Deuteronomy 22

22:1 don’t ignore your responsibility: An individual was not to avoid a troubled scene by pretending not to see what was going on. To do so would be a failure of the individual’s responsibility to the covenant community.

22:5 Adopting the dress and behavior of the opposite gender unnaturally blurs the lines between things that should be kept separate and distinct (also 22:9-11).

22:9 any other crop between the rows: This would bring about a mingling of things that should be kept separate.

22:10 Plowing with an ox and a donkey would be inefficient; this example illustrates the principle of separation and order (see also 2 Cor 6:14-18).

22:11 Keeping wool and linen separate illustrated Israel’s separation as God’s holy people (see also Lev 19:19).

22:12 Placing four tassels on the hem of a garment probably reminded the wearer to be loyal to the covenant, similar to tying a string around one’s finger (see Num 15:37-41).

22:14 A husband who discovered evidence that his wife had lost her virginity prior to marriage (see 22:15) would accuse her of shameful conduct.

22:15 proof of her virginity: A blood-stained cloth would indicate that the woman’s hymen was ruptured by her first act of intercourse with her husband.

22:17 The bed sheet (literally covering) might also have been a garment of some kind, such as a nightgown.

22:19 100 pieces of silver: The husband, who had already paid the woman’s father the normal bride price, must now pay additional compensation for defaming her character.

22:21 by being promiscuous (literally acting as a prostitute): A single act of sexual intercourse by an unmarried woman was enough to earn this disgraceful label and the death penalty.

22:24 Because betrothal was tantamount to marriage in the Old Testament, another man’s wife in this passage technically refers to a fiancée.

22:29 fifty pieces of silver: The father could still expect a dowry for his unmarried daughter (see Gen 34:12; Exod 22:16). • he must marry: The assumption is that the girl and her father were willing to undertake the arrangement (see Exod 22:17).

22:30 The phrase his father’s former wife does not refer to a man’s own mother because incest was a more serious crime (see Lev 18:7-8, 29).