Deuteronomy 22 Study Notes

22:11 The occurrence of a similar law in Lv 19:19 in a context that stresses the importance of holiness suggests that the law was symbolic. Some have suggested a mixture of wool and linen was worn by prostitutes (J. G. McConville).

22:12 See the parallel passage in Nm 15:37-41.

22:13-20 Nowhere was purity of life expected more in ancient Israel than in the realm of sex and marriage, not only because of its inherent rightness but because Israel’s relationship to the Lord was often described with the metaphor of marriage (Hs 2:2). The breaking of the covenant that secured marriage was tantamount to divorce brought about by spiritual adultery (Hs 2:3-13). One hundred shekels was a considerable amount of money, indicating that damage to the reputation of the girl and her family by false accusations was not to be taken lightly.

22:21-22 The harsh penalty of stoning to death underscores the principle of purity and separation addressed in this section of the book. Israel collectively must be pure before God, with every member of the community responsible for maintaining that holy standard.

22:23-29 If an engaged . . . virgin had sex with a man in the city, it was presumed that she had done so willingly since no one heard her cry out in protest. The community must stone him for adultery and her for complicity. If the act took place in the open country, however, the presumption was that the young woman screamed but there was no one to rescue her. She must be exonerated in such a case. The requirement that she become his wife (v. 29) assumes the condition that she is willing.

22:30 Father’s wife refers to a foster mother. For a man to do such a thing is to be intimate with a woman with whom the father himself has been intimate, thus “exposing his father’s nakedness” (a literal rendering; cp. 27:20; Ru 3:9).