Jonathan Poletti
1 min readNov 25, 2019

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Can I suggest a few tweaks? In OT law, raped women are never stoned. If the woman is betrothed, the rapist must die (Deut 22:25–27). If a single woman is sexual, the procedure of Exod 22:16–17 or Deut 22:29 can kick in—they are different, as the ‘Law’ often changes.

But a girl who accepts being single seems to evade all punishments and has total freedom. She can marry later if she wants. Rahab the Harlot, in Jewish tradition, marries Joshua himself. Similarly, Abishag is David’s concubine in 1 Kings 1:4 and his son wants to marry her in 2:17.

It is also clear that girls are prompted to accept sexual freedom without thought of marriage, if the girl in the Song is the example. (I just wrote about her a bit here.)

The OT law is probably a fictional or rather theological construction. It is never extended to non-Jews, and is totally inadequate to the process of running the world. As an example, Adele Berlin notes there is no law against the rape of a married woman.

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