The Conflict and Resolution between he and she: Re-reading the Sotah Text (Numbers 5:11-31)

The sotah text, Numbers 5:11-31, is one of the most debated biblical text in Torah. Through centuries, scholars have tried to reconstruct the original layers of its sources through historical critical studies. More recently, literary criticism appears to triumph over the old source critical studies of this text among scholars. However, I reckon both approaches reveal important messages about the sotah. In this essay, I first examine the studies of source criticism and redaction criticism of the sotah, and conclude that the sotah is consisted of two strata: the water ordeal stratum and the ritual-oath stratum; and the intention of the redactor is to stress the possible innocence of the wife. Then I take the sotah as a coherent unity, read it from the perspective of literary criticism. This essay argues that the sotah is a text mainly about solving the jealousy of man, rather than the adultery of the woman. Under the canonical context of the book of Numbers, the sotah reflects the distrust of Israel toward God’s promise. Sotah, the text which deals with "the woman suspected of adultery", should be reconsidered as the text which deals with the jealous husband.