ADULTERY
(a) In a particular and literal sense, sexual relationship between a married man and a woman who is not his, or between a married woman and a man who is not her husband.
Polygamy with women of inferior races and concubines was not considered adultery under the law of Moses, and yet one must always be the main wife.
The adulterer with a married woman was punished with the death penalty, due to the offense that this represented for the legitimate husband; On the other hand, sexual relations with a young unmarried woman had the sanction of having to take her as a concubine and treat her with the same considerations as one’s own wife or the other concubines if there were any (Ex. 22:15).
In the case of a married woman the penalty was death, indirect meaning (Ex. 20:14; Lev. 20:10; Deut. 5:21).
According to the Sermon on the Mount, any sexual impurity in thought, word or deed is considered adultery (Mt. 5:27-28).
The word “covet”, however, has a sense of intensely desiring and voluntarily indulging in sinful thoughts, and does not mean a simple glance at a beautiful woman as we admire flowers, mountains or a sunset.
Jesus here demands a voluntary control of the senses, which could lead us to situations that we would later wish to have avoided. It is not that Christ puts carnal adultery on the same level with the simple observation of a woman, but that he warns us so that we do not fall into temptation.
(b) In a symbolic sense, the worship of false gods is considered a betrayal of the covenant made with Jehovah (Jer. 3:8-9; Ez. 23:37-47; Hos. 2:2-13).
God demands that our love for Him be total, as the husband demands of the wife who has sworn fidelity to him.
Opinions are divided regarding the interpretation of 1 Cor. 7:15.
While some interpret the first part of the text as a justification for divorce and remarriage, in which the innocent spouse can find peace, others consider this last phrase as an imperative for perpetual celibacy on the part of one who has ever been married.
The joint exegesis of both texts seems to lean towards the idea that it is the Christian’s duty to seek peace to the maximum extent possible, and that if the infidel departs (that is, abandons the common home), the believer is free to seek peace. peace in a second marriage.