Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 22:20 - 22:21

But if the thing is true: if, however, the father cannot prove that his daughter was a virgin when she was married, she must be put to death.

The door of her father’s house: because she belongs to her father.

The men of her city shall stone her to death: this was the punishment for adultery. For stone … to death, see 13.10.

Wrought folly in Israel: folly is not simply a foolish thing but an immoral action. The fool is someone who disregards God’s commands. Good News Translation has “She has done a shameful thing among our people”; or we may say “She has caused all of our people to be disgraced [or, lose face].”

By playing the harlot: meaning “being promiscuous” (New International Version). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “committing fornication,” New Revised Standard Version “prostituting herself,” Good News Translation “having intercourse before she was married,” Contemporary English Version “sleeping with someone before she got married.”

In her father’s house: this does not necessarily mean that she was at home when she had sexual intercourse with a man. Rather, she was still under her father’s care when she did this; she was still his daughter. Good News Translation expresses this well.

You shall purge the evil from the midst of you: see 13.5.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 22:23

Verses 23-24 deal with another case, this one involving a woman who is engaged.

A betrothed virgin: to be betrothed meant that the marriage had already been agreed upon, and a bride-price had been paid by the groom to the woman’s parents. In Israel such people were regarded as already married. So in some languages this first sentence will be expressed as “Suppose a man is caught sleeping with a girl [or, young woman] for whom the bride-price has been paid by another man.”

Lies with her: that is, “Has intercourse with her.” As the next case shows (verses 25-27), it is assumed that she was a willing partner; she was not forced to have sex with the man.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 22:24

The long first sentence in Revised Standard Version may be broken up into at least three shorter ones (see Good News Translation).

You shall bring them both out to the gate of the city: this is where the sentence of death will be pronounced on them by the town’s elders (see 22.15).

You shall stone them to death with stones: the plural you seems to include all the citizens of the town. In actual practice it appears that only the men carried out the death sentence.

Good News Translation takes the text to mean that the actual execution took place outside the town (see also 17.5), not at the gate of the city (Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version). We should notice, however, that the execution in verse 21 above takes place inside the town. However, in this verse translators are urged to have either “outside the gates of the town” or simply “outside the town.”

Because she did not cry for help: the reasoning here is that, since this took place in town, the woman would have cried out for help and been rescued if she didn’t agree to have sex with the man. The fact that she didn’t cry out is proof that she agreed to have sex with him.

Violated: the same verb used in 21.14 (see also 22.29).

You shall purge the evil: see 13.5.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 22:25

Verses 25-29 deal with another case: rape. This case assumes that the woman did cry out but was not heard (see verse 27).

In the open country: meaning that it was at a distance from any town. We may express this as “in the fields outside a town” or “away from where people live.”

Who is betrothed: see verse 23.

Seizes her and lies with her: both Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version combine the two actions with the term “rape,” meaning sex by force. In languages that do not have a single term for “rape,” we may say, for example, “forces her to have sex with him.”

Then only the man is to be put to death: in languages that do not use the passive voice, this may be transformed to “they [people not named] shall kill only the man.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 22:26

To the young woman you shall do nothing: Good News Translation has “nothing is to be done to the girl,” and Contemporary English Version is more direct, with “Do not punish the woman at all.”

No offense punishable by death: not a capital offense (see 21.22).

This case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor: the raped woman is like the murdered man; she is the innocent party, she is the victim.

Neighbor: a fellow Israelite. Good News Translation and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh have “another man [or, person].”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 22:27

This verse explains why the woman is presumed innocent. A woman promised in marriage would not willingly have sex with another man.

Because he came upon her in the open country: other ways to express this are “The man raped the engaged girl in the countryside,” or even “the woman was alone out in the countryside when the man found her and raped her.”

Though the … woman cried for help: see verse 24.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 22:28

This is another case: a young woman (a virgin) not promised in marriage is raped (verse 29 “violated”). See Exo 22.16-17.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 22:29

Fifty shekels of silver: see verse 19.

Violated: see 21.14.

May not put her away all his days: see verse 19.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .