Deuteronomy 22:21

21 the men of the town are to take her to the door of her father's house and stone her to death. She acted disgracefully in Israel. She lived like a whore while still in her parents' home. Purge the evil from among you.

Deuteronomy 22:21 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 22:21

Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her
father's house
For his greater disgrace, and as a sort of punishment for his neglect of her education, not taking care to instruct her, and bring her up in a better manner:

and the men of her city shall stone her with stones, that she die;
which was the death this sort of adulteresses were put to; others was by strangling, and the daughter of a priest was to be burnt; see ( Leviticus 20:10 ) ( 21:9 ) , which shows that this sin was committed by her after her espousals, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra note; or otherwise it would have been only simple fornication, which was not punishable with death:

because she hath wrought folly in Israel:
a sin, as all sin is folly, and especially any notorious one, as this was; and which is aggravated by its being done in Israel, among a people professing the true religion, and whom God had chosen and separated from all others to be a holy people to himself:

to play the whore in her father's house;
where she continued after her espousals, until she was taken to the house of her husband, to consummate the: marriage; and between the one and the other was this sin committed, and which is another reason for her execution at the door of her father's house:

so shalt thou put evil away from among you;
deter others from it by such an example, and remove the guilt of it from them, which otherwise would lie upon them, if punishment was not inflicted; the Targum of Jonathan interprets it of the putting away of her that did the evil.

Deuteronomy 22:21 In-Context

19 fine him a hundred pieces of silver, and give it to the father of the girl. The man gave a virgin girl of Israel a bad name. He has to keep her as his wife and can never divorce her.
20 But if it turns out that the accusation is true and there is no evidence of the girl's virginity,
21 the men of the town are to take her to the door of her father's house and stone her to death. She acted disgracefully in Israel. She lived like a whore while still in her parents' home. Purge the evil from among you.
22 If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both must die. Purge that evil from Israel.
23 If a man comes upon a virgin in town, a girl who is engaged to another man, and sleeps with her,
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.