μοιχ-ᾰλίς G3428
An adulteress; figuratively, spiritually unfaithful to God — adulterous (of a generation)
The noun μοιχαλίς ('adulteress') carries a dual freight in the New Testament, both literal and metaphorical. In its figurative use — which is actually more frequent — Jesus denounces 'an adulterous and sinful generation' (Matt 12:39, 16:4, Mark 8:38), drawing on the deep prophetic tradition of Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel where Israel's unfaithfulness to God is depicted as marital betrayal. James echoes this when he addresses wayward believers as 'adulteresses' (Jas 4:4), calling friendship with the world spiritual infidelity. The literal sense appears in Paul's marriage analogy in Romans 7:3, where a woman who takes another husband while hers lives 'will be called an adulteress.'
2. adulteress (literal) — A woman who commits literal, physical adultery by violating the marriage covenant. Paul deploys this sense in his legal analogy in Romans 7:3, arguing that a married woman who lives with another man while her husband is alive μοιχαλὶς χρηματίσει ('will be called an adulteress') — but if her husband dies, she is free. The same verse uses the word twice, once for the verdict and once for the condition. In 2 Pet 2:14 false teachers are described as having 'eyes full of an adulteress' (or 'adultery'), pointing to literal sexual corruption. Multilingual glosses — 'adulteress,' 'adúltera,' 'Ehebrecherin' — overlap with the figurative sense, but the legal and sexual context makes the literal meaning clear. 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،"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. adulterous (spiritually unfaithful) — Used figuratively to characterize a generation or people as spiritually unfaithful to God, echoing the Old Testament prophetic metaphor of Israel as an unfaithful spouse. In Matt 12:39 and 16:4, Jesus calls the sign-seeking generation γενεὰ μοιχαλίς ('an adulterous generation'); in Mark 8:38 he warns against shame 'in this adulterous and sinful generation'; and in Jas 4:4 James addresses the spiritually wavering as μοιχαλίδες ('adulteresses'). Spanish 'adúltera,' French 'commettre l'adultere,' and German 'Ehebrecherin' all render the marital-betrayal image, though the referent is covenantal unfaithfulness rather than sexual sin. 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!"]
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