If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;
Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.
But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die.
But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter:
For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.
~ Deuteronomy 22:23-27, KJV
This takes on a far deeper meaning when you realize most damsels were betrothed by the time they were ten yeas old, usually to men far older than they. The Pagans had a much better slant on such things.
ReplyDeleteWomen were viewed as the gatekeepers of reproduction and therefore family creation, and most cultures indoctrinate them with the intent of keeping them "pure" before marriage (though many cultures encouraged homosexuality, often for both genders, in what amounted to a form of contraception). It's strange to me that they seemed to realize the principles behind genetics and reproduction back then, but act so surprised by it in the modern age.
ReplyDeleteWhether polytheists were any better to women is debatable. Adultery was certainly punished univerally (with a few exceptions, such as walking marriages).
People are still getting stoned to death for adultery. We live in a sick world.
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