Is there such a thing? Yes. A quick reading of Matthew 5:28 reveals Jesus teaching that a man who lusts after a married woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Oh! Wait! I guess that is about sex too! In any study of adultery, sex is the first thing that comes to mind. Can there be adultery without sex?
In 385 CE Jerome translated the Bible into Latin. In that translation is where the term "adulterio" first appears. It means to alter or change by adding something. It doesn't necessarily have to be sexual. In 1385 John Wycliff did the first English translation. He used the term "avowteria" rather than adultery. In 1535 William Tyndale used the term "advoutrie" in his translation. These scholars understood that sex was not a necessary requisite to adultery. In my view, Jerome's "adulterio" doesn't convey the meaning of the original as good as "avowteria" or "advoutrie," both of which mean, "against the vow," or betrayal of the vow."
Remember, a term is defined by how it is used in context. I will pick it up here tomorrow because the clock is calling me right now.
Grace & Peace;
Tom
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Tom,you said that lusting after a married woman is committing adultery. Matthew 5:28 has Jesus saying that lusting after a woman is adultery. I think you are adding to the Scripture by adding "married." Jesus meant lusting after any woman, married or not.
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