Deuteronomy 22:23 (WEB)
If there is a young lady who is a virgin pledged to be married to a husband, and a man finds her in the city, and lies with her,
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Deuteronomy 22:23–24 (KJV)
23 If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; 24 Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.
Key words
- מְאֹרָשָׂהme'orasah · Hebrew
- 'betrothed.' Jewish betrothal (erusin) was a legal marriage, awaiting only the bride's move into her husband's home.
- אֵשֶׁת רֵעֵהוּeshet re'ehu · Hebrew
- 'his neighbour's wife' (v. 24) — the betrothed virgin is already called a wife, and violating her is adultery.
- μεμνηστευμένηmemnēsteumenē · Greek (LXX)
- 'betrothed' — the same verb (mnēsteuō) Luke uses of Mary: 'a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph' (Luke 1:27).
Why it matters
In the Law, a betrothed virgin is already legally a wife: her violation is punished as adultery. Pitre uses this to show that when Gabriel appears, Mary is Joseph's wife in the eyes of the Law, awaiting only the home-taking. That makes her question, 'How shall this be, since I know not a man?' remarkable — a woman expecting ordinary married life would have no reason to ask it unless she had resolved to remain a virgin.