What does the Bible say about rape?

[TonyChanYT]

Unlike English, in Biblical Hebrew, there was not an unambiguous word that means to rape. There were some descriptions of rapes in the OT.

Genesis 34:

1Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. 2And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her.

Note the verbs. But then:

3And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.”

The Bible does not describe how Dinah felt about it from her point of view.

As punishment,

25b two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. 26They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away.

What did Moses Law say about rape?

Deuteronomy 22:

23If there is a virgin pledged in marriage to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her, 24you must take both of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. So you must purge the evil from among you.

Presumably, crying out would bring in witnesses and help. If a betrothed virgin did not cry out and had sexual intercourse with a man, it wasn't rape. Kill them both.

25But if the man encounters a betrothed woman in the open country, and he overpowers her and lies with her, only the man who has done this must die. 26Do nothing to the young woman, because she has committed no sin worthy of death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him. 27When he found her in the field, the betrothed woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.

If a betrothed woman cried out and had sex with a man, it was rape. Kill only the man

28If a man encounters a virgin who is not pledged in marriage, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are discovered, 29then the man who lay with her must pay the young woman’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she must become his wife because he has violated her. He must not divorce her as long as he lives.

In this case, there was no mention of crying out. If a non-betrothed virgin had sexual intercourse with a man, he didn't need to be executed. It is arguable whether this was a case of rape or not,

What about the case of a man raping someone's wife?

The Law did not specify this case precisely. However, it did say:

22If a man is found lying with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

I assume that she didn't cry out. If she had cried out, then only the man would be executed.

The NT does not mention rape explicitly.

In any case, these were antiquated laws particular to its time and culture. Today, our judicial systems are a lot more detailed and complicated.

 

[Ziggy]

People have gotten more complicated too.
Just say no, sometimes doesn't apply. Mixed messages. entrapments, deceptions.
Lawsuits are very equitable when it comes to fornication of any type.

Jesus did tighten up the rule a bit though.
He said that if a man even looks at a woman to lust after her, he has already committed adultery in his heart.
I would believe the same goes for a woman.. a Jezebel.

She's been showing up in a lot of my posts lately. There is a spirit of Jezebel running wild in the world right now.
It's everywhere. Deception, provoking, a spirit of lawlessness, I can feel it.
Somethings happening in the world today. It feels like the flood gates are open and all filthiness is about to be let loose.

Keep yourselves pure. Stay focused on the Lord. Don't fall for any bait dangled in front of you.
Something is stirring...

Keep the faith, wear the armour.
God Bless
Hugs

 

[Hazelelponi]

Just say no, sometimes doesn't apply. Mixed messages. entrapments, deceptions.

I think single, unmarried men and women spend too much time alone together.

Not putting oneself in a situation that could potentially go awry goes a long way to prevention.

You can meet up at a restaurant (separate cars) and have a public dinner and take one's leave after, that way your getting to meet and spend time "alone" with a potential spouse without the potential for abuse or temptation.

But people act all shocked, like your an alien from outer space if you suggest it.

People lock their cars to prevent theft, but girls don't protect themselves anymore.

 

[Ziggy]

I think single, unmarried men and women spend too much time alone together.

Not putting oneself in a situation that could potentially go awry goes a long way to prevention.

You can meet up at a restaurant (separate cars) and have a public dinner and take one's leave after, that way your getting to meet and spend time "alone" with a potential spouse without the potential for abuse or temptation.

But people act all shocked, like your an alien from outer space if you suggest it.

People lock their cars to prevent theft, but girls don't protect themselves anymore.

There is no respect for ones own body.
And it isn't taught anymore. I think that went out somewhere in the 40's and 50's.
Most adults today have played around in their younger years. And then they get older and have children.
Now you have to tell them not to do what you yourself had done. Knowing full well their going to do it anyways.

How do you teach self respect, if you don't respect your self?

Respect like commonsense has pretty much kicked the bucket.
How to get it back, now that's the question.

Hugs

 

[Bob Estey]

Unlike English, in Biblical Hebrew, there was not an unambiguous word that means to rape. There were some descriptions of rapes in the OT.

Genesis 34:


Note the verbs. But then:


The Bible does not describe how Dinah felt about it from her point of view.

As punishment,


What did Moses Law say about rape?

Deuteronomy 22:


Presumably, crying out would bring in witnesses and help. If a betrothed virgin did not cry out and had sexual intercourse with a man, it wasn't rape. Kill them both.


If a betrothed woman cried out and had sex with a man, it was rape. Kill only the man


In this case, there was no mention of crying out. If a non-betrothed virgin had sexual intercourse with a man, he didn't need to be executed. It is arguable whether this was a case of rape or not,

What about the case of a man raping someone's wife?

The Law did not specify this case precisely. However, it did say:


I assume that she didn't cry out. If she had cried out, then only the man would be executed.

The NT does not mention rape explicitly.

In any case, these were antiquated laws particular to its time and culture. Today, our judicial systems are a lot more detailed and complicated.

The Bible tells us not to fornicate. It says to love your neighbor as yourself. It says not to look lustfully at people. It says not to have carnal thoughts.