John 8:4
They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
They say unto him, Master,.... They applied to him in a handsome and respectful manner, the better to cover their ill design:
this woman was taken in adultery; by two persons at least, who could be witnesses of it; otherwise the accusation was not legal; see
Deuteronomy 19:15; though in the case of a wife suspected of adultery, they admitted a single witness as valid {f}:
in the very act; or "in the theft itself", for adultery is a theft; it is an unlawful use of another's property; see this word used in the same sense, in Heliodor, l. 1. sect. 11.
{f} Maimon. Hilchot Eduth, c. 5. sect. 2.