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.
Fathers and councils · 3
Origen
“…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 humbled his neighbour’s wife.”” — editor's note: Cf. Deut. xxii. 23, 24.
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Jerome
“Let her read the books of Moses and she will find that if violence is offered to a betrothed virgin in a city and she does not cry out, she is punished as an adulteress: but if she is forced in the field, she is innocent of sin and her ravisher alone is amenable to the laws.” — editor's note: Deut. xxii. 23–27.
Read the whole comment“And in another place, “If there be a damsel that is a virgin betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; then ye shall bring them both out unto the…” — editor's note: Deut. xxii. 23, 24.
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Cross-references · 7
Cited together with
Cited together in Against Celsus I.34.
Cited together in Against Celsus I.34.
Cited together in Against Celsus I.34.
Cited together in Against Celsus I.34.
Cited together in Against Celsus I.34.
Cited together in Against Celsus I.34.
Quoted in
Luke 1:27 takes up the words of Deuteronomy 22:23 (8 words in common).