Deuteronomy 22:15

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.

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 “Suppose a man marries a woman, but after sleeping with her, he turns against her

14 and publicly accuses her of shameful conduct, saying, ‘When I married this woman, I discovered she was not a virgin.’

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.

16 Her father must say to them, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife, and now he has turned against her.

17 He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, “I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin.” But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.’ Then they must spread her bed sheet before the elders.