Does the Bible Say a Woman Must Marry Her Rapist
Deuteronomy 22:28-29 says:
“If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.”
Whoa. So the Bible says a woman has to marry her rapist? No, that’s not what’s going on here.
Ever heard of a shotgun wedding? It’s a marriage arranged at the end of a father’s shotgun, to avoid the embarrassment of premarital sex between his daughter and some young dude who couldn’t keep his pants zipped. This law is kind of like that.
Some Bible translations (like the NIV and CSB) use the word rape in this passage, but that’s an inaccurate reading. In this context, “seizing” a woman means the offending man took something that did not belong to him, another man’s daughter. “Violated” does not always mean rape, even in English. It can simply mean the man dishonored the woman.
The Law obligates the man to make an honest woman of her by marrying her, lest she become desolate (see 2 Samuel 13), cursed (see Numbers 5:11-31), or executed (see Deuteronomy 22:20-21)!
Deuteronomy means “second Law,” a copy of the commands given in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. This law in Exodus 22:16-17 says the father can refuse to give his daughter to the man. So this is not a law forcing a woman to marry her rapist.
If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride-price for virgins. (Exodus 22:16-17)
As this law appears in Deuteronomy, it says right before that rape is a crime worthy of death.
But if in the open country a man meets a young women who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor, because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her. If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days. (Deuteronomy 22:25-27)
Hebrews 13:4 says:
“Let marriage to be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled.” Ask Jesus for forgiveness, “…for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
…when we understand the text.
(This video is by WWUTT. Discovered by Christian Podcast Central and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Christian Podcast Central.)