February 28th, 2026
133. Deuteronomy 22 and Exceptions to the Rule
In Deuteronomy 22:28-29, is there a contradiction between the translation and the footnote?
A member raised a question about Deuteronomy 22:28-29. In that passage, the EHV reads, "The man lying down with her must give the father of the girl fifty pieces of silver, and she will become his wife. Because he violated her, he is not allowed to divorce her as long as he lives." The EHV Study Bible note on this verse reads, "This law deals with the economic damages of the behavior not the morality of it. The woman was not required to marry the man (Exodus 22:17)." The study note seems to contradict the text which says, "She will become his wife." and "he is not allowed to divorce her as long as he lives." Is there something I'm missing in the context? Again, thank you and any help on this question would be greatly appreciated!
To answer this question we have to compare two parallel versions of this law which concerns monetary compensation for crimes that damage a woman’s prospects for marriage.
Deuteronomy 22:28-29
If a man finds a virgin who is not pledged in marriage and he grabs her and lies down with her and they are caught, 29the man lying down with her must give the father of the girl fifty pieces of silver, and she will become his wife. Because he violated her, he is not allowed to divorce her as long as he lives.
Exodus 22:16-17
If a man seduces a virgin who has not been pledged in marriage and lies down with her, he must pay a bride price for her to be his wife. 17If her father flatly refuses to give her to him, the offender still must weigh out silver equivalent to the bride price for virgins.
In both situations, the man must pay damages to the woman’s father because he has damaged or even ruined her prospects for marriage. This penalty applies regardless of the level of force or seduction in the case. The woman and her family suffer financial damage in either case.
In Deuteronomy the man must marry her and is bound to her for life. In Exodus an additional piece of information is added which states an exception to the general rule. The offender may be refused the right to marry the woman, but he still has to pay financial damages, which is the main issue of this law.
It is not particularly unusual that in parallel statements of a biblical law, one instance states only the basic principle, and the other adds any exceptions to the rule. See, for example, Jesus’ statements on divorce. Some of them state only the principle: “All divorce is sin.” Others state: “Divorce and remarriage is a sin except in cases where one party has already broken the marriage.”
No exceptions are stated in these cases
Mark 10:7-12
7For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8and the two will become one flesh.[] So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”10In the house his disciples asked him about this again. 11He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12If she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Luke 16:18
18Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another is committing adultery, and the man who marries a woman divorced from her husband is committing adultery.
However, in some cases there are exceptions noted
Matthew 19:4-9
4He answered, “Haven't you read that from the beginning their Maker ‘made them male and female,’[] 5and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and remain united to his wife, and the two will be one flesh’?[] 6So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate.”7They asked him, “Then why did Moses command a man to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
1 Corinthians 7:12-15
12But I, not the Lord, say to the rest: If any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she is willing to go on living with him, he is not to divorce her. 13If any woman has an unbelieving husband, and he is willing to go on living with her, she is not to divorce her husband. 14For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified in connection with his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified in connection with her husband.[] Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. The brother or the sister is not bound in such cases, and God has called us[] to live in peace.
On the basis of the passages in Mark and Luke, some have claimed that there can never be divorce and remarriage without sin, and this view has led to considerable conflict in the church. However, when we are counseling people, we cannot ignore the information added by the exceptions clauses.
There are numerous other examples of the same type of situation. We can mention only two other examples here.
The 3rd Commandment in Exodus 20 bans all work on the Sabbath. We have to look to other passages to find examples of exceptions to the Sabbath rule: “Do not do any regular work on the Sabbath.” The most notable exceptions to the rule are 1) priests working in the Temple on the Sabbath; 2) the Son of Man healing people on the Sabbath; 3) his assistants picking the grain they needed to sustain themselves as they accompanied him during his missions on the Sabbath, and 4) even pulling your son or ox out of a well on the Sabbath. This is what Jesus did in such passages as Matthew 12:1-7, Mark 2:23-28, Luke 6:1-5, and Luke 13:15 & 14:5.
Old Testament Israel had a strict religious calendar. The Passover had to be celebrated on the 14th of Nisan and the penalty for failing to do so was severe, but there were exceptions for extenuating circumstance (See Numbers 9:1-13).
The same principle is involved in the question we are addressing here. The man cannot refuse the marriage, and he can never leave the marriage. However, he can be refused the right of marriage, but he must still pay the marriage price, even when he is denied the right of marriage. The woman is not punished by being forced into a marriage with the man who committed the crime.