Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 22:23
If a damsel [that is] a virgin be betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;
23. betrothed ] see on Deu 20:7.
in the city ] Cp. Deu 22:24. In the city she would have been heard had she cried, but as she did not she must have been a consenting party.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
23 27. Of Intercourse with a Betrothed Virgin: (1) Deu 22:23 f., with her consent, in which case both she and the man are stoned, as in the case of Adultery ( Deu 22:22), for the bride-price having been paid at betrothal the woman is as good as married (Gen 29:21, Joe 1:8); (2) Deu 22:25-27, without her consent, in which case the man alone dies and nothing is done to the woman. These two laws are peculiar to D. Note in Deu 22:24 the Pl. address, and also in Deu 22:26 according to Sam. LXX, but Heb. has here the Sg.
For such cases ammurabi has but one law, 130: If a man has ravished another’s betrothed, who is virgin, while still in her father’s house, and has been caught in the act, that man shall die, but the woman go free. Among the Arabs if the woman is unmarried her relatives are not obliged to kill her, but no one may marry her (Musil, Ethn. Ber. 210).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
By this betrothing she had actually engaged herself to another man, and was in some sort his with, and therefore is sometimes so called, as Gen 29:21; Mat 1:20.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband,…. But not married, not as yet brought home to her husband’s house, and the marriage consummated; for the Jews distinguish between being betrothed or espoused, and married; and generally there was some time between the one and the other. And a wife was obtained in this way by three things; by money, which was the most usual; and by writing, which was to be done before witnesses, and with her consent; and by copulation, which, though valid, was not so much approved of a. There is a whole treatise in the Misnah, called Kiddushin, or Espousals, which largely treats of this matter:
and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; with her consent, as might be presumed by her not crying out, when, had she, she might have been heard, being in a city; and her being there also makes against her, since, being betrothed to a man, she ought to have abode in her father’s house till her husband fetched her home, and not to have gadded abroad in the city, where she was exposed to temptation.
a Misn. Kiddushin, c. 1. sect. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In connection with the seduction of a virgin ( , puella, a marriageable girl; , virgo immaculata , a virgin), two, or really three, cases are distinguished; viz., (1) whether she was betrothed (Deu 22:23-27), or not betrothed (Deu 22:28, Deu 22:29); (2) if she were betrothed, whether it was ( a) in the town (Deu 22:23, Deu 22:24) or ( b) in the open field (Deu 22:25-27) that she had been violated by a man.
Deu 22:23-24 If a betrothed virgin had allowed a man to have intercourse with her (i.e., one who was not her bridegroom), they were both of them, the man and the girl, to be led out to the gate of the town, and stoned that they might die: the girl, because she had not cried in the city, i.e., had not called for help, and consequently was to be regarded as consenting to the deed; the man, because he had humbled his neighbour’s wife. The betrothed woman was placed in this respect upon a par with a married woman, and in fact is expressly called a wife in Deu 22:24. Betrothal was the first step towards marriage, even if it was not a solemn act attested by witnesses. Written agreements of marriage were not introduced till a later period (Tobit 7:14; Tr. Ketuboth i. 2).
Deu 22:25-27 If, on the other hand, a man met a betrothed girl in the field, and laid hold of her and lay with her, the man alone was to die, and nothing was to be done to the girl. “ There is in the damsel no death-sin (i.e., no sin to be punished with death); but as when a man riseth against his neighbour and slayeth him, even so is this matter.” In the open field the girl had called for help, but no one had helped her. It was therefore a forcible rape.
Deu 22:28-29 The last case: if a virgin was not betrothed, and a man seized her and lay with her, and they were found, i.e., discovered or convicted of their deed, the man was to pay the father of the girl fifty shekels of silver, for the reproach brought upon him and his house, and to marry the girl whom he had humbled, without ever being able to divorce her. This case is similar to the one mentioned in Exo 22:15-16. The omission to mention the possibility of the father refusing to give him his daughter for a wife, makes no essential difference. It is assumed as self-evident here, that such a right was possessed by the father.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verses 23, 24:
This precept applies in the case of an engaged woman who is assaulted while in the city, where she had opportunity to cry out for help, but did not. Both the woman and the man who assaulted her were to be taken outside the city gate and stoned to death. She, because she could have cried out for help but did not; he, because he had violated his neighbor’s wife. Both were punished as adulterers.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
23. If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed. The severity of the punishment is now extended further, and a betrothed woman is counted as a wife; and this for a very good reason, because she has plighted her troth, and it is a token of abandoned incontinency for the mind of a woman to be so alienated from the man to whom she is betrothed, as to prostitute her virginity to another’s embraces. But since one who has been ravished is not criminal, a woman is absolved if she be forced in a field, because it is probable that she yielded unwillingly, inasmuch as she was far from assistance. Although, however, the terms are accommodated to the comprehension of a rude people, it was the intention of God to distinguish force from consent. Thus if a girl had been forced in a retired part of a building, from whence her cries could not be heard, God would undoubtedly have her acquitted, provided she could prove her innocence by satisfactory testimony and conjecture.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(3) DEFILEMENT OF A MAIDEN BETROTHED (Deu. 22:23-27)
23 If there be a damsel that is a virgin betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; 24 then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them to death with stones; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and he man, because he hath humbled his neighbors wife: so thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee.
25 But if the man find the damsel that is betrothed in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her; then the man only that lay with her shall die: 26 but unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbor, and slayeth him, even so is this matter; 27 for he found her in the field, the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 22:2327
23 If a maiden who is a virgin is engaged to be married, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;
24 Then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and shall stone them to death, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he has violated his neighbors [promised] wife. So shall you put away evil from among you.
25 But if a man finds the betrothed maiden in the open country, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die.
26 But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no sin punishable by death, for this is as when a man attacks and slays his neighbor;
27 For he came upon her in the open country, and the betrothed girl cried out, but there was not one to save her.
COMMENT 22:2327
In the case of the maiden in the city, it is assumed assistance and help is available to the girl if she wants it. Therefore both are held responsible for the crime. But with the maiden in the country no such assistance is likely to be available. It is assumed that the damsel cried, and there was none to save her. In this case only the man shall die. She is compared to the victim of a murderer (Deu. 22:26).
Note the sanctity and sacredness of the engagement period. The betrothed man and maid are referred to already as husband and wife. To be sure, it was a much more firm and binding contract than today. Indeed, it was esteemed a part of the transaction of marriage, and that the most binding part . . . Its central feature was the dowry (mohar), which was paid to the parents, not to the bride. It may take the form of service (Genesis 29; 1Sa. 18:25) . . . Among the Jews the betrothal was so far regarded as binding that, if marriage should not take place, owing to the absconding of the bridegroom or the breach of contract on his part, the young woman could not be married to another man until she was liberated by a due process and a paper of divorce . . . A prolonged interval between betrothal and marriage was deemed undesirable on many accounts, though often an interval was needed that the groom might render the stipulated service or pay the pricesay a year or two, or as in the case of Jacob, it might be seven years. The betrothed parties were legally in the position of a married couple, and unfaithfulness was adultery, (Deu. 22:23; Mat. 1:19). (I.S.B.E.)
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Deu. 22:23-27. PURITY OF THE BETROTHED.
(24) His neighbours wife.It is evident from the language of this precept that a betrothed virgin in Israel is regarded as a wife. The man who humbles her hath humbled his neighbours wife. This illustrates the language of Matthew 1 Joseph, when Mary was found with child, sought to put her away (as though she were already his wife). The angel said to him, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife. He took unto him his wife. From the construction of this law it follows that Jesus was the son of Joseph, according to the Scripture. The Evangelists do not seem to think it worth while to prove that He was the son of David except through his
father (in law).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Deu 22:23-24
23If there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man finds her in the city and lies with her, 24then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and you shall stone them to death; the girl, because she did not cry out in the city, and the man, because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.
Deu 22:23 engaged In Israel being engaged (BDB 76, KB 91) was as legally binding as being married (i.e., Joseph and Mary, cf. Mat 1:18-19).
Deu 22:24 you shall stone them. . .because she did not cry out in the city Both would be stoned to death (cf. Lev 20:10); the man because he violated a neighbor’s wife, the woman because she did not cry out (BDB 858, KB 1042, Qal PERFECT) for help.
Thus you shall purge the evil from among you See note at Deu 13:5.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
betrothed. This, taken with “wife” (Deu 22:24) ex plains Mat 1:19, Mat 1:20.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Deu 20:7, Mat 1:18, Mat 1:19
Reciprocal: Lev 19:20 – she shall be scourged