Deuteronomy22

Deuteronomy 22 outlines various laws concerning civic responsibility, personal conduct, and sexual purity within Israel. It mandates returning lost property and aiding neighbors, while prohibiting practices deemed abominable, such as cross-dressing and mixed plantings. A significant portion addresses marriage and sexual offenses, detailing severe penalties for adultery, rape, and false accusations of non-virginity, alongside provisions for seduction. The chapter emphasizes maintaining order, purity, and justice within the Israelite community.

Listen to this chapter

Responsibility for Lost Property

If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, you must not ignore it; be sure to return it to your brother.

If your brother does not live near you, or if you do not know who he is, you are to take the animal home to remain with you until your brother comes seeking it; then you can return it to him.

And you shall do the same for his donkey, his cloak, or anything your brother has lost and you have found. You must not ignore it.

If you see your brother’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, you must not ignore it; you must help him lift it up.

Laws of Distinction and Purity

A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing, for whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD your God.

If you come across a bird’s nest with chicks or eggs, either in a tree or on the ground along the road, and the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, you must not take the mother along with the young.

You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.

If you build a new house, you are to construct a railing around your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it.

Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; if you do, the entire harvest will be defiled—both the crop you plant and the fruit of your vineyard.

Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.

Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.

You are to make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.

Laws Governing Sexual Immorality and Marriage

Suppose a man marries a woman, has relations with her, and comes to hate her,

and he then accuses her of shameful conduct and gives her a bad name, saying, “I married this woman and had relations with her, but I discovered she was not a virgin.”

Then the young woman’s father and mother shall bring the proof of her virginity to the city elders at the gate

and say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he has come to hate her.

And now he has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, ‘I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin.’ But here is the proof of her virginity.” And they shall spread out the cloth before the city elders.

Then the elders of that city shall take the man and punish him.

They are also to fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, because this man has given a virgin of Israel a bad name. And she shall remain his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.

If, however, this accusation is true, and no proof of the young woman’s virginity can be found,

she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. So you must purge the evil from among you.

If a man is found lying with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

If there is a virgin pledged in marriage to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her,

you must take both of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. So you must purge the evil from among you.

But if the man encounters a betrothed woman in the open country, and he overpowers her and lies with her, only the man who has done this must die.

Do nothing to the young woman, because she has committed no sin worthy of death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him.

When he found her in the field, the betrothed woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.

If a man encounters a virgin who is not pledged in marriage, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are discovered,

then the man who lay with her must pay the young woman’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she must become his wife because he has violated her. He must not divorce her as long as he lives.

A man is not to marry his father’s wife, so that he will not dishonor his father’s marriage bed.

Study Notes for Deuteronomy 22

Verse 1

This law establishes the principle of proactive communal responsibility. An Israelite could not ignore a neighbor’s loss, reflecting the high value placed on mutual assistance within the covenant community.

Verse 4

This command reinforces the proactive duty to assist a neighbor in physical distress. The law applies even if the owner is unknown, emphasizing compassion and the value of animal life.

Verse 5

Cross-dressing is forbidden, likely to prevent confusion of identity, religious syncretism, or participation in Canaanite fertility rites that sometimes involved ritual gender reversal. The law emphasizes maintaining the clear boundaries established in creation.

Verse 6

Known as the 'mother bird' law, this is an early example of conservation ethics. It prohibits destroying the breeding stock (the dam), promoting sustainable use of resources.

Verse 7

The reward for obedience ('that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days') ties this ethical command directly to the covenant promise, similar to the foundational commandment regarding honoring parents.

Verse 8

Flat roofs were common living spaces. This law requires a parapet (battlement) for safety, demonstrating that covenant requirements extend to practical physical safety and responsibility for preventable accidents.

Verse 9

The prohibition of sowing diverse seeds (*kil'ayim*) maintains the distinction and order of creation. Mixing species was seen as blurring divinely established boundaries (cf. Lev 19:19).

Verse 10

Yoking an ox (a clean animal) and an ass (an unclean animal) together is forbidden. This is either based on maintaining species distinctions or compassion for the weaker animal, as the mismatched strength would cause suffering.

Verse 11

The law against wearing *sha'atnez* (a combination of wool and linen) is one of the strictest purity laws. It signifies the need for the Israelites to be set apart, distinct from surrounding cultures.

Verse 12

The fringes (*tzitzit*) served as a visible, constant reminder to the wearer to remember and obey all of God's commandments (Num 15:38-40), integrating holiness into daily life.

Verse 13

This section begins a series of detailed legal procedures concerning marital fidelity, particularly protecting the vulnerable position of women against malicious accusations.

Verse 15

The legal procedure requires the parents to bring physical evidence ('tokens of virginity') to the city elders at the gate (the location of the court) to defend their daughter’s honor.

Verse 19

The severe penalty (a large fine and loss of divorce rights) protects the woman from defamation and emphasizes the gravity of slandering a 'virgin of Israel' and disrupting the covenant community.

Verse 21

If the accusation is proven true, the woman is executed for 'wrought folly in Israel.' This severe punishment reflects the high value placed on sexual purity and the need to 'put evil away' from the community.

Verse 22

Adultery involving a married woman is a capital offense for both parties. This law protects the sanctity of the marital covenant and the stability of the family unit, which is central to Israelite society.

Verse 24

A betrothed woman held the legal status of a wife. If the act occurred in the city, her failure to cry out was deemed evidence of consent, resulting in the death penalty for both, as she willingly violated a marriage contract.

Verse 25

If the assault occurs in the field, it is legally presumed to be rape because the victim had no opportunity for rescue. Only the man is held culpable, demonstrating a careful distinction between consensual sin and violent crime.

Verse 29

For the rape of an unbetrothed virgin, the offender must pay a heavy fine and marry her permanently. This law protected the woman by ensuring she had a husband, as her prospects for marriage would have been ruined otherwise.

Verse 30

This prohibition against incest (specifically with a stepmother, even after the father’s death) maintains the necessary sexual boundaries within the immediate family structure (cf. Lev 18:8).

Use ← → arrow keys to navigate

Deuteronomy22

Responsibility for Lost Property

Laws of Distinction and Purity

Laws Governing Sexual Immorality and Marriage

Reading Style

Typeface

Font Size 19px

Reading Width 45 chars

Options