ABSTRACT
The unity of the text is projected into clear relief by its structure. As can be seen by the diagram, it consists of five sections arranged in introverted (chiastic) order. The facts of the case begin and end the text (12-14, A; 29-30, A") and contain the following common elements: tifteh )iffah (29, 12), nitmd)ah (29, 12, 13, 14), ta<abiir <ala(y)w rual} qind)ah (30, 14) and qinne) +et )ifto (30, 14). Though the closing statement (A") is only a summary of the case, it nevertheless articulates all its essential elements: the wife's straying and defilement and the husband's suspicions. The exact nature of the charges levied against the accused are not easily decipherable and their elucidation is not really germane to this paper. Tentatively, the hypothesis ofM. Fishbane3 will be accepted-that in view of a similar case in Codex Hammurabi, two situations are predicated: the woman has aroused suspicion in the community (12b-13, 29; cf. CH 132) or the suspicion has originated with her husband (14, 34; cf. CH 131). Bifurcation along these lines is clearly evident in the closing statement, A", but the initial waw of verse 14 in the opening formulation A will have to be rendered as "or."
