Exodus 22:16
in Exodus 22If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged in marriage and sleeps with her, he must pay the full dowry for her to be his wife.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if a man entice a virgin that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife.
KJV
And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.
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This verse in Exodus 22
Commentary
4 notes on this verseIf a man entice a maid - This was an exceedingly wise and humane law, and must have operated powerfully against seduction and fornication; because the person who might feel inclined to take the advantage of a young woman knew that he must marry her, and give her a dowry, if her parents consented; and if they did not consent that their daughter should wed her seducer, in this case he was obliged to give her the full dowry which could have been demanded had she been still a virgin.
This site's exposition
And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed
on Exodus 22:16-17
The seducer owes marriage and a dowry, and if the father refuses to give her he owes the dowry of virgins anyway, so the woman is provided for whichever way the family decides. Deuteronomy 22:28-29 sets the sum at fifty shekels and bars him from ever putting her away. Adam Clarke reckoned the law worked chiefly by warning the man in advance what the night would cost him.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
If she was betrothed to another, it was death to debauch her ( Deut. xxii. 23, 24 ); but the law here mentioned respects her as single. But, if the father refused her to him, he was to give satisfaction in money for the injury and disgrace he had done her.
And if a man entice a maid, that is not betrothed,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
AND IF A MAN ‘Y’FATEH’ — “speaks to her emotions [until she submits to him]. And so did Onkelos render it arei y’shadeil, the term shidul in Aramaic being like pitui [persuasion, seduction], in the Sacred Language.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכִֽי־ | vekhi- | and if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְפַתֶּ֣ה | yefateh | he will seduce | H6601 → | |
| אִ֗ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| בְּתוּלָ֛ה | betulah | a virgin | H1330 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֹרָ֖שָׂה | ʾorasah | she was betrothed | H781 → | |
| וְשָׁכַ֣ב | veshakhav | and he will lie | H7901 → | 212 times |
| עִמָּ֑הּ | ʾimah | with her | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| מָהֹ֛ר | mahor | certainly <to pay [the] bride-price> | H4117 → | |
| יִמְהָרֶ֥נָּה | yimharenah | he will pay [the] bride-price for her | H4117 → | |
| לּ֖וֹ | lo | for <the> himself | ||
| לְאִשָּֽׁה׃ | leishah | to a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
וְכִֽי־and if
vekhi-H3588 →4482 times
יְפַתֶּ֣הhe will seduce
yefatehH6601 →
אִ֗ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
בְּתוּלָ֛הa virgin
betulahH1330 →
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אֹרָ֖שָׂהshe was betrothed
ʾorasahH781 →
וְשָׁכַ֣בand he will lie
veshakhavH7901 →212 times
עִמָּ֑הּwith her
ʾimahH5973 →1050 times
מָהֹ֛רcertainly <to pay [the] bride-price>
mahorH4117 →
יִמְהָרֶ֥נָּהhe will pay [the] bride-price for her
yimharenahH4117 →
לּ֖וֹfor <the> himself
lo
לְאִשָּֽׁה׃to a wife
leishahH802 →781 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.