Sotah (Talmud)

Sotah
Tractate of the Talmud
Seder:Nashim
Number of mishnahs:67
Chapters:9
Babylonian Talmud pages:49
Jerusalem Talmud pages:47
Tosefta chapters:15
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Sotah (Hebrew: סוֹטָה or Hebrew: שׂוֹטָה[1]) is a tractate of the Talmud in Rabbinic Judaism. The tractate explains the ordeal of the bitter water, a trial by ordeal of a woman suspected of adultery, which is prescribed by the Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh). In most editions, this tractate is the fifth in the order of Nashim, and it is divided into nine chapters. The tractate exists in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud.

Sotah is also the term used for the woman tried in this manner.[2]

  1. ^ Spelled "שוטה" in Maimonides' manuscript (https://www.nli.org.il/en/manuscripts/NNL_ALEPH000042459/NLI) This spelling recurs in Rabbi Yosef Qafeh's editions of Maimonides' works.
  2. ^ Grushcow, Lisa (2006). Writing the Wayward Wife: Rabbinic Interpretations of Sotah. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-14628-0.