Question: No Women's Rights Here?

These verses (Deut. 22:13-29) are difficult ones for many believers. They focus on the husband and his right to marry a virgin. In verses 13-21, there is no thought for whether the husband is a virgin or not. There is no provision for a woman to take legal action against her husband if she feels he has not kept himself for marriage, although perhaps this has something to do with the fact that some Israelite men had several wives. Also, if the new wife is found to be a non-virgin, she is killed, but there is no mention of the man who defiled her. Apparently his evil is not worth purging from Israel. The method of determining virginity is also a poor one, since not all women produce "proof" of their virginity during their wedding night, even if they are virgins.

In verse 22, we see the scriptural punishment for adultery. No surprises here.

However, in verses 23-29, we encounter new problems. A bizzare law which states that raped women must marry their assulters (verse 29)! But if the girl is pledged to be married, she is protected by law...and only if she struggles. (This requirement caused many women pain during the high middle ages, when Church law stated that rapers could not be convicted unless women showed physical signs of abuse.) Once again, the focus is on the husband's right for the wedding night, the father's right to be compensated for his daughter's virginity, but not woman's rights.

How can a believer reconcile these difficult verses and their Christian virtues? Contrary to many, I think it is incorrect to say that these difficulties do not exist or to try and interpret this passage in a "pro-women's rights" way. I prefer the answer Jesus gave when asked about difficult Old Testament laws in Matthew 19:6-8. When asked about a divorce law that seemed to allow immoral behavior, Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning." Perhaps these laws do not reveal the will of a perfect god. Perhaps they are instead the result of God being as just as the people's stubbornness would allow. What do you think?

Note:  Another passage showing a lack of womens' rights is Numbers 30, which speaks of a man's right to overrule a woman's vow.

Created about 3 years ago