, section “List of Transgressions Liable for Death by Stoning (Mishnah Sanhedrin 7:4)”.

12. In all these cases, ed. Steinsaltz adds “is liable to bring two sin-offerings”; however, while this may be implied, the Mishnah doesn’t state this explicitly, and it doesn’t seem to be directly relevant for the straightforward point of the Mishnah.

13. This passage appears word-for-word in the beginning of the Mishnah; it’s repeated here as intro for the question in the next section.

14. Broader analysis:

The Mishna highlights an ethical tension: animals lack moral agency, so stoning the animal involved in bestiality seems unjust.

The Mishnah therefore explains that the animal is stoned not out of guilt, but because keeping the animal alive would preserve a living reminder of the scandal, leading to public awkwardness and perverse curiosity. Killing the animal prevents future social disturbance.

Thus, the stoning of the animal addresses human social consequences, not its guilt. The law aims to prevent future scandal and preserve communal dignity, overriding narrow moral logic.

15. פלסתר - from Greek plastós, sense #2:

“fabricated, forged, feigned, counterfeit”

Cognate with modern English “plastic”.

16. אילנות טובות - literally: “good trees”, an idiom for fruit trees; chopping them down causes long-term harm to the community.

17. טמיון - from Greek tămĭeîon.

This Hebrew word was often traditionally misunderstood, and thought to literally mean “goes to waste, perishes”, similar to the phrase הלך לאיבוד.

18. Compare also my previous piece on the metaphor of SEX is EATING in the Talmudic literature.

19. Analogous to the Hebrew nif'al conjugation.

See Wikipedia, “Niphal”:

The Niphal stem usually denotes the incomplete passive or the reflexive voice.

See also Wiktionary “Appendix: Hebrew verbs”, section “nif'al”

20. See the accessible scholarly discussion of these passages at TheTorah.com in Cynthia Edenburg’s article (cited also in Part 1) “Deuteronomy's Uncompromising Demand for Women's Sexual Fidelity” (2014).

Especially ibid. the following sections:

• Case 1 – The False Accusation

• Case 2 – The Non-Virgin Bride

• Case 3 – Adultery with a Married Woman