ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Jesus teaching on adultery in Mt. 5.2730, within the context of contemporary rabbinic discussion of adultery. It argues that certain biblical texts with the mindset of a traditional heterosexual male may help to unlock the meaning and coherence of that text. The Babylonian Talmud Tractate Niddah provides a fascinating parallel to the saying of Jesus in Mt. 5.2730. In a work on masculinity and male spirituality, James Nelson argues that men have become the victims of patriarchy. Ishmael refers to masturbation as adultery of the hand. Ishmael interprets the seventh commandment as prohibiting masturbation, and R. Tarfon recommends that the hand that touches the penis be cut off as punishment. This he understood to be preferable to the pit of destruction. Concerning the criterion of continuity and discontinuity with Christianity, New Testament writers uphold and interpret the seventh commandment.
