Deuteronomy 22:28
in Deuteronomy 22If a man encounters a virgin who is not pledged in marriage, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are discovered,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, that is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;
KJV
If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;
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This verse in Deuteronomy 22
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
If a man find a damsel that is a virgin
on Deuteronomy 22:28-30
The unbetrothed case ends in fifty shekels to the father and a marriage the man may never dissolve, and Exodus 22:16-17 sets beside it a father's right to refuse the match outright. Commentators differ over how far the two passages govern each other and over the force of the Hebrew verb rendered lay hold on her. The chapter closes on the prohibition of a father's wife, which is the case 1 Corinthians 5:1 finds in a church.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This was to deter men from such vicious practices, which it is a shame that we are necessitated to read and write of. The law against a man's marrying his father's widow, or having any undue familiarity with his father's wife, is here repeated (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed,....
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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִמְצָ֣א | yimtza' | he will find | H4672 → | 455 times |
| אִ֗ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| נַעֲרָ֤ה | naar | a young woman | H5291 → | 63 times |
| בְתוּלָה֙ | vetulah | a virgin | H1330 → | 50 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֹרָ֔שָׂה | ʾorasah | she is betrothed | H781 → | 11 times |
| וּתְפָשָׂ֖הּ | utefasah | and he will seize her | H8610 → | 65 times |
| וְשָׁכַ֣ב | veshakhav | and he will lie | H7901 → | 212 times |
| עִמָּ֑הּ | ʾimah | with her | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| וְנִמְצָֽאוּ׃ | venimtzau | and they will be found | H4672 → | 455 times |
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יִמְצָ֣אhe will find
yimtza'H4672 →455 times
אִ֗ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
נַעֲרָ֤הa young woman
naarH5291 →63 times
בְתוּלָה֙a virgin
vetulahH1330 →50 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אֹרָ֔שָׂהshe is betrothed
ʾorasahH781 →11 times
וּתְפָשָׂ֖הּand he will seize her
utefasahH8610 →65 times
וְשָׁכַ֣בand he will lie
veshakhavH7901 →212 times
עִמָּ֑הּwith her
ʾimahH5973 →1050 times
וְנִמְצָֽאוּ׃and they will be found
venimtzauH4672 →455 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.