We will attempt to interpret Deuteronomy 22:28,29 from the original language regarding the treatment of a virgin who sleeps with a man. In this verse, the NIV uses the word rape, which is considered equivalent to the rape case in verse 25 of the previous sentence. However, this translation actually has a different meaning from the meaning of the original language. Click here to see the original language.
Different from the original word meaning rape.
Deuteronomy 22:22 "If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die--the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel.
23 "If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled(anah) his neighbor's wife; so you shall put away the evil from among you.
25 "But if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the countryside, and the man forces(chazaq) 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; there is in the young woman no sin deserving of death, for just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter. 27 For he found her in the countryside, and the betrothed young woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.
28 "If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he seizes(taphas) her and lies with her, and they are found out(matsa), 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife because he has humbled(anah) her; he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days.
Deuteronomy 22:28 is said to be the Torah that makes rape legal, but in the cases where the preamble details clear rape, the original word shazak, meaning "to take by force," is used, whereas in verse 28 chazaq is not used, only the original word taphas is used.
The tapha is used in "handling" harps and flutes (Genesis 4:21), swords (Ezekiel 21:11, 30:21), sickles (Jeremiah 50:16), shields (Jeremiah 46:9), oars (Ezekiel 27:29) and bows (Amos 2:15). Similarly, it is used to "take" God's name (Proverbs 30:9) and "handle" His law (Jeremiah 2:8). Joseph's garments were "seized" (Genesis 39:12; 1 Kings 11:30), Moses "took" the two tablets of the law (Deuteronomy 9:17), cities are "seized" in the sense of being captured (Deuteronomy 20:19; Isaiah 36:1), people are "taken" captive (1 Kings 20:18), and adulteresses are and their deeds "taken captive" (Numbers 5:13), and furthermore, in Deuteronomy 9:5, "Because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart you shall not go in and take their land. Indeed, because of the wickedness of these nations, Jehovah your God will strike them down from before you" (Deuteronomy 9:5). The original word itself does not have the meaning of unreasonable coercion; rather, it is used in the sense of "capture" or the proper handling of arms and instruments when there is a justifiable reason.
Considering these original words, it can be inferred that this is usually a situation in which the male side leads the female side, for example, the male is carrying the female in a princess-like manner. It can be assumed that this is a case where the male seduces the female and captures her body and soul. Why is the word "seize" also related to "temptation"? It is because Exodus 22:16 describes an equivalent situation.
Exodus 22:16 "If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the bride-price of virgins.
Although it appears at first glance to be describing a different situation, the law in Exodus has many passages that completely overlap with Deuteronomy. In the first place, Deuteronomy means in Greek a second law, a copy of the first, and it is unmistakably a second version of a complete copy of Exodus. Let us return to the meaning of the original language.
The primary meaning of taphas means "to chatch, to seize," but "shazak," meaning "to seize by force," is not used at all, nor is "taphas" used at all in cases of rape throughout the 66 books of the Bible. While tapha is seizing, Isaiah 3:6 says, "6 When a man takes hold of his brother(cling to) In the house of his father, saying, 7 In that day he will protest, saying, "I cannot cure your ills, For in my house is neither food nor clothing; Do not make me a ruler of the people."
It is also used in the sense of other words, it can be translated as "a man lay down with a virgin, cling to her." As shown in the eye-catching image above, it is used to describe the state of being courted and embraced by a princess as being "captured" in body and soul.
Rather, the rape of Tamar by Amnon (2 Samuel 13), which was a case of remarkable rape, and the rape by the men of the tribe of Benjamin in Judges (Judges 19), both of which use the original word "shazak," meaning "to catch by force," and in them of course " taphas" is not identified at all.
From the original textual structure in which shazak and tapha are used consecutively and distinctly even in the scriptures of Deuteronomy 22, it is necessary to understand the difference between dealing with a rape case and a consensual act: in verses 23 and 24, consensual fornication; in verses 25-27, a virgin who is engaged to someone else and is raped by force; In verses 28 and 29, the woman is described as having been "humiliated," which is often interpreted as "the man's rape of the virgin," but the original word for humiliated, anah, is also used in the consensual fornication of verse 24, as indicated in the above scriptures.
Fornication, even consensual, is humiliating to a woman, and the loss of virginity before marriage is a loss of chastity on the part of the woman, so she is humiliated (anah). Also, especially in these verses 28 and 29, "if they are found," which further strengthens the rationale that this is the intent of both parties' agreement, not that only the man is found. The fact that the kjv English text up to and including the preamble, vv. 22-29, and the original construction, where "they" is used in the case of joint and several liability, would indicate a case where "they are found," precisely the case where both the man and the woman have fallen into consensual premarital intercourse.
According to the law of the time, a man who seduced a woman, had premarital sex with her, and gained control of her body and soul was obligated to support her for the rest of his life. He was obligated to pay the bride price without argument, and even if the woman's father refused to give up his daughter, he was obligated to pay the equivalent of the bride price in gold and silver. Furthermore, strict provisions are mandated that only men have no right to divorce women for life and must continue to support them. On the women's side, it did not say that she could not be divorced, and the woman, through her father, could have annulled the marriage, or even divorced him!
Joshua 1:9 says, "I command you again. Take courage and be strong. Do not be cowering or afraid. Wherever you go, YAHUWAH your God will be with you." The weakening of men due to feminization in recent years is not a desirable state of affairs. The intention of the above expression in the Torah is "'taphas" in the sense that the male side leads the female side, and even if the female side agrees to a strong push, it is presented as a condition that the male side will take care of and protect the female side for the rest of her life.
Since the preamble stipulates that a death sentence for the man is contingent upon the established fact that the woman has offered such a vehement refusal—even to the point of accepting death—even if her cries go unheard, in case we regard verse 28 as a coercive act, the choice is left to the woman—whether she desires lifelong support or the man's death penalty. As discussed later, the original wording suggests a case requiring the priest's compassionate judgment. So, there are various cases that may arise in the handling of this Torah, which we will examine under the following headings.
God's Treatment of Rape in the Bible
There may have been Middle Eastern savages who misinterpreted the above Deuteronomy 22:28,29 as justification for the rape of virgins or intentionally ignored the original tapha to engage in the barbaric act of shazak coercion. But the fact is that in every account of rape in the Bible, the end result is disastrous for the perpetrator. In other words, God does not condone rape, but judges the perpetrator and puts him to death. Let's go through them one by one.
Open first to Genesis 34. It famously records Shechem's humiliation of Dinah (Anah). It is difficult to say whether this was rape or a consensual act, but it is widely believed that Shechem seduced Dinah and that Shechem, unable to control his urges, took control of Dinah and she surrendered to him, even though she knew it was folly to do so. The reason is that neither Tapha nor Shazak has been identified, and the word is rendered with another word, Raka.
Personally, I feel sorry for Shechem; even though he was a bit forceful, his feelings for Dinah might have been genuine. However, even if we check verse 25, Shechem was murdered by Dinah's brothers, Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi. This may not be rape, but it depicts a case of forcible seduction and humiliation of a woman, i.e., loss of chastity before formal marriage, which leads to reaping the bad consequences. If this is unquestionably rape, I believe that Shechem has received the appropriate divine judgment he deserves.
Then there is the rape of the tribe of Benjamin in the Book of Judges. Look at Judges 19:25. The original text confirms that the men raped, Shazak by force. In chapter 20, all of Israel finally hears of the barbarism of the tribe of Benjamin. When the furious Israelites ask Yahuwah if they should retaliate, Yahuwah clearly tells them to attack the Benjaminites.
As a result, the tribe of Benjamin is on the verge of extinction, and the foolish Israelites are carefully selecting virgins from the daughters of Jabesh-gilead and Shiloh to be their wives. Yahuwah does not command Israel in this matter. Rather, in verse 25, Israel is described as having done what is right in his own eyes, and it is easy to see that this extra series of moves is not endorsed by God.
We understand from this scripture that God certainly hated the barbarism of Benjamin, the rapist, and commanded retribution. As for subsequent developments, Israel is on its own, but we can still understand that all of Israel recognizes rape as an evil.
Next is the case of Amnon forcing Tamar to commit shazak (and being stronger) in 2 Samuel 13:14. Tamar conceded and argued that Amnon, who had violated her virginity, should pay the bride-price and bear the lifelong obligation to support her, meaning he could never divorce her. However, he rejected her. In the end, Amnon incurred the wrath of Tamar’s brother Absalom and, naturally, their father David. He was forced to reap what his wicked actions had sown, and was ultimately killed by Absalom.
Thus, the rape of a virgin, whether married or not, is a case in which the victim's relatives hate the rape and God has brought it under proper judgment, and the Bible portrays it as an evil. If the scripture of Deuteronomy 22:28 is used as a justification for legalizing rape, and the rape is carried out in a barbaric manner like the Amnon and Benjaminites, the victim's relatives will retaliate, which in itself will be considered by God as an extenuating circumstance, and the perpetrator will often end up dying out. In conclusion, we can say that all of them have died in cases of force and brutality. Rape is not legalized in the Bible.
Treatment of cases not covered by the Code
The law of a single verse of a passage does not justify rape on its own, and in fact, the Bible confirms that perpetrators of rape suffer the judgment of death by divine intervention all throughout the Bible.
The Torah, for example, does not provide detailed provisions for the case of a weak man who is raped by a woman. I believe that such a case would not occur in less than 1% of cases, but we cannot be certain, and likewise the scripture in Deuteronomy 22:28 would have been judged in a similarly flexible manner. Israel in those days often had God intervening, especially by speaking to the prophets in the physical voice, and any hidden wickedness would have been supernaturally exposed and rightly judged by the prophets and leaders.
Even in cases where the victim was too afraid to speak out in the city, it is not a case of "death penalty for not speaking out" as per Deuteronomy 22:23. The case where the perjurer should be condemned has already been proven by the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:9), and the difficult case where there is perjury would have been judged by the Spirit of God through the leader.
So if Middle Eastern militants cite Deuteronomy 22:28 in the Torah to legitimize rape and commit barbaric acts, they will be judged for their wickedness in the future. Modern Christians are comfortable in their own self-delusion, interpreting the verse as if it is irrelevant to their deeds, but like the scripture in Deuteronomy 22:28, they are walking away from the verse and ignoring the full context.
Regulations for treating captive virgins with respect
In Numbers 31:14, we see that when carrying out total destruction, there was a provision allowing only the virgins to be spared. As mentioned in the heading above, the nations surrounding Israel at that time were incredibly corrupt. Living in the depths of evil, these neighboring nations had become so desensitized that they did not hesitate to burn their children as offerings to Molech. Such nations were ultimately subjected to a divine reset.
There are cases where, as a last resort, only the virgins were spared, and they became the wives of the Israelites; yet even so, there is not a single word in the Law of Israel stating that they may be treated as objects or abused—on the contrary, it commands that they be treated with kindness.
Deuteronomy 10:18 Yahuwah administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.
Deuteronomy 24:17 "You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless, nor take a widow's garment as a pledge. 18 But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this thing.
There is no justification for abusing captives or their wives; on the contrary, the Bible states in numerous passages that God hears the cries of foreign residents. Therefore, should anyone commit such abuse, their misdeeds will be reported by the victims to those around them and will eventually reach the ears of the leaders, who will then bear the responsibility of judging these wrongs with justice and mercy.
Exodus 18:21 Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. 25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 26 So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.
Leviticus 19:15 'You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
Deuteronomy 16:19 You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. 20 You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
Deuteronomy 17:8 “If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge, between degrees of guilt for bloodshed, between one judgment or another, or between one punishment or another, matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 9 And you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge there in those days, and inquire of them; they shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment.
After Moses’ death, Joshua emerged as a leader, and during the spiritually barren period of the Book of Judges, judges also appeared; furthermore, King Solomon was an upright man who rendered just judgments when guided by the Holy Spirit. However, when cunning crimes and wickedness—such as those that exploited loopholes in the law—ran rampant throughout Israel, or when the priests mentioned above apostatized, God would use hostile nations to bring judgment and send prophets within the land to issue warnings calling for repentance. In other words, God desires that the law be administered from the perspective of both mercy and justice.
In reality, there were indeed upright priests who paid their tithes without sinning, but because they lacked compassion, they allowed the law to take on a life of its own; they boasted of their righteousness, lived with a Pharisaical mindset, neglected the vulnerable, and thus committed evil in God’s eyes.
Exodus 22:22 “You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry; 24 and My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
Leviticus 19:18 ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Jeremiah 22:3 Thus says the Lord: “Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you indeed do this thing, then shall enter the gates of this house kings sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he and his servants and his people. 5 But if you will not hear these words, I swear by Myself,” says the Lord, “that this house shall become a desolation.” ’
Isaiah 1:15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. 16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.
Micah 3:11 Her heads judge for a bribe, Her priests teach for pay, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, and say, "Is not the Lord among us? No harm can come upon us." 12 Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, And the mountain of the temple Like the bare hills of the forest.
The commandments to love one’s neighbor, as well as the practice of justice and mercy, were by no means rendered invalid by the law in Deuteronomy 22:28; indeed, these commandments were the most important part of the entire Pentateuch. Yet the legalists, having misunderstood this, took a single verse out of context and mistakenly believed it would justify them—a misunderstanding that ultimately led them to the point of crucifying Jesus.
It is even said that the Law of Moses was formulated as a concession by God—who is often described as stern—to prevent the stubborn Israelites from being put to death under the law.
Mark 10:5 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
The livelihoods of foreign residents and women who had become wives through marriage as prisoners of war were guaranteed. As a result, they were able to have children and experience the joys of life as women, just as the Israelites of that time did.
The Spirit and Salvation Behind the Law
The Law is not everything, but the spirit behind the Law is what is most important, and it is in this mental and spiritual state that a person is sanctioned by God as righteous, as in the case of Joseph, the father of Jesus. The Law made adultery punishable by death, and although God eventually decreed that those who committed adultery should be stoned to death, He also sanctioned Joseph's motive for letting the virgin Mary live as righteousness. Joseph mistakenly believed that Mary had become pregnant through adultery. He tried to keep her alive by quietly divorcing her, an arrangement that the Bible describes as "He wanted Mary to leave because he was a righteous man." (Matthew 1:19)
In the book of Hosea, God commands Hosea to take another adulterous woman as his wife, and although the Torah commands him to kill the wrongdoer, the execution was not carried out immediately after Israel committed a crime. (Hosea 3) In other words, the foundation of Christianity is that all sins that are punishable by stoning to death as stipulated in the Law are forgiven through Christ's atonement.
Even though there were cases where people were put to death for disobeying the Law, they received the wages of their sins and are in a sleepy rest and will be resurrected in the future. The main theme of the Gospel is the warning and condemnation for those who obey the law in detail but fail to consider the circumstances of others, fail to apply it correctly, misuse it, lose their sense of mercy and fairness, and can become wicked, rather than those who commit sins punishable by the death penalty.
The vicious Christians, who are the poisonous wheat and weeds, will survive to the end, while the victims who have suffered death are expected to be raised to Paradise without exception. Those who have suffered death for violating the law without knowing Christ, such as Shechem, Amnon, Absalom, and the tribe of Benjamin in Judges, will eventually be raised as the unrighteous and learn of Christ's redemption.
On the other hand, the poisonous weeds, like Satan, will survive to the end and look as if they are blessed by God. These wicked people will survive hypocritically and stubbornly until the end, and like Satan, they will be responsible for the apostasy of many, so they will survive until the end of Jesus' returne.
The main points so far are,
- There is a difference in meaning in the original language between the barbaric act of shazak by force and the captive tapha.
- All rape cases in the Bible are judged to death.
- Difficult major issues (cases not in the Torah) are submitted to the leadership for judgment
- Love your neighbor in the Torah is the most important and will not be nullified forever
- Even those who have suffered the judgment of death for violating the law will be raised to learn Christ.
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