Exodus 22:19

22:19 “Whoever has sexual relations ¹  with a beast must surely be put to death.

Exodus 22:16

Moral and Ceremonial Laws

22:16 ² “If a man seduces a virgin ³  who is not engaged ⁴  and has sexual relations with her, he must surely endow ⁵  her to be his wife.

Exodus 22:27

22:27 for it is his only covering – it is his garment for his body. ⁶  What else can he sleep in? ⁷  And ⁸  when he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am gracious.

[22:19]  ¹ tn Heb “lies with.”

[22:16]  ² sn The second half of the chapter records various laws of purity and justice. Any of them could be treated in an expository way, but in the present array they offer a survey of God’s righteous standards: Maintain the sanctity of marriage (16-17); maintain the purity of religious institutions (18-20), maintain the rights of human beings (21-28), maintain the rights of Yahweh (29-31).

[22:16]  ³ tn This is the word בְּתוּלָה (bÿtulah); it describes a young woman who is not married or a young woman engaged to be married; in any case, she is presumed to be a virgin.

[22:16]  ⁴ tn Or “pledged” for marriage.

[22:16]  ⁵ tn The verb מָהַר (mahar) means “pay the marriage price,” and the related noun is the bride price. B. Jacob says this was a proposal gift and not a purchase price (Exodus, 700). This is the price paid to her parents, which allowed for provision should there be a divorce. The amount was usually agreed on by the two families, but the price was higher for a pure bride from a noble family. Here, the one who seduces her must pay it, regardless of whether he marries her or not.

[22:27]  ³ tn Heb “his skin.”

[22:27]  ⁴ tn Literally the text reads, “In what can he lie down?” The cloak would be used for a covering at night to use when sleeping. The garment, then, was the property that could not be taken and not given back – it was the last possession. The modern idiom of “the shirt off his back” gets at the point being made here.

[22:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “and it will be.”