An adulteress (literally or figuratively)
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
moichalis can mean adulteress or adulterous, and the New Testament uses it both literally and metaphorically. Jesus calls a sign-demanding generation wicked and adulterous, Mark joins adulterous with sinful when warning against shame before the Son of Man, Paul uses the term in a marriage-law analogy in Romans 7, James addresses worldly friendship as spiritual adultery, and Peter describes eyes full of adultery.
Reader summary
Full entry for μοιχαλίς (G3428) · Open the biblical lexicon
moichalis can mean adulteress or adulterous, and the New Testament uses it both literally and metaphorically. Jesus calls a sign-demanding generation wicked and adulterous, Mark joins adulterous with sinful when warning against shame before the Son of Man, Paul uses the term in a marriage-law analogy in Romans 7, James addresses worldly friendship as.
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include adulterous (3), an adulteress (2), [You] adulteresses (1), of adultery (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 12:39. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (2), Romans (2), 2 Peter (1), James (1).
Moichalis can mean adulteress or adulterous, and the New Testament uses it both literally and metaphorically. Jesus calls a sign-demanding generation wicked and adulterous, Mark joins adulterous with sinful when warning against shame before the Son of Man, Paul uses the term in a marriage-law analogy in Romans 7, James addresses worldly friendship as spiritual adultery, and Peter describes eyes full of adultery among corrupt teachers.
The word must be handled with seriousness and care. It can name covenant-breaking sexual sin, but it can also expose covenantal unfaithfulness to God. Pastorally, moichalis warns that betrayal is not merely physical; divided allegiance and worldly friendship reveal a heart turned from the Lord.
Moichalis describes adulterous or adulteress language. The selected unique witnesses show Jesus rebuking sign-demanding unbelief, warning against shame before Him, Paul's marriage-law analogy, James's charge of worldly friendship, and Peter's warning about corrupt desire.
Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Jesus calls the sign-demanding generation adulterous. The word exposes covenantal unbelief, not only sexual misconduct.
A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.
The repeated rebuke connects sign-demanding resistance to covenant unfaithfulness before Jesus.
If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Jesus warns against shame before Him in an adulterous and sinful generation. Allegiance to Christ is at stake.
So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.
Paul uses the literal category of adulteress within a marriage-law analogy to explain release from the law through death.
You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.
James uses adulteress language for worldly friendship. The word exposes spiritual betrayal of God.
Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed.
Peter applies adultery language to corrupt teachers whose desire seduces others. The warning includes appetite, exploitation, and greed.
μοιχαλίς does not appear frequently in the LXX canonical books, but the concept it names is central to the prophetic tradition. Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all describe Israel as an adulteress who has abandoned her covenant husband. The NT's use of μοιχαλίς for an unfaithful generation and for spiritual unfaithfulness to God in James 4:4 draws directly on that prophetic register.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Woman who violates marital covenant; NT applies figuratively to unfaithful Israel/Church
Woman who violates marital covenant; NT applies figuratively to unfaithful Israel/Church
1. an adulteress , (New Testament):as adjective adulterous , (New Testament) 2. as Substantive = μοιχεία, (New Testament) (ML)
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
7 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
an adulteress
Read versean adulteress
Read versean adulteress
Read versean adulteress
Read versean adulteress
Read versean adulteress
Read versean adulteress
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 5 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 7 lexical occurrence verses.
μοιχαλίς is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Moichalis is a serious word because Scripture treats covenant betrayal seriously. Jesus can call His generation adulterous when it demands signs while refusing Him. Mark places the term beside shame before Christ and His words. Paul can use the literal legal category of adulteress to explain release through death in Romans 7. James can address worldly friendship as adultery against God, and Peter can warn of corrupt teachers whose eyes and appetites seduce others.
The preacher must not use this word carelessly or harshly. It exposes betrayal in order to summon undivided faithfulness to the Lord, repentance from compromised allegiances, and protection for those harmed by predatory desire.
Jas.4.4
Moichalis is feminine in form and can function as adulteress or adjectivally as adulterous. Context decides whether the use is literal, generational, or covenant-metaphorical.
The prophets often use adultery language for covenant unfaithfulness to the Lord. The New Testament continues that pattern while also preserving the literal seriousness of marital faithfulness.
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain