If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her. That is, marries a wife, and cohabits with her as man and wife, and after some time dislikes her, and is desirous of parting with her, and therefore takes the following wicked method to obtain it: this is to be understood of a virgin taken to wife, as the Targum of Jonathan explains it; and what follows confirms it. read more
Verse 13 13.If any man take a wife. This passage also tends to the exaltation of chastity. God provides against both cases, lest a husband should unjustly bring reproach upon a chaste and innocent young woman, and lest a young woman, having been defiled, should escape punishment, if she pretended to be a virgin. A third object is also to be remarked, viz., that parents were thus admonished to be more careful in watching over their children. This is, indeed, an act of gross brutality, that a... read more
Divine care for sexual honor. In these, as in so many of the precepts of this book, we find civil precepts invested with religious sanctions. Nothing is more important for the honorable maintenance of social life, than that both men and women should honor each other's sex as well as their own. Those that do otherwise are an abomination to the Lord their God. There are five or six different cases supposed in the verses referred to at the heading of this Homily: Such sins would have been... read more
Slander, unchastity, and fraud. No blame can lie against the Scriptures because they legislate on such detestable matters. The blame must lie at the door of depraved humanity, which perpetrates such deeds and makes Divine legislation necessary. The obscenity appertains to the vices, only praise belongs to the remedy. I. A WOMAN 'S CHASTITY IS HER MAIN DOWRY FOR LIFE . If she possess not this virtue, she is worse than worthless; she is a plague and a pest—a moral... read more
The laws in this section have the design of fostering purity and fidelity in the relation of the sexes, and also of protecting the female against the malice of sated lust and the violence of brutal lust. read more
Chastity. The Mosaic Law is strict and stern in its requirement of purity in all that pertains to the marriage relation. Its strictness, however, is united with a fine sense of justice, and its shield is, as usual, extended for the protection of the innocent. I. THE DEFAMED WIFE . ( Deuteronomy 22:13-19 .) No act can be conceived more cruel or dastardly than that of a man who groundlessly assails his wife's character, accusing her of ante-nuptial unchastity. As the matter was... read more
Expedients to secure purity. We have here various wise expedients to control the licentiousness of the people, and secure, so far as possible, social purity. I. DEFAMATION OF CHARACTER WAS SEVERELY PUNISHED . A husband could not, with impunity, defame a newly married wife; for should there be proof forthcoming that his charge was false, he was to be publicly chastised, to pay a fine of one hundred shekels of silver to his father-in-law, whoso good name and peace he had... read more
Deuteronomy 22:13. If any man take a wife And afterward falsely accuse her. What the meaning of that evidence is, by which the accusation was proved false, the learned are not agreed. Nor is it necessary for us to know: they for whom this law was intended, undoubtedly understood it. read more
Laws of love and purity (22:1-30)A collection of miscellaneous laws reminds the people of some everyday responsibilities. They had to go out of their way to help others (22:1-4); they were not to dress in a way that would encourage immorality (5); they were to be thoughtful for the safety of others, birds and animals as well as people (6-8); and they were not to restrict the productivity of their crops through wrong practices, or shorten the lives of their working animals through cruelty... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 22:13-30
These laws relate to the seventh commandment, laying a restraint by laying a penalty upon those fleshly lusts which war against the soul. I. If a man, lusting after another woman, to get rid of his wife slander her and falsely accuse her, as not having the virginity she pretended to when he married her, upon the disproof of his slander he must be punished, Deut. 22:13-19. What the meaning of that evidence is by which the husband's accusation was to be proved false the learned are not agreed,... read more