Commentary - Deuteronomy 22:28-29

Bird's-eye view

In these two verses, we are given a piece of case law that addresses a deeply grievous sin and its social consequences. A man takes a virgin who is not engaged and violates her. The modern mind, steeped in therapeutic sentimentalism and an individualistic view of justice, immediately recoils. But we must read this as God's people, understanding that the Mosaic law was given to a specific nation as a "holiness kit," providing rough-cut, real-world justice. This law is not primarily about emotions; it is about justice, protection, and restoration in a fallen world. The statute accomplishes three things simultaneously: it severely punishes the man for his crime, it provides for the lifelong protection and provision of the victimized woman, and it restores her honor within the community. It is a deeply practical and patriarchal law, and by patriarchal I mean it rightly recognizes that fathers have a protective duty and that a woman's honor and future are of paramount importance to a healthy society. This is not a romantic solution; it is a just one, designed to make the best of a terrible situation created by a man's wickedness.

The central principle is that sin has consequences, and justice requires the sinner to make restitution. The man's sin created a massive social and personal debt. He stole something precious, not just from the woman, but from her father and her future. The law therefore requires him to pay for what he broke. He pays a financial penalty to the father, and he pays a lifelong penalty of provision and protection to the woman. He forfeits his right to divorce her, effectively binding himself to the consequences of his transgression for the rest of his life. This is God's justice, which is never abstract but always works itself out in the nitty-gritty of real life.

Outline

Context In Deuteronomy

This passage is situated within a larger block of laws in Deuteronomy 22 that deal with maintaining distinctions and upholding social and sexual purity within the covenant community. The chapter begins with laws about returning lost property and helping a neighbor's animal, moves to prohibitions against mixing kinds (fabrics, seeds, animals), and then transitions into a lengthy section on sexual integrity (Deut 22:13-30). These laws are designed to protect the family, which is the bedrock of society. They guard against slander in marriage, adultery, and, in our text, the violation of a virgin. The surrounding context shows that God is intensely interested in the sexual ethics of His people because disordered sexuality leads to a disordered society. This specific case law, therefore, is not an isolated or strange command but is part of a coherent legal and moral framework intended to build a holy nation where the vulnerable are protected and wickedness is dealt with swiftly and justly.

Key Issues

Justice in a Hard World

When we approach a text like this, we have to check our modern assumptions at the door. Our culture views marriage as a romantic arrangement for personal fulfillment. The Bible views marriage as a covenantal institution for dominion, procreation, and sanctification. Our culture sees justice as punitive, often centered on incarceration. The Bible sees justice as restorative, centered on restitution. Because of these different starting points, many look at this law and see a woman being "forced" to marry her attacker, which seems monstrous. But this is a profound misreading of the situation.

In the ancient world, a woman who was not a virgin had drastically diminished prospects for marriage. Her social standing was ruined, and her economic future was precarious. The man's sin did not just affect her for a moment; it threatened her entire life. This law does not reward the man. It saddles him, for life, with the responsibility for the woman he harmed. He must provide for her, protect her, and give her the honor and status of a wife. He loses the right to ever be free of this obligation. It is a form of indentured servanthood in perpetuity. For the woman, it is not a romantic prize, but it is a profound form of public and legal restoration. Her honor is restored, her future is secured, and the man who wronged her is publicly and permanently held to account. This is not a pretty solution, because the crime was not pretty. It is, however, a deeply just solution.

Verse by Verse Commentary

28 “If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her and they are found,

The law begins by setting out the specific circumstances. This is case law, not an exhaustive legislative code. The subject is a girl who is a virgin, emphasizing her innocence and the gravity of the violation. She is not engaged, which is a crucial distinction. A different and much harsher penalty applied if she was betrothed, as that was considered tantamount to adultery (Deut. 22:23-24). The man seizes her. The Hebrew word here, taphas, implies force or overpowering. This is not the case of seduction found in Exodus 22:16, where a man persuades a virgin. This is an act of aggression. And finally, they are found. The crime becomes public knowledge, which necessitates a public resolution. The privacy of the sin is over, and the community's standards of justice must be applied.

29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife because he has violated her; he cannot divorce her all his days.

The sentence has three parts, each addressing a different aspect of the wrong. First, the man must pay fifty shekels of silver to the girl's father. This was a significant sum, double the penalty for slandering a new bride (Deut. 22:19) and a standard bride price. This is financial restitution. The father has been wronged; his stewardship over his daughter has been violated, and the family's honor has been damaged. The payment acknowledges this debt.

Second, she shall become his wife. This is the central, restorative component. The man's sin created a permanent liability, and now he must live with it. He has "humbled" or violated her, and the only way to restore her public honor is to elevate her to the position of a wife. He cannot treat her as a concubine or a possession; she receives the full legal status and protection of a wife in Israel. This is not about forcing an emotional bond, but about enforcing a covenantal and social one. He broke it, now he owns it, and he must honor it.

Third, he cannot divorce her all his days. This is the sharpest tooth in the law. Under normal circumstances, a man in Israel could divorce his wife for indecency (Deut. 24:1). But this man forfeits that right. He is bound to his responsibility for life. He cannot violate her, tire of her, and then cast her aside. He is shackled to his duty. This protects the woman from further harm and makes the man's penalty a lifelong sentence of provision and care. It is a powerful deterrent and a profound form of justice, ensuring the victim does not suffer the consequences of the man's sin alone.

Application

We are not ancient Israel, and we do not live under the Mosaic civil code. As the Westminster Confession says, the judicial laws of Israel expired with the state of that people. However, the general equity of these laws remains. So what is the principle here that still bites?

First, we see that sin, particularly sexual sin, is never a private matter. It has public consequences and demands public justice. Our society's attempt to treat sex as a recreational activity with no binding ties is a rebellion against the created order, and we are reaping the whirlwind of chaos and misery that follows.

Second, true justice is restorative. It is not enough to punish the offender; justice must also seek to restore the one who was wronged. Our legal system often fails spectacularly at this, leaving victims with nothing but the cold comfort that the perpetrator is in a cage. Biblical law insists that the sinner must pay, not just to the state, but to the one he has harmed. He must work to repair the damage he caused.

Finally, this law teaches us about the nature of responsibility. The man in this scenario made a choice, and the law forced him to take lifelong responsibility for it. This is the opposite of our modern "no-fault" culture. The gospel does not abolish responsibility; it provides a way for our ultimate debt to be paid by Christ. But in our horizontal relationships, God demands that we own our actions. For men, this means understanding that our strength is for protection, not predation. And when we fail, we are called not to make excuses, but to make restitution, however costly. The cross shows us the ultimate cost of sin, where Christ took responsibility for our cosmic violation of God's law. He bound Himself to His bride, the Church, forever, and will never divorce her. This law in Deuteronomy, in its own rough-hewn way, points to that same principle of binding, covenantal, and costly restoration.