Here's a passage that has always disturbed me. When a woman is suspected of being unfaithful she is to undergo a trial by ordeal. Here is a more dynamic translation of the ordeal....
" 21 “At this point the priest must put the woman under oath by saying, ‘May the people know that the Lord’s curse is upon you when he makes you infertile, causing your womb to shrivel[d] and your abdomen to swell. 22 Now may this water that brings the curse enter your body and cause your abdomen to swell and your
womb to shrivel.[e]’ And the woman will be required to say, ‘Yes, let it be so.’ 23 And the priest will write these curses on a piece of leather and wash them off into the bitter water. 24 He will make the woman drink the bitter water that brings on the curse. When the water enters her body, it will cause bitter suffering if she is guilty.
25 “The priest will take the jealousy offering from the woman’s hand, lift it up before the Lord, and carry it to the altar. 26 He will take a handful of the flour as a token portion and burn it on the altar, and he will require the woman to drink the water. 27 If she has defiled herself by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings on the curse will cause bitter suffering. Her abdomen will swell and her
womb will shrink [f], and her name will become a curse among her people. 28 But if she has not defiled herself and is pure, then she will be unharmed and will still be able to have children." -
Numbers 5:25-28 (NLT)
The obvious implication is that she would be left barren. However some rabbis have written that the purpose of the woman's womb shriveling under the judgment of God was twofold. First, to destroy the unborn seed resulting from her sin. And second, to render her barren.
That's always bothered me.
What are some of your thoughts on this?