Further information:
Rape in the Hebrew Bible § Deuteronomy 22
A marry-your-rapist provision is believed by some to be found in the
Hebrew Bible,
Deuteronomy 22:28–29, which according to the
New American Standard Bible reads:
"If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not engaged, and seizes (תָּפַשׂ
tāphaś) her and lies (שָׁכַב
šākhab) with her and they are discovered, then the man who lay (שָׁכַב
šākhab) with her shall give to the girl's father fifty
shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife because he has violated (עָנָה
anah/inah) her; he cannot divorce her all his days." (Deuteronomy 22:28–29, New American Standard Bible)
[24]
Bible translations interpret the passage differently, with many modern editions translating the term שָׁכַב
šākhab as "to rape", where older translations usually preferred "to lie (with)". Similarly, most modern translations render תָּפַשׂ
tāphaś as "to seize", whereas older translations generally preferred "to lay hold on".
[25] Finally, עָנָה
anah/inah is almost universally translated as "to humble" in older English translations, but almost always as "to violate" in modern translations. The
Good News Translation even rendered the passage as "he forced her to have intercourse with him", and
God's Word Translation made it "he raped her".
[26] Irrespective of whether or not the woman had given consent to the sexual act, or will give consent to marriage, the man is required to marry her by paying her parents a
dowry to settle the matter.
[27]
Some Christians believe that the command in Deuteronomy 22:28 does not refer to rape, but to a man enticing a woman to engage in consensual intercourse, as in the passage in
Exodus 22:16–17,
[28][29] which also explicitly states the father's right to confirm or refuse the marriage.
[30] The Hebrew sometimes rendered as "rapes" here is the verb שָׁכַב
šākab, which literally means "to lie (down)" or "to sleep", is sometimes used as a
euphemism for "to lie/sleep (with someone)", and when the context adds force, it can mean "to rape", for example in Genesis 35:22 or 2 Samuel 13:14.
[23]: 92–93
[31] Adjacent scriptures that speak of forced sexual relations with engaged (versus unengaged) virgins prescribe the death penalty for rapists (Deuteronomy 22:23-27).
[32] As apologist Kyle Butte argues, "It is clearly evident from the immediate context of Deuteronomy 22 that rape is not being discussed in verses 28-29," arguing that "verses 25-27 give a clear instance in which rape is being discussed. ... The text says that the man who committed the crime 'shall die' (v. 25)".
[33] But not all Christian scholars agree that Deuteronomy 22:28-29 is mere consensual fornication.
Eugene H. Merrill (1994) pointed out: "At first glance, the next example, the rape of an unbetrothed girl, might appear to have been a lesser offense than those already described, but this was not the case at all. First, he seized (Heb. tāpaś, "lay hold of") her and then lay down (šākab) with her, a clear case of violent, coercive behavior."
[34]
Although commentators such as
John Gill (1746–63)
[30] and
Charles Ellicott (1897)
[29] who think Deuteronomy 22:28–29 describes consensual sex often compare it to Exodus 22:16–17 (which almost all scholars agree is a consensual situation), the latter does not specify that the man "violated" her, whereas Deuteronomy 22:29 does.
[23]: 141 The Hebrew word used here for "violated" is עָנָה
anah (or
inah[35]), which (depending on the context) can mean "to rape, to force [sexually], to defile, to violate, to ravish, to mistreat, to afflict, to humble/humiliate, to oppress, to subject/submit/subdue, to weaken".
[23][36] Especially when a Hebrew verb is in the
pi'el (intensifying) form, this adds force,
[23]: 120 and in Deuteronomy 22:29 עִנָּ֔הּ
‘in-nāh is in the pi'el.
[23]: 141 In several other cases in the Hebrew Bible where this word is used to describe a man and a woman interacting, it is usually describing a man forcing a woman to have sex against her will (i.e., rape).
[23]: 78
[note 1]
Twelfth century Rabbi Moses
Maimonides said the man's use of force would require that he marry his victim and never divorce her:
[38]
Every maiden expects to be married, her seducer therefore is only ordered to marry her; for he is undoubtedly the fittest husband for her. He will better heal her wound and redeem her character than any other husband. If, however, he is rejected by her or her father, he must give the dowry (Exodus 22:16). If he uses violence he has to submit to the additional punishment, "he may not put her away all his days" (Deuteronomy 22:29).
princeton.academia.edu
abcnews.go.com
