Chapter Twenty-Two
Miscellaneous Rules and Regulations
This section presents eight different regulations that appear to be unrelated with the exception that they are simply listed together. Some point out issues that are abominations to God, while others could be considered practical guidelines.
22:1 “You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother. 2 And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him. 3 And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother’s, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it. 4 You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and ignore them. You shall help him to lift them up again.
Sadly, human nature is often too self-absorbed to think about or even recognize the needs of others. These verses essentially mandate civil behavior, emphasizing being courteous and thoughtful of others and to respect their property. If livestock is found wandering or clothing or anything else that belongs to someone else is found, the item or animal are not to be claimed as belonging to the person who found them. They are to make every effort to return the property. Plus, if something was found they could not simply ignore seeing it, including if they see an animal that had fallen down and cannot get up on its own. In that scenario they are to assist in lifting the animal back on their feet.
22:5 “A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.
This verse is highly controversial and as a result there have been many suggested interpretations. Some of those variations come from not understanding what the phrase, “iš̛̛·šā(h) lō(‘) yih·yě(h)’ ‘ǎl ḡě·ḇěr ḵelî,” translated here as, “A woman shall not wear a man’s garment,” refers to. Most Bible versions offer similar wording, the potential problem being the word, ‘ḵelî’,[1] as it can refer to vessels, an article, ornaments, or almost anything. The Schocken Bible offers this translation, “There is not to be a man’s item on a woman.” The Septuagint translates ‘ḵelî’ as ‘skeúos’,[2] also meaning vessel or equipment. However, since the next clause clearly prohibits a man to put on a woman’s cloak (Hebrew ‘śim·lǎṯ’,[3] meaning garment, Septuagint ‘stolē’),[4] making ‘ḵelî’ in context, a reference to something wearable, either clothing or a clothing accessory. Women were not allowed to wear anything that men would be wearing, and men were not to put on anything that a woman would be wearing. They were not to pretend, or appear, to be the opposite gender. Both conditions are identified as being an abomination to YHWH. However, the varied opinions and potential disagreements are not necessarily about defining what was stated, the primary disagreement seems to be centered around the question as to why the regulation was given. Professor Jeffrey H. Tigay, Ph.D, offers this summary:
Several plausible reasons have been suggested for this commandment. Some think that it is directed against disguising oneself as a member of the opposite sex since this would facilitate mingling with them and hence fornication. Others think that transvestism is inherently abhorrent, either because it blurs the sexual differences that God created (see Gen. 1:27 and compare the laws of forbidden mixtures below, vv. 9–11), because it is a perverse means of sexual stimulation or homosexual role-playing, or because it was a part of certain pagan rites and magical practices. Pertinent to the suggestion that it was a pagan practice is a Babylonian adage, according to which a person who is apparently an Amorite says to his wife, “You be the man and I’ll be the woman,” but there is no indication of what act this refers to.[5]
22:6 “If you come across a bird’s nest in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. 7 You shall let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long.
The Torah contains several parent-child relationship rules that not only regard human relations, but for animals as well (see Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Leviticus 22:27, 28; Deuteronomy 14:21). Here if someone is searching for eggs or young birds and finds a nest; they are not allowed to take the mother with the young birds or eggs. The promise given that it may go well with them and may live long,[6] is another reminder that once they are in the Promised Land and do as God asks, they will be able to live in the land.
It is interesting to note that the Hullin Tractate of the Talmud states that this requirement only applies to clean fowl birds. Regarding any unclean birds, the mother may be captured. It also allows those that nest in a house to be exempt from this rule. The reason for this rule is offered in the tractate as to cover up the blood from the mother bird.[7] Some speculate that this requirement would ease the anxiety of the mother bird, however, it is not likely going to ease the terror from the young birds being removed from their nest.
22:8 “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.
Houses were to have a parapet, a low wall around the edge of a roof, to prevent people from falling off the roof. Most homes of that era and location were flat and served as a location to sleep during warm evenings. Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (also known as Maimonides, see Considerations under Genesis 10:19-20) in his Mishneh Torah under Rotzeach uShmirat Nefesh (The Laws of Murderers and the Protection of Life) Chapter 11:3,[8] it states that these parapets needed to be at least ten handbreadths high (approximately 30 inches). This safety precaution was necessary to prevent the homeowner from being liable for someone dying from a fall.
22:9 “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard.
Similar to the wording of Leviticus 19:19 (referring to not sowing a field with two kinds of seed), we see now that both the crop of the field and the grapes of the vineyard are being mentioned in this regulation. Mixing seed was often intentionally done due to either limited fertile ground or lack of water or some other resource. Since God would be the provider of a healthy crop or yield in the Promised Land, choosing to sow with mixed seeds would negate that blessing, resulting in the crop being defiled and all the efforts of planting wasted. In a limited sense trusting a procedure that would circumvent God like this would be similar to seeking fruitfulness from a fertility god or goddess.
22:10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
This regulation prohibits putting two dissimilar animals in a yoke to plow. Even though the reference specifically identifies an ox and a donkey, the approach could be applied to any mix (such as same breed, different strengths) that could cause premature exhaustion, instability leading to stumbling, or injury. Many believe that the apostle Paul was inspired by this verse when he wrote, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14) referring to the dangers of being unequally paired in a Christian relationship (usually applied to marriage, however, it can equally apply to a business partnership).
22:11 You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.
Also similar to the wording found in Leviticus 19:19, which uses the same word (Hebrew ‘šǎ·’ǎṭ·nēz’,[9] referring to a mixed material, generally considered to be a fabric, the word is only used these two times in Scripture, unknown etymology, thought to be Egyptian in origin). While the combination could be reference to something that would result in causing early wear and tear,[10] it could also be another way that would circumvent God’s blessings. It is believed that by creating a hybrid fabric made of wool and linen, the end result could ultimately create a stronger material, again bypassing God’s provision and blessing through man’s efforts instead of relying on God.
22:12 “You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.
God required them to make and attach tassels to the corners of their outer clothing. These tassels were to serve as a reminder of God and His rules and regulations (see Numbers 15:37-41, see also commentary under that section).
Regulations Regarding Sexual Immorality
22:13 “If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then hates her 14 and accuses her of misconduct and brings a bad name upon her, saying, ‘I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her evidence of virginity,’ 15 then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. 16 And the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to marry, and he hates her; 17 and behold, he has accused her of misconduct, saying, “I did not find in your daughter evidence of virginity.” And yet this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloak before the elders of the city. 18 Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip him, 19 and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name upon a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife. He may not divorce her all his days. 20 But if the thing is true, that evidence of virginity was not found in the young woman, 21 then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done an outrageous thing in Israel by whoring in her father’s house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
If a man marries a woman and then later after having sexual intercourse with her decides that he hates her (Hebrew word ‘śenē·’ā’,[11] opposite of love) and begins to degrade her by accusing her of misconduct saying she was not a virgin when he married her, the parents are to bring evidence of her virginity to the city elders. The evidence would typically be a garment or cloth saved by the parents that had their daughter’s blood from when her hymen was perforated on her wedding night. The parents are to tell the elders that they gave their daughter to the man to marry and now he hates her and is accusing her of deceiving him, by saying “I did not find in your daughter evidence of virginity.” They are then to lay out the garment before them and proclaim, “And yet this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.”
The elders were to take the man and whip him and fine him one hundred shekels of silver. The woman would remain his wife and from that moment on could not be divorced. The pieces of silver would be given to the woman’s father as his daughter was wrongfully accused. However, if no evidence was presented and the accusations were found to be true, the woman was to be stoned to death. By following this procedure, it would purge the evil from their midst, allowing the people of Israel to remain holy.
22:22 “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.
If a man is found committing adultery both the man and the woman were to be put to death (see also Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 18:20; 20:10). Again, following this procedure would eliminate the evil from the land.
22:23 “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
If a woman that is betrothed to marry and another man have sexual intercourse in the city, they are both to be put to death. The woman’s guilt would be established by the fact that no one heard her cry out for help and the man’s guilt comes from him violating someone else’s wife.
22:25 “But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 26 But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor, 27 because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her.
If a man rapes a woman who is betrothed away from the city (no one around to hear the woman’s pleas for help), then only the man is to be put to death. This rule is compared to the concept of requiring the death of a male attacker that murdered his neighbor, in other words, identifying her as being innocent. Maimonides (see commentary under verse eight above) suggests that this regulation does not apply if witnesses come forth offering testimony contrary.[12]
22:28 “If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.
If a man meets a virgin that has not been betrothed to marry another man and that man has sexual intercourse with her, then he is to give the father a dowry of 50 shekels of silver, and because he violated her, she is to become his wife who then cannot be divorced.[13]
22:30 “A man shall not take his father’s wife, so that he does not uncover his father’s nakedness.
A man is not to have any sexual relations with his father’s wife, so that he does not uncover his father’s nakedness (Hebrew ‘kenǎp’,[14] usually translated as ‘wing’, in this context it would apply to a skirt or corner of a garment). In Leviticus 20:11 this is listed as a capital crime where both the man and the woman are to be put to death. The phrase, “uncovering his father’s nakedness,” (uncovering or seeing one naked) is an idiom for sexual intercourse.[15]
This verse in some Bible versions and most Hebrew writings is referred to as the first verse of chapter 23.
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 3627.
[2] Strong’s Greek 4632.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 8071.
[4] Strong’s Greek 4749.
[5] Tigay, J. H. (1996). Deuteronomy (p. 200). Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
[6] See commentary under Exodus 20:12.
[7] Neusner, J. (2011). The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary (Vol. 20, p. 645). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.
[8] Touger, E. (2010, January 18). Rotzeach uShmirat Nefesh - Chapter Eleven. Retrieved November 4, 2019, from https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1088927/jewish/Rotzeach-uShmirat-Nefesh-Chapter-Eleven.htm.
[9] Strong’s Hebrew 8162.
[10] See commentary under Leviticus 19:19.
[11] Strong’s Hebrew 8130.
[12] Touger, E. (2009, August 9). Naarah Betulah - Chapter One. Retrieved November 5, 2019, from https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/960634/jewish/Naarah-Betulah-Chapter-One.htm.
[13] See commentary under Exodus 22:16-17.
[14] Strong’s Hebrew 3671.
[15] See commentary under Leviticus 18:6-18; 20:11-12.