Keluaran 22:16

Moral and Ceremonial Laws

22:16 ¹ “If a man seduces a virgin ²  who is not engaged ³  and has sexual relations with her, he must surely endow ⁴  her to be his wife.

Ulangan 22:29

22:29 The man who has raped her must pay her father fifty shekels of silver and she must become his wife because he has violated her; he may never divorce her as long as he lives.

Ulangan 22:1

Laws Concerning Preservation of Life

22:1 When you see ⁵  your neighbor’s ⁶  ox or sheep going astray, do not ignore it; ⁷  you must return it without fail ⁸  to your neighbor.

1 Samuel 18:25

18:25 Saul replied, “Here is what you should say to David: ‘There is nothing that the king wants as a price for the bride except a hundred Philistine foreskins, so that he can be avenged of his ⁹  enemies.’” (Now Saul was thinking that he could kill David by the hand of the Philistines.)

[22:16]  ¹ sn The second half of the chapter records various laws of purity and justice. Any of them could be treated in an expository way, but in the present array they offer a survey of God’s righteous standards: Maintain the sanctity of marriage (16-17); maintain the purity of religious institutions (18-20), maintain the rights of human beings (21-28), maintain the rights of Yahweh (29-31).

[22:16]  ² tn This is the word בְּתוּלָה (bÿtulah); it describes a young woman who is not married or a young woman engaged to be married; in any case, she is presumed to be a virgin.

[22:16]  ³ tn Or “pledged” for marriage.

[22:16]  ⁴ tn The verb מָהַר (mahar) means “pay the marriage price,” and the related noun is the bride price. B. Jacob says this was a proposal gift and not a purchase price (Exodus, 700). This is the price paid to her parents, which allowed for provision should there be a divorce. The amount was usually agreed on by the two families, but the price was higher for a pure bride from a noble family. Here, the one who seduces her must pay it, regardless of whether he marries her or not.

[22:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “you must not see,” but, if translated literally into English, the statement is misleading.

[22:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “brother’s” (also later in this verse). In this context it is not limited to one’s siblings, however; cf. NAB “your kinsman’s.”

[22:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “hide yourself.”

[22:1]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with the words “without fail.”

[18:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “the king’s.”