Deuteronomy 22:29
in Deuteronomy 22then the man who lay with her must pay the young woman’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she must become his wife because he has violated her. He must not divorce her as long as he lives.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he hath humbled her; he may not put her away all his days.
KJV
Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 22
Commentary
5 notes on this verseFifty shekels - Besides the dowry, as Philo, the learned Jew notes, which is here omitted, because that was customary, it being sufficient here to mention what was peculiar to this case.
This 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
Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, For the abuse of his daughter; and besides this was obliged to give her her dowry also, as Philo (d) says, which is commonly said to be fifty more: and she shall be his wife; if her father and she agreed to it; and in such a case the man was not at his liberty to refuse, be she what she would, agreeable or not, handsome or ugly; he must, as the Jews express it, drink out of his pot, or marry her, if she is lame, or blind, or full of ulcers (e): because he hath humbled her he may not put her away all his days: to all the other parts of his punishment, paying a fine of fifty shekels to the damsel's father, a dowry of the same sum to her, obligation to marry her whether he likes her or not, this is added, that he is not allowed to divorce her as long as he lives; which was permitted to other men, and this was wisely ordered to preserve chastity. (d) De Special. Leg. p. 787. (e) Misn. Cetubot, c. 3. sect. 5.
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
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְ֠נָתַן | venatan | and he will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| הָאִ֨ישׁ | haish | the man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הַשֹּׁכֵ֥ב | hashokhev | who lay | H7901 → | 212 times |
| עִמָּ֛הּ | ʾimah | with her | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| לַאֲבִ֥י | laavi | to [the] father of | H1 → | 1212 times |
| הַֽנַּעֲרָ֖ה | hanaar | the young woman | H5291 → | 63 times |
| חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים | chamishim | fifty | H2572 → | |
| כָּ֑סֶף | kasef | silver | H3701 → | 403 times |
| וְלֽוֹ־ | velov- | and of him | ||
| תִהְיֶ֣ה | tihyeh | she will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְאִשָּׁ֗ה | leishah | <into> a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
| תַּ֚חַת | tachat | because | H8478 → | 505 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עִנָּ֔הּ | ʾinah | he has humiliated her | H6031 → | 82 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יוּכַ֥ל | yukhal | he will be able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| שַׁלְּחָ֖ה | shalechah | to send away her | H7971 → | 845 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יָמָֽיו׃ ס | yamav | days his | H3117 → | 2304 times |
וְ֠נָתַןand he will give
venatanH5414 →2011 times
הָאִ֨ישׁthe man
haishH376 →1663 times
הַשֹּׁכֵ֥בwho lay
hashokhevH7901 →212 times
עִמָּ֛הּwith her
ʾimahH5973 →1050 times
לַאֲבִ֥יto [the] father of
laaviH1 →1212 times
הַֽנַּעֲרָ֖הthe young woman
hanaarH5291 →63 times
חֲמִשִּׁ֣יםfifty
chamishimH2572 →
כָּ֑סֶףsilver
kasefH3701 →403 times
וְלֽוֹ־and of him
velov-
תִהְיֶ֣הshe will become
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
לְאִשָּׁ֗ה<into> a wife
leishahH802 →781 times
תַּ֚חַתbecause
tachatH8478 →505 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עִנָּ֔הּhe has humiliated her
ʾinahH6031 →82 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יוּכַ֥לhe will be able
yukhalH3201 →194 times
שַׁלְּחָ֖הto send away her
shalechahH7971 →845 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
יָמָֽיו׃ סdays his
yamavH3117 →2304 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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 22:19They are also to fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, because this man has given a virgin of Israel a bad name. And she shall…
it leads to
- Matthew 19:8–9
Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart; but it was not this way from the beginning.
- Deuteronomy 24:1–4
If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her…
- Matthew 19:8–9
Through
Deuteronomy 21:14And if you are not pleased with her, you are to let her go wherever she wishes. But you must not sell her for money or treat her as a slave, since you have…
it leads to
- Genesis 34:2
When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.
- Deuteronomy 22:24
you must take both of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he…
- Deuteronomy 22:19
They are also to fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, because this man has given a virgin of Israel a bad name. And she shall…
- Genesis 34:2
Through
Deuteronomy 22:24you must take both of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 22:21–22
she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous…
- 1 Corinthians 5:13
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”
- Deuteronomy 21:14
And if you are not pleased with her, you are to let her go wherever she wishes. But you must not sell her for money or treat her as a slave, since you have…
- Deuteronomy 22:21–22
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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.