Since noted anti-bullying activist Dan Savage recently decided to offer his commentary on the biblical book of Deuteronomy, I felt that an opposing view was in order. The passage in question is found in chapter twenty-two:

Deu 22:13-21 13 “Suppose a man marries a woman, but after sleeping with her, he turns against her  14 and publicly accuses her of shameful conduct, saying, ‘When I married this woman, I discovered she was not a virgin.’  15 Then the woman’s father and mother must bring the proof of her virginity to the elders as they hold court at the town gate.  16 Her father must say to them, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife, and now he has turned against her.  17 He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, “I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin.” But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.’ Then they must spread her bed sheet before the elders [apparently it was customary for the parents of the bride to receive the bed sheet after the wedding night].  18 The elders must then take the man and punish him.  19 They must also fine him 100 pieces of silver, which he must pay to the woman’s father because he publicly accused a virgin of Israel of shameful conduct. The woman will then remain the man’s wife, and he may never divorce her.  20 “But suppose the man’s accusations are true, and he can show that she was not a virgin.  21 The woman must be taken to the door of her father’s home, and there the men of the town must stone her to death, for she has committed a disgraceful crime in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her parents’ home. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.” (New Living Translation)

Like many passages from the Bible, this one appears more difficult and harsh than it actually is, when one considers the engagement and marriage process of the time. First, most (if not all) marriages were arranged by the parents (this practice is still followed in some cultures today, and while often criticized, actually results in longer lasting marriages – most parents have the necessary experience to do a better job of selecting a spouse for their child than the child can; see current divorce rates as proof). Second, even though the marriages were arranged, the prospective bride and groom were not shut out of the process. Their opinion of their future spouse was a big factor in the decision (see Genesis 24:57-58, where Rebekah is asked if she will agree to go with Abraham’s servant to marry Isaac). In other words, just because a marriage was “arranged” doesn’t mean young people were forced into marriages they didn’t want to be in. Of course loving parents would always consider the wishes of their children in such matters.

Given the facts above, in order for the stoning penalty in Deuteronomy 22:21 to be applied, several things had to happen:

1. The bride must have lost her virginity before marriage.
2. The bride must have lied about her promiscuity, since the penalty only kicked in if the husband was unaware that she was no longer a virgin. This is a key point: for    the penalty to kick in, we must assume that a bride would knowingly mislead her husband about the status of her virginity, even though she risked death by doing so!
3. The parents, who presumably loved their daughter, must have chosen a husband for her who was actually psychologically capable of having her stoned to death. Would any loving parent do this?
4. The parents must have been ignorant of her lack of virginity, since no loving parent would risk the penalty.
5. The bride must have agreed to marry a man capable of stoning her to death. Would any woman do this?
6. The groom must have agreed to marry a woman that he cared so little for that he was willing to stone her simply because she was not a virgin. This begs the question: if he cared so little for her, why did he agree to marry her in the first place?
7. The groom must have been ignorant of the fact that she was not a virgin, since if she had disclosed the fact ahead of time the penalty did not apply.
8. Polygamy was a common practice of the day, so what would compel a man to kill a woman, even if he wasn’t completely satisfied with her, when he didn’t have to? Why not just marry someone else?
9. No one could receive the death penalty without at least two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6). How, exactly, could a new husband produce two or three witnesses? He would have to produce men who admitted to having intercourse with the woman. But then the witness would put himself at risk, since having intercourse with a woman who was engaged to someone else carried the death penalty as well (Deuteronomy 22:23-24), and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to prove exactly when the union took place. Thus, it is extremely unlikely that even a second witness could ever be produced, much less a third.

Given all of these factors, it is easy to see that it was extremely unlikely that a young woman would ever be punished in this manner. In fact, it’s questionable as to whether the penalty was ever applied at all, even a single time. Incidentally, according to the Jewish Mishnah, one execution every seven years, for any reason, was considered too frequent and a Sanhedrin (court) that applied the death penalty more often was said to be too “bloody.” Later scribes increased that to seventy years – and this includes murders, rapes, etc. In other words, a court that sentenced someone to death more often than once in seventy years was considered too bloody.

Since it is doubtful anyone ever suffered the death penalty under this law, then what could possibly be the purpose of the law? Why institute a law for which a penalty would likely never be applied? Herein lies the genius of the law: in one fell swoop, God’s instructions to Moses accomplished several important tasks:

1. It impressed upon young people the importance of chastity until marriage.
2. It impressed upon young people the importance of openness and honesty with parents. After all, lying to your parents about promiscuity could result in death.
3. It impressed upon parents the importance of openness and honesty with their children. No parent wanted this punishment for his or her child, and would certainly make a strong effort to communicate as a consequence.
4. It impressed upon parents the importance of finding a loving husband for their daughter, one who would love her regardless of the status of her virginity.
5. It impressed upon young ladies the seriousness of their opinion in the selection process.
6. It impressed upon young men and women the importance of communication with their prospective spouses, and the importance (to a young man) of agreeing to marry someone he could love no matter what the status of her virginity.

In retrospect, we can see that a law that appears to us to be barbaric in fact helped forge a religion, culture, family structure, and a people (the Jews) that has withstood thousands of years of persecution and every attempt to dilute or destroy it.

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9, KJV)