Deuteronomy 22:23
in Deuteronomy 22If there is a virgin pledged in marriage to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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;
KJV
If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;
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This verse in Deuteronomy 22
Commentary
4 notes on this verseIf 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).
This site's exposition
If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband
on Deuteronomy 22:22-24
Adultery is capital for both parties and verse 22 names both of them twice. A betrothed woman is treated as married, and the city case turns on the fact that she cried not, being in the city, where a cry would have been heard. The next three verses take the same reasoning and run it the other way.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
By this law the Virgin Mary was in danger of being made a public example, that is, of being stoned to death, but that God, by an angel, cleared the matter to Joseph. If she were forced, and never consented, he that committed the rape was to be put to death, but the damsel was to be acquitted,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
If a man take a wife, &c.--The regulations that follow might be imperatively needful in the then situation of the Israelites; and yet, it is not necessary that we should curiously and impertinently inquire into them.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִהְיֶה֙ | yihyeh | he will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| נַעֲרָ֣ה | naar | a young woman | H5291 → | 63 times |
| בְתוּלָ֔ה | vetulah | a virgin | H1330 → | 50 times |
| מְאֹרָשָׂ֖ה | meorasah | betrothed | H781 → | 11 times |
| לְאִ֑ישׁ | leish | to a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וּמְצָאָ֥הּ | umetzaah | and he will find her | H4672 → | 455 times |
| אִ֛ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| בָּעִ֖יר | bair | in the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וְשָׁכַ֥ב | veshakhav | and he will lie | H7901 → | 212 times |
| עִמָּֽהּ׃ | ʾimah | with her | H5973 → | 1050 times |
כִּ֤יif
kiH3588 →4482 times
יִהְיֶה֙he will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
נַעֲרָ֣הa young woman
naarH5291 →63 times
בְתוּלָ֔הa virgin
vetulahH1330 →50 times
מְאֹרָשָׂ֖הbetrothed
meorasahH781 →11 times
לְאִ֑ישׁto a man
leishH376 →1663 times
וּמְצָאָ֥הּand he will find her
umetzaahH4672 →455 times
אִ֛ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
בָּעִ֖ירin the city
bairH5892 →1090 times
וְשָׁכַ֥בand he will lie
veshakhavH7901 →212 times
עִמָּֽהּ׃with her
ʾimahH5973 →1050 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 20:7Has any man become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man marry her.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 24:5
If a man is newly married, he must not be sent to war or be pressed into any duty. For one year he is free to stay at home and bring joy to the…
- Deuteronomy 28:30
You will be pledged in marriage to a woman, but another man will violate her. You will build a house but will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but will not…
- 2 Timothy 2:4
A soldier refrains from entangling himself in civilian affairs, in order to please the one who enlisted him.
- Matthew 1:18
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy…
- Luke 14:18–20
But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first one said, ‘I have bought a field, and I need to go see it. Please excuse me.’
- Deuteronomy 24:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.