BibleWord.ai› Bible› Deuteronomy› Chapter 22› Verse 23

Deuteronomy 22:23

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Deuteronomy 22:23 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “If there be a damsel that is a virgin betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

If there be a damsel that is a virgin betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;
Deuteronomy 22:23 — American Standard Version

Context — Deuteronomy 22

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
20But if this thing be true, that the tokens of virginity were not found in the damsel;
21then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father`s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the harlot in her father`s house: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.
22If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away the evil from Israel.
23If there be a damsel that is a virgin betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;
24then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them to death with stones; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor`s wife: so thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee.
25But if the man find the damsel that is betrothed in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her; then the man only that lay with her shall die:
26but unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbor, and slayeth him, even so is this matter;
← Deuteronomy 22:22Deuteronomy 22:24 →
← Full Chapter 22 Deuteronomy Overview

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And of Naphtali he said, etc.] The tribe of Naphtali, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem: O Naphtali, satisfied with favour; with the favour of men, which to have is a great blessing; and as he gave goodly words to others, he had the good word of others, (<014921>Genesis 49:21); and with the favour of God, as the next clause shows; which is the greatest blessing of all, and is special and peculiar, free and sovereign, and the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; and to be full of this, and satisfied of an interest in it, is the highest of enjoyments; and nothing is of a more satisfying nature, it is a feast of itself; (see <196303>Psalm 63:3,5); and full with the blessing…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Deu 20:7; Mat 1:18, Mat 1:19 Deuteronomy 22:24”
Read attributed excerpt →
Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“In connection with the seduction of a virgin (נער, puella, a marriageable girl; בּתוּלה, virgo immaculata, a virgin), two, or really three, cases are distinguished; viz., (1) whether she was betrothed ( Deu 22:23-27), or not betrothed ( Deu 22:28, Deu 22:29); (2) if she were betrothed, whether it was (a) in the town ( Deu 22:23, Deu 22:24) or (b) in the open field ( Deu 22:25-27) that she had been violated by a man. Deu 22:23-24 If a betrothed virgin had allowed a man to have intercourse with her (i.e., one who was not her bridegroom), they were both of them, the man and the girl, to be led out to the gate of the town, and stoned that they might die: the girl, because she had not cried in…”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Read Deuteronomy 22 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification