Deuteronomy 22:26

26 the damsel shall suffer nothing of evil, neither is guilty of death; for as a thief riseth against his brother, and slayeth him, so and the damsel suffered; (the young woman shall not suffer any punishment, nor is she guilty of anything deserving of death; for like a thief riseth against his brother, or his kinsman, and killeth him, so this young woman also hath suffered;)

Deuteronomy 22:26 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 22:26

But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing
Neither fine her, nor beat her, and much less punish her with death:

there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death;
because what was done to her was done without her will and consent, and was what she was forced to submit unto; but the Targum of Jonathan adds, that the man to whom she was betrothed might dismiss her from himself by a bill of divorce:

for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even
so is this matter;
as when a man comes unawares upon another, and lays hold on him, and kills him, being stronger than he, and none to help; so is the case of a woman laid hold on by a man in a field, and ravished by him, where no help could be had; and depriving a woman of her chastity is like taking away a man's life; from this passage Maimonides ^F3 concludes, that impurities, incests, and adulteries, are equal to murder, to capital cases relating to life and death.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 Hilchot Yesode Hattorah, c. 5. sect. 10.

Deuteronomy 22:26 In-Context

24 thou shalt lead ever either to the gate of that city, and they shall be killed with stones (and both of them shall be killed with stones); the damsel shall be stoned, for she cried not, when she was in the city; the man shall be stoned, for he defouled his neighbour's wife; and thus thou shalt do away evil from the midst of thee.

25 But if a man findeth in the field a damsel, which is espoused (who is espoused), and he taketh (hold of) her, and doeth lechery with her, he alone shall die;

26 the damsel shall suffer nothing of evil, neither is guilty of death; for as a thief riseth against his brother, and slayeth him, so and the damsel suffered; (the young woman shall not suffer any punishment, nor is she guilty of anything deserving of death; for like a thief riseth against his brother, or his kinsman, and killeth him, so this young woman also hath suffered;)

27 she was alone in the field, she cried, and none was present, that should deliver her. (for she was alone in the field, and she cried, but no one was present, who could save her.)

28 If a man findeth a damsel (who is a) virgin, that hath no spouse, and taketh, and doeth lechery with her, and the thing cometh to the doom, (If a man findeth a young woman who is a virgin, who hath no spouse, and he taketh hold of her, and doeth lechery with her, and the thing cometh to be known,)