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Adultery today in modern societies has little practical consequence, it is not entirely free of personal consequences but there doesn't seem to be a mechanism that makes you think twice. One of the 7 Noahide laws is not to commit adultery, of course this involves more than marital relations but I am referring to this, this law implies either the individual prone to adultery or it also involves society in the form of the State, the 7th law tells us that serves to judge and penalize the other 6, is there something that society could do and is failing to do with regard to adultery? Does the punishment of the Noahide laws involve the same punishment for the same sin as the Torah laws? Adultery and murder = Capital punishment, theft = Return quadrupled?

In short, what society is failing in practical terms is not to banish adultery but to make it more reflective if it is worth committing it and if the penalties for the laws of Noah are the same as those of the Torah.

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    What about non belief in G-D? Does society punish for that?
    – Chatzkel
    Jun 13 at 22:01
  • @Chatzkel But is it one of the 7 laws to believe? From what I learned, it's just not blaspheming and not committing idolatry, isn't it? Or is not believing part of some subset of these two laws?
    – Thales
    Jun 13 at 22:37
  • My point remains the same. Society doesn’t punish for idolatry, blasphemy etc. so your question isn’t only about adultery.
    – Chatzkel
    Jun 13 at 22:55
  • It can even encompass everything, but let's face it, adultery is something inherently evil in all societies, even modern ones, with the difference that no sanction is applied as in the past. All I'm really interested in is what could be done to make adultery itself not say eliminated which it won't be but make people stop and think twice, lose divorce rights, child custody, inability to marry whoever caused the adultery as in Judaism? How far can public power go to ensure that these laws are enforced or make them unfeasible to circumvent?
    – Thales
    Jun 13 at 23:18
  • @Thales how far would be decided by that society that chooses to enforce these laws. Idolatry is also inherently evil. Interesting point in the us military one can face legal punishment and get kicked out for cheating on one's spouse.
    – Dude
    Jul 13 at 23:10

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is there something that society could do and is failing to do with regard to adultery?

It should be implementing Noahide law... whether it practically could in the current socio-historic climate, is doubtful.

Does the punishment of the Noahide laws involve the same punishment for the same sin as the Torah laws? Adultery and murder = Capital punishment, theft = Return quadrupled?

No, there are different punishments for Jews under the full scope of Torah law than there are for gentiles under Noahide law.

H. Melakhim 9:14

בן נח שעבר על אחת משבע מצות אלו יהרג בסייף

A Noahide who transgresses one of these seven commandments shall be executed by decapitation.

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  • All Noahide laws the punishment is death? Why are you so strict about equating murder and theft in equal measure?
    – Thales
    Jun 13 at 22:34
  • Yes. As for why stealing is a capital offense under Noahidism is an interesting question. If you are interested in exploring it, chapter seven (the Law of Robbery) of David Novak's "Image of the Non-Jew in Judaism: A Historical and Constructive Study of the Noahide Laws" gets into it.
    – Deuteronomy
    Jun 14 at 3:21

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