μοιχ-ᾰλίς G3428
adulterous (spiritually unfaithful); adulteress (literal)
1. adulterous (spiritually unfaithful) — Used figuratively to characterize a generation or people as spiritually unfaithful to God, echoing the OT prophetic metaphor of Israel as an unfaithful wife (Hosea, Jeremiah). In Matt 12:39 and 16:4 Jesus calls his generation 'genea ponera kai moichalis' (evil and adulterous generation), and in Mark 8:38 he warns of shame before 'this adulterous and sinful generation.' James 4:4 uses the vocative 'moichalides!' to rebuke believers whose friendship with the world constitutes spiritual adultery. Cross-linguistically rendered as arb 'fasiq' (immoral/wicked), deu 'Ehebrecherin', eng 'adulterous', kor 'eumranhan' (lewd), spa 'adultera', heb 'noef' (adulterer). The figurative-spiritual dimension is confirmed by the Arabic 'fasiq' (wicked) rather than the literal 'zaniya' (fornicator) used in the literal sense. 4×
AR["الزَّانِيَةِ","فَاسِقٌ","يا-زُناةُ"]·ben["ব্যভিচারিণী","ব্যভিচারিণীরা","ব্যভিচারী","ব্যাভিচারিণী"]·DE["Ehebrecherin","μοιχαλὶς"]·EN["Adulteresses","adulterous"]·FR["commettre-l'adultère"]·heb["נוֹאֲפוֹת","נוֹאֵף"]·HI["व्यभिचअरिनेए","व्यभिचरि","व्यभिचारिणी","हे-व्यभिचारिणियो"]·ID["Pezinah-pezinah!","berzinah"]·IT["moichalides","moichalidi","moichalis"]·jav["jina","kang-jina!","laku-jina,","lang"]·KO["간음-하는-자들아!","간음한","음란한"]·PT["adúltera","adúlteras"]·RU["прелюбодейки!","прелюбодейном","прелюбодейный"]·ES["adúltera","adúlteras"]·SW["cha-uzinzi","wazinzi"]·TR["zina-eden","zina-edenler","zina-işleyen"]·urd["زناکار","زناکارو!"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. adulteress (literal) — A woman who commits sexual adultery in the literal, legal sense of violating the marriage covenant. Paul uses this in his analogy in Rom 7:3 (twice): a married woman who lives with another man 'will be called an adulteress' (moichalis chrematizei). In 2 Pet 2:14 the genitive 'ophthalmous mestous moichalidos' (eyes full of adultery/an adulteress) describes those consumed by literal lustful desire. Cross-linguistically rendered with explicit sexual-sin vocabulary: arb 'zaniya' (fornicator, distinct from the 'fasiq' used in the spiritual sense), deu 'Ehebrecherin', fra 'adultere', heb 'noefet' (feminine adulteress), kor 'ganeum-haneun ja' (one who commits adultery), spa 'adultera'. The shift from arb 'fasiq' to 'zaniya' across senses confirms genuine polysemy between spiritual and literal adultery. 3×
AR["زَانِيَةً","زِنًا"]·ben["ব্যভিচারিণী"]·DE["Ehebrecherin"]·EN["adulteress","of-adulteress"]·FR["adultère","commettre-l'adultère"]·heb["נִאוּפִים","נוֹאֶפֶת"]·HI["व्यभिचारिणी","व्यभिचारिणी-से"]·ID["perzinahan,","pezina","pezina,"]·IT["adultera","moichalidos"]·jav["jaka-bolong","jaka-bolong,","lonte,"]·KO["간음녀-의,","간음하는-자가","간음하는-자라"]·PT["adúltera","adúltera,","de-adúltera"]·RU["назовётся","прелюбодейки"]·ES["adúltera","de-adúltera"]·SW["mzinzi","uzinzi"]·TR["zina-edenle","zinacı"]·urd["زانیہ","زناکاری-سے،"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
μοιχ-ᾰλίς, ίδος (also accusative μοιχαλίν LXX+NT+3rd c.AD+; in religious sense, unfaithful to God, NT: so as adjective, adulterous, γενεά NT __II ={μοιχεία}, NT