Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 22:19
And they shall amerce him in a hundred [shekels] of silver, and give [them] unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.
19. amerce ] Or fine, also in E, Exo 21:22. On the estimate of the silver shekel as = 2 sh. 9 d., this came to 13. 15 sh. It is paid to the father who had been responsible for his daughter’s integrity (cp. Deu 22:16, I gave my daughter to this man) and whose family name had been damaged by the slanderer; but also the national name, cp. a virgin of Israel. By 127 of ammurabi the false accuser of another man’s wife was branded.
and she shall be his wife ] Heb. emphatic; and to him shall she (continue to) be to wife. It is just that he should not be free of his obligations to her, for the motive of his slander had been to get rid of her. But for her it is rough justice. A woman could not divorce a man. By 142 of ammurabi, if a woman repudiated her husband her past was investigated, and if she had no vice but the husband had belittled her she took her marriage portion and went back to her father’s house.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The fine was to be paid to the father, because the slander was against him principally as the head of the wifes family. If the damsel were an orphan the fine reverted to herself. The fact that the penalties attached to bearing false witness against a wife are fixed and comparatively light indicates the low estimation and position of the woman at that time.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Unto the father of the damsel; because this was a reproach to his family, and to himself, because such a miscarriage of his daughter would have been ascribed to his evil education.
He may not put her away all his days; which seems to have been his design in this false accusation, and therefore that liberty of a divorce which is permitted to others, Deu 24:1, shall be denied to him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver,…. Which was about twelve pounds of our money; this was double the dowry he would have been obliged to have given her, if he had put her away; which he might have done with less trouble, and with a greater certainty of being rid of her; but being willing to save that expense, took this wicked method to accuse her falsely; and therefore is fined double that sum:
and give them unto the father of the damsel; as a sort of satisfaction or reparation for the scandal brought upon him and his family; if the damsel was fatherless, Maimonides y says, she was to have them herself:
because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin in Israel: defamed her among her neighbours and acquaintance, or brought a false accusation against her in court; alleging she was not a virgin when he married her, when she was one, which was a very great injury to her character:
and she shall be his wife, he may not put her away all his days: and so he was disappointed in his view of getting rid of her, and obliged to retain her as his wife, though hated, and was not suffered to divorce her as long as he lived; which was permitted and connived at in other men, and which he might have done before, without bringing such a charge against her; all which must be very mortifying to him, as to be whipped, to pay a fine, keep his wife, and not allowed ever to divorce her.
y Hilchot Naarah Betulah, c. 3. sect. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Deu 22:19 And they shall amerce him in an hundred [shekels] of silver, and give [them] unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.
Ver. 19. He hath brought up an evil name. ] Which is a kind of murder. Eze 22:9 God shall clear the innocency of his slandered servants. Psa 37:6 Isa 54:17 As the eclipsed moon, by keeping her motion, wades out of the shadow and recovers her splendour, so shall it be with such.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
amerce him = fine him. Old English.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
he may not put: Deu 22:29, Deu 24:1-4, Mat 19:8, Mat 19:9
Reciprocal: Exo 21:22 – as the judges Deu 21:14 – because thou Deu 22:14 – General 1Co 7:11 – and let
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Deu 22:19. Give them unto the father of the damsel Because this was a reproach to his family, and to himself, as such misconduct of his daughter would have been ascribed to his neglect of properly instructing or watching over her. He may not put her away all his days Thus he was deprived of the common benefit which every Israelite had who did not like his wife, which was to sue out a divorce.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
22:19 And they shall amerce him in an hundred [shekels] of silver, and give [them] unto the father {i} of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.
(i) For the fault of the child becomes the shame of the parents: therefore he was recompensed when she was faultless.