Commentary - Deuteronomy 22:23-24

Bird's-eye view

In this section of Deuteronomy, Moses is applying the principles of God's covenantal law to specific, real-world situations that will arise in the life of Israel. These are not abstract legal theories; they are case laws designed to cultivate a holy people who understand the profound connection between their private lives and the public health of the nation. The particular case before us deals with sexual fidelity within the context of betrothal, an institution that was taken with the utmost seriousness. A betrothed woman was considered legally bound to her future husband, and therefore, any infidelity was treated as adultery. The law makes a crucial distinction based on location, in the city versus in the country, which hinges on the principle of consent and culpability. The ultimate goal, as is often the case in Deuteronomy, is the removal of corporate evil from the covenant community. This is not about draconian harshness for its own sake; it is about protecting the sanctity of marriage, which is the cornerstone of a stable society and a living picture of Christ's relationship with His church.

What we see here is a law that is deeply concerned with justice, responsibility, and the protection of the covenant of marriage. It establishes a high view of sexual purity and demonstrates that sin is never a merely private affair. It has public consequences and pollutes the land and the people. The prescribed punishment, while severe to our modern sensibilities, underscores the gravity of the offense in God's eyes. It is a law that forces the community to take a stand, to act as the instrument of God's justice, and in so doing, to reaffirm their own commitment to the covenant standards they live under.

Outline

Context In Deuteronomy

These verses are situated within a larger block of laws in Deuteronomy 22 that address various aspects of life, from returning a lost ox (22:1) to wearing appropriate clothing (22:5) to building codes for rooftops (22:8). The common thread is the application of holiness to the warp and woof of everyday existence. This chapter then transitions to a series of laws specifically governing sexual purity and marriage (22:13-30). The case of the betrothed virgin in the city is set between the laws concerning a slandered bride and the case of a virgin who is raped in the country. This careful arrangement highlights the importance of discerning the truth of a matter, establishing consent, and applying justice with wisdom. Deuteronomy is the covenant renewal document for the generation about to enter the Promised Land. These laws are not just rules; they are the constitution for a holy nation, teaching them how to live as God's people in God's place, in a way that is distinct from the corrupt nations around them.

Key Issues

The High Cost of Covenant Breaking

Modern readers often recoil at the punishments prescribed in the Mosaic law, and this passage is certainly one of the starker examples. Stoning seems brutal, disproportionate. But our reaction says more about our own culture's trivialization of sin than it does about any supposed cruelty in God's law. God takes the covenant of marriage with deadly seriousness because it is the central metaphor for His relationship with His people. Adultery is not just a personal failing; it is a form of spiritual treason. It is idolatry acted out in the flesh.

In this law, betrothal is treated as the legal equivalent of marriage in terms of fidelity. This is not a casual "engagement" that can be broken off with a text message. It is a binding covenant. When that covenant is violated, the entire community is affected. The punishment is public, at the gate of the city, where legal matters were handled, and it is corporate, "you shall stone them." The people themselves are the executioners. This was designed to instill a holy fear in the entire populace. It forced every man and woman present to see the consequences of this sin and to resolve in their own hearts not to follow the same path. The goal was not simply retribution, but purification. The evil had to be excised from the body politic, like a cancerous tumor, lest it metastasize and destroy the entire nation.

Verse by Verse Commentary

23 “If there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man finds her in the city and lies with her,

The law sets up a very specific scenario. We are dealing with a girl who is a virgin, which establishes her prior chastity, and she is engaged, or betrothed, to a man. In the ancient world, betrothal was a legally binding covenant, the first formal step of marriage. For the purposes of fidelity, she was already considered his wife. The act takes place in the city. This detail is not incidental; it is the crucial piece of evidence in what follows. A man, not her fiancé, "finds her" and "lies with her." This is the covenantal crime. It is adultery, a violation of the seventh commandment, and it strikes at the heart of the social fabric.

24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them, and they will die;

The consequence is laid out with stark clarity. Both parties, the man and the woman, are to be brought before the elders at the city gate, the public square where justice was administered. The sentence for their crime is death by stoning. Stoning was a communal act. It was not the work of a single, anonymous executioner. The whole community, or at least the witnesses, participated. This meant that the people were collectively upholding the law of their God and taking responsibility for the holiness of their community. It was a public statement that this behavior would not be tolerated in Israel. The severity of the penalty was directly proportional to the gravity of the sin. God views the violation of a marriage covenant as a capital offense.

the girl, because she did not cry out in the city, and the man, because he has violated his neighbor’s wife.

Now we get to the legal reasoning, which is the heart of the passage. The law distinguishes the guilt of the two parties. The man's guilt is straightforward: he has violated his neighbor’s wife. He committed adultery. He knew, or should have known, she was spoken for, and he violated that sacred bond. The girl's guilt is based on a presumption. Because the act took place in the city, the law assumes that if she had been unwilling, she could have cried out for help and someone would have heard her. The city is a place of witnesses, of neighbors, of potential rescuers. Her silence is interpreted as consent. This is a key principle of biblical case law. It provides an evidentiary standard. This is contrasted with the very next case in verses 25-27, where if the same act happens "in the field," only the man is executed, because the law presumes she cried for help but there was no one to save her. The law is not being callous; it is establishing a reasonable test for determining consent in a world without forensic science.

Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.

This final clause reveals the ultimate purpose of the law. This is not just about punishing two individuals. It is about corporate sanctification. The sin of adultery is not a private peccadillo; it is a public evil that defiles the community. It is a spiritual contagion. If left unchecked, it will spread and corrupt the entire nation, inviting the covenant curses of God. Therefore, the evil must be dealt with decisively. It must be purged, cleansed, rooted out. The execution serves as a radical, surgical removal of a cancer from the midst of God's people. This demonstrates that the holiness of the community is paramount, because a holy community is one where God is pleased to dwell.

Application

It is a common and lazy mistake to dismiss such laws as irrelevant artifacts of a primitive culture. We are not ancient Israel, and we do not live under the Mosaic civil code. We do not practice stoning, nor should we. Christ has fulfilled the law, and the specific civil and ceremonial applications of the Old Covenant have passed away with the temple. However, the principles undergirding the law have not passed away, because God's character has not changed. The moral law is still in effect.

What does this law teach us? First, it teaches an extraordinarily high view of marriage. Our culture treats engagement as a trial period and marriage as a temporary contract based on romantic feelings. God sees it as a binding covenant, a solemn promise whose violation is a profound evil. Second, it teaches us that sexual sin is never truly private. It has devastating public consequences for families, churches, and the nation. We have not purged the evil from our midst; we have invited it in, put it on television, and celebrated it in parades. We are fools if we think we will not reap the whirlwind. Third, it teaches us about responsibility. The woman was held responsible for her silence. We are responsible for whether we consent to the sin around us or cry out against it.

Ultimately, this law, with its unyielding standard and severe penalty, ought to drive us to the cross. We are all covenant-breakers. We have all, in our hearts, "committed adultery" and violated our neighbor. We all stand guilty before a holy God, and the sentence against us is death. But God, in His mercy, provided a substitute. Jesus Christ was brought outside the city gate and publicly executed. He took the stones that we deserved. He became the curse for us, so that the evil might be purged not just from a nation, but from the hearts of His people. He did this so that we, His bride, might be presented to Him pure and spotless. The law shows us the disease in all its lethality; the gospel gives us the only cure.