Deuteronomy 22:15

15 then the young woman’s father and mother shall bring to the town elders at the gate proof that she was a virgin.

Deuteronomy 22:15 in Other Translations

15 Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate:

15 then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate.

15 Then the woman’s father and mother must bring the proof of her virginity to the elders as they hold court at the town gate.

15 then the father and mother of the girl are to take her with the proof of her virginity to the town leaders at the gate.

15 the young woman's father and mother will take the evidence of her virginity and bring [it] to the city elders at the gate.

Deuteronomy 22:15 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 22:15

Then shall the father and the mother of the damsel take
Power from the court, according to the Targum of Jonathan; having leave and licence granted them to do what follows, these were to, and would, concern themselves in such an affair, partly for the credit and reputation of their child, and partly for their own honour, who were in danger, as Jarchi observes, of coming into contempt for their ill education of her:

and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity;
the sheet she lay in when she first bedded with her husband, in her parents' possession, and kept by them as a witness of her purity, should there ever be any occasion for it: and which were to be brought

unto the elders of the city in the gate;
which sat in the gate of the city to try causes: the Targum of Jonathan calls it the gate of the sanhedrim, or court of judicature; and, according to Maimonides ^F17, this court was the court of twenty three judges; for this was a capital crime accused of, a cause relating to life and death, which could not be heard and tried in a lesser court.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 Hilchot Naarah Betulah, c. 3. sect. 3.

Deuteronomy 22:15 In-Context

13 If a man takes a wife and, after sleeping 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 young woman’s father and mother shall bring to the town elders at the gate proof that she was a virgin.

16 Her 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,

Cross References

• 1. S Genesis 23:10