22:1 neighbor According to Exodus 23:4–5, the obligation is the same principle with respect to the animals of one’s enemy.

22:5 The apparel of a man shall not be put on a woman The rationale for this law is unclear. It does not appear with other laws concerning sexual morality (Deut 22:13–30), so it may not speak to sexuality issues.

is detestable to The Hebrew word used here, to'evah, refers to something morally repulsive. See 12:21; 14:3; 17:1; 18:12.

22:6 mother along with the young See Lev 22:28 and note. The law may be humanitarian in its motivation.

22:8 anyone should fall from it This law resembles that in Exod 21:3–34, where the danger was falling into an uncovered pit. Israelite and Canaanite houses had flat roofs used for storage or socializing. Unless the owner erected a barrier on the roof, falling off was a legitimate danger.

22:9 You shall not sow your vineyard with differing kinds of seed This law resembles Lev 19:19. Forbidding such mixtures may have been to observe boundaries established in creation, but the practice here is not hybridization. The original purpose, possibly cultural or practical, is no longer known.

22:10 an ox and with a donkey yoked together Since these two animals are unequal in strength, working them as a team may fatigue or harm one or both of the partners.

22:11 woven material made of wool and linen mixed together While this prohibition may regard differentiating between species or genders, this is unlikely. The law does not prohibit the combining of the two materials, but rather wearing apparel made from a combination of the two. The rationale behind the law is unknown.

22:12 You shall make tassels for yourselves A more detailed version of this requirement appears in Num 15:37–41.

22:13 he has sex with her The Hebrew verb used here, bo’, is a common euphemism for sexual intercourse (e.g., Gen 16:4; 38:9; 2 Sam 12:24).

22:14 he accuses her falsely The Hebrew wording in reference to an accusation appears elsewhere (see Job 4:18; 1 Sam 22:15).

I discovered that she was not a virgin This likely refers to suspicion of sexual activity prior to marriage based on the initial act of marital intercourse not resulting in bleeding (see Deut 22:17). The word bethulim (“virginity”) is not the same word that occurs in Isa 7:14 (almah)—though they are related in meaning. Bethulah more precisely describes a woman who has never been sexually active.

The Virgin Shall Conceive: The Vocabulary of Virginity

22:15 the evidence of the virginity of The evidence is a cloth with the woman’s blood on it (Deut 22:17). A newly married young woman was expected to retain the bedclothes from the wedding night and present it to her mother for keeping. This custom is known elsewhere in the ancient Near East.

to the elders of the city The elders were the judicial authority (see v. 2). On city gates in the ancient Near East, see note on 17:5.

22:19 silver A shekel was about 2/5 of an ounce.

22:21 the doorway of the house of her father Israelite society expected fathers to raise chaste daughters. Since the daughter’s unchastity occurred while living with her family, the location was symbolically appropriate for the execution. Sexual relations produced children who would inherit ancestral lands and family property—the very means of survival in a tribal agrarian culture. This meant that illicit sexual relationships potentially threatened all the lives entangled in the results; for this reason, the authorities dealt with the matter severely. Adultery resulted in similar circumstances for compromised inheritance and economic survival.

22:22 they shall both die; both of them See note on Exod 20:14. See Deut 22:21 for the rationale for this penalty (compare Lev 20:10).

22:23 a young woman, a virgin, is engaged Refers to a young woman engaged to be married. The Hebrew phrase is na’arah bethulah. Na’arah bethulah is not the same word that occurs in Isa 7:14 (almah), though they are related in meaning. Bethulah is the more precise term for a woman with no sexual history. In ancient Near Eastern culture, betrothal created a legal relationship akin to marriage, which is why violating the betrothal was viewed as adultery. Incidents involving betrothed women or married women both involve the death penalty for the guilty, but not when the woman has neither status (see Deut 22:28).

The Virgin Shall Conceive: The Vocabulary of Virginity

22:24 because she did not cry out Those judging the case took the lack of a cry for help—which likely would have been heard in a small town—as indicating consent. The presumption was that the girl could have cried out had she wanted to resist. See v. 25 for the opposite circumstance.

22:25 the man only must die who lay with her If the deed occurred in open country, where few people would have been present to hear a cry for help, the law presumes the woman is guiltless. The people are only to execute the rapist.

22:28 who is not engaged Or, not engaged (and not married either, since that case has already been described in v. 22).

22:29 she shall become his wife Exodus 22:16–17 adds that the violated young woman’s father must let the guilty man marry his daughter.

22:30 he may not dishonor his father The law here could refer to a case where a son marries one of his father’s wives who was not his own mother, likely after his father’s death. The sexual crime of incest with one’s own mother is prohibited elsewhere (Lev 18:7–8; compare Gen 9:22 and note). Compare Deut 27:20; Lev 18:8.