Ordeal of the bitter water
| Halakhic texts relating to this article | |
|---|---|
| Torah: | Numbers 5:11–31 |
| Mishnah: | Sotah |
| Babylonian Talmud: | Sotah |
| Jerusalem Talmud: | Sotah |
| Mishneh Torah: | Sefer Nashim, Sotah |
In the Hebrew Bible, the ordeal of the bitter water was a Jewish trial by ordeal administered by a priest in the tabernacle to a wife whose husband suspected her of adultery, but the husband had no witnesses to make a formal case. It is described in the Book of Numbers (Numbers 5:11–31).