Deuteronomy 22:23-24
Question
Shalom dear Rabbi,
my name is Valentin and I’m a noahide, I have a question about the Torah if that’s ok?
in Devarim 22:23-24 we read the following: 23 “If a girl who is a virgin is engaged to a man, and another man comes upon her in the town and has sexual relations with her; 24 you are to bring them both out to the gate of the city and stone them to death — the girl because she didn’t cry out for help, there in the city, and the man because he has humiliated his neighbor’s wife. In this way you will put an end to such wickedness among you.
my question is this: is that woman a rape victim that hasn’t screamed loud enough, or is it a woman that was having consensual intercourse with someone that was not her fiancé? Because if she was raped but couldn’t scream because she was knocked out, or gagged, how is stoning her justified?
thanks in advance for your answer!
Answers
While I understand the confusion, it is necessary to be conversant with the nuances of Biblical Hebrew and the Oral Torah. In verses 23 and 24 the inference is that she willingly had relations with the man. In Jewish Law once the betrothal has taken place it is completely forbidden for a woman to have intimate relations with anyone including her future husband. If she willingly has intimate relations with someone other than her future husband, she is considered to have committed adultery, which carries a Biblical death penalty both for her and for the one who who she had relations with. Verse 25 is describing rape and the only person punished is the man.
In order to understand the cases that the Torah is describing, it is important to stress that the “betrothal” the Torah is referring to is not the equivalent of today’s engagement. According to Jewish Law, betrothal is the first part of the marriage ceremony, and a woman who has been betrothed is considered to be a married woman with regards to sexual involvement, although certain mostly financial details change only when then actually begin to physically live together later (Chupah). That is why the Torah’s reaction is so strict. However, as I mentioned before, the first verses are referring to a consensual relationship.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team