Deut 22.13-19: 13 If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her, dislikes her 14 and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, "I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity," 15 then the girl's father and mother shall bring proof that she was a virgin to the town elders at the gate. 16 The girl's father will say to the elders, "I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. 17 Now he has slandered her and said, `I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.' But here is the proof of my daughter's virginity." Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town, 18 and the elders shall take the man and punish him. 19 They shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the girl's father, because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.
In this passage, the reputation of the women, and the lifelong provision for her needs are focused on. God architects this situation to protect the woman against capricious men.
Compare to a similar case in the Laws of Lipit-Istar (ca. 1930bc), 33, anyone can accuse a woman of promiscuity, and the penalty for slander is only TEN shekels.
The Recovery Version in verse 20 reads -
But if the claim is true - the girl was not found to be a virgin.
All I see is the for stoning the claim had to be true. The assumption I make is that another means, any means proving the claim was not true would disallow a false rumor causing her reputation to be lost and an execution to result.
The critic assumes that a husband tired of his wife would of course wish her to be put to death.
Why not assume men like Joseph existed who when finding Mary with child chose to put her away quietly.
And Joseph her husband, being righteous and not willing to disgrace her openly, intended to send her away secretly. (Matt. 1:19)
The OT indicates that Moses recognized very difficult cases would arise. And judges were appointed to handle difficult cases on successively higher levels.
We should not assume God was not among the people to sovereignly guide godly priests and judges on less than cut and dry cases where a scoundrel husband might conceivably falsely accuse his wife.
Jethro the priest of Midian advized Moses to create levels of judges which might act even as appellant courts:
"You also should look for able men among all the people who fear God, men of truth, who hate unjust gain; and place them over them, as leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens.
And let them judge the people at all times, and let them bring every great matter to you, but every small matter let them judge themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you." (Exodus 18:21)
1.) I don't assume every husband wanting to get rid of his wife wanted to have her stoned to death.
2.) I don't assume that difficult cases were never pushed upwards to some higher level of detective work and examination.
3.) Since Moses as the law giver heeded the counsel of Jerthro he must have realized that there were levels of difficulty to cases with marriage as with other cases.
4.) In the immediate following case with two consenting adults in an adulterous affair, both are executed. That it is not just the woman executed indicates that there was an equality of responsibility there.
The man was not LESS punished just because he was a man
(v. 22)
Plus the fact that other atoning offerings like the sin offering, the trespass offering, the peace offering, indicate that propitiatory procedures circumvented the most severe punishments from always being the result of a sin.
Marriage is between man and woman
22 Jun '15 23:10
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