Deuteronomy 22:13
Suppose a man marries a woman, has relations with her, and comes to hate her,
Suppose a man marries a woman
This phrase introduces a hypothetical situation, a common method in ancient legal texts to address potential issues within a community. The Hebrew word for "marries" is "לָקַח" (laqach), which means "to take" or "to acquire." In the cultural and historical context of ancient Israel, marriage was not only a personal union but also a social contract with legal and familial implications. The act of marriage was a significant covenant, reflecting God's covenant relationship with His people. It was intended to be a lifelong commitment, underscoring the seriousness of the vows made before God and community.

has relations with her
The phrase refers to the consummation of the marriage, which was a critical aspect of the marital covenant. In Hebrew, the term used is "בּוֹא" (bo), meaning "to come in" or "to enter," often used euphemistically for sexual relations. This act was not merely physical but symbolized the union of two lives becoming one flesh, as described in Genesis 2:24. It was a sacred act meant to strengthen the marital bond and fulfill God's design for procreation and companionship.

and comes to hate her
The word "hate" in Hebrew is "שָׂנֵא" (sane), which can denote intense dislike or aversion. This phrase indicates a drastic change in the husband's feelings towards his wife, which could lead to unjust accusations or actions. In the historical context, such a shift could have severe consequences for the woman, affecting her reputation and security. The law in Deuteronomy addresses this potential injustice, emphasizing the need for fairness and truth in marital relationships. It reflects God's concern for justice and the protection of the vulnerable, highlighting the importance of integrity and love within marriage.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Man
The husband in the scenario who marries a woman and later claims to hate her.

2. Woman
The wife who is the subject of the husband's claim.

3. Marriage
The covenantal relationship between the man and the woman.

4. Hate
The emotional response of the man towards his wife, leading to the subsequent legal and social actions.

5. Israelite Society
The cultural and legal context in which these laws were given, reflecting the values and norms of ancient Israel.
Teaching Points
The Sanctity of Marriage
Marriage is a sacred covenant that should be entered with reverence and commitment. The passage warns against treating marriage lightly or with contempt.

The Dangers of Unresolved Conflict
The progression from marriage to hatred suggests unresolved issues. Couples should address conflicts early and seek reconciliation to prevent bitterness.

The Role of Community and Law
In ancient Israel, community and legal structures played a role in addressing marital disputes. Today, the church and legal systems can provide support and guidance.

The Call to Love and Respect
Husbands are called to love their wives, not to harbor hatred. This aligns with the New Testament teaching of mutual love and respect in marriage.

The Importance of Truth and Integrity
The subsequent verses (not quoted here) deal with false accusations. Integrity and truthfulness are crucial in maintaining trust within marriage.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the concept of marriage as a covenant in Genesis 2:24 inform our understanding of Deuteronomy 22:13?

2. What steps can couples take to address and resolve conflicts before they lead to feelings of hatred or contempt?

3. How can the church support couples in maintaining healthy and loving marriages, especially in light of Ephesians 5:25-33?

4. In what ways does the legal and community context of ancient Israel differ from today, and how can we apply these principles in our current context?

5. Reflect on a time when truth and integrity were challenged in a relationship. How did you or could you apply biblical principles to resolve the situation?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 2:24
This verse establishes the foundational principle of marriage as a union where a man and woman become one flesh, highlighting the seriousness of the marital bond.

Matthew 19:3-9
Jesus discusses the sanctity of marriage and the conditions under which divorce is permissible, emphasizing the original intent of marriage as a lifelong commitment.

Ephesians 5:25-33
Paul instructs husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church, contrasting the attitude of hate with the call to sacrificial love.

Malachi 2:16
God expresses His disdain for divorce, underscoring the importance of faithfulness in marriage.
Slander, Unchastity, and FraudD. Davies Deuteronomy 22:13-21
ChastityJ. Orr Deuteronomy 22:13-30
Expedients to Secure PurityR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 22:13-30
People
Hen, Moses
Places
Beth-baal-peor
Topics
Connection, Delight, Dislikes, Goes, Hate, Hated, Hates, Lying, Spurns, Takes, Taketh, Turns, Wife
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 22:13-19

     5043   names, significance
     5323   gate
     5676   divorce, in OT
     5707   male and female
     5731   parents
     5951   slander
     8830   suspicion

Deuteronomy 22:13-21

     5472   proof, evidence
     5504   rights
     5659   bride
     5674   daughters
     5695   girls
     5735   sexuality
     5740   virgin

Deuteronomy 22:13-24

     5709   marriage, purpose

Deuteronomy 22:13-30

     6206   offence
     6237   sexual sin, nature of

Library
Spiritual Farming. --No. 2 Ploughing.
There have been during the last few years great improvements in the construction of the plough, but no one dreams of any substitute for it. Ploughing is as necessary as sowing; that is to say, the land must be stirred and prepared for the seed. In heavenly husbandry there are some well-meaning folk who would dispense with the plough, and preach faith without repentance, but only to find that the birds of the air get most of the seed! If there is to be an abiding work there must be conviction of
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

If any Woman, under Pretence of Asceticism, Shall Change Her Apparel And...
If any woman, under pretence of asceticism, shall change her apparel and, instead of a woman's accustomed clothing, shall put on that of a man, let her be anathema. Notes. Ancient Epitome of Canon XIII. Whatever women wear men's clothes, anathema to them. Hefele. The synodal letter in its sixth article also speaks of this. Exchange of dress, or the adoption by one sex of the dress of the other, was forbidden in the Pentateuch (Deut. xxii. 5), and was therefore most strictly interdicted by the whole
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

Excursus on the Word Theotokos .
There have been some who have tried to reduce all the great theological controversies on the Trinity and on the Incarnation to mere logomachies, and have jeered at those who could waste their time and energies over such trivialities. For example, it has been said that the real difference between Arius and Athanasius was nothing more nor less than an iota, and that even Athanasius himself, in his more placid, and therefore presumably more rational moods, was willing to hold communion with those who
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

The Story of the Adulteress.
(Jerusalem.) ^D John VII. 53-VIII. 11. [This section is wanting in nearly all older manuscripts, but Jerome (a.d. 346-420) says that in his time it was contained in "many Greek and Latin manuscripts," and these must have been as good or better than the best manuscripts we now possess. But whether we regard it as part of John's narrative or not, scholars very generally accept it as a genuine piece of history.] ^d 53 And they went every man unto his own house [confused by the question of Nicodemus,
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

List of Abbreviations Used in Reference to Rabbinic Writings Quoted in this Work.
THE Mishnah is always quoted according to Tractate, Chapter (Pereq) and Paragraph (Mishnah), the Chapter being marked in Roman, the paragraph in ordinary Numerals. Thus Ber. ii. 4 means the Mishnic Tractate Berakhoth, second Chapter, fourth Paragraph. The Jerusalem Talmud is distinguished by the abbreviation Jer. before the name of the Tractate. Thus, Jer. Ber. is the Jer. Gemara, or Talmud, of the Tractate Berakhoth. The edition, from which quotations are made, is that commonly used, Krotoschin,
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Whether There is to be a Resurrection of the Body?
Objection 1: It would seem that there is not to be a resurrection of the body: for it is written (Job 14:12): "Man, when he is fallen asleep, shall not rise again till the heavens be broken." But the heavens shall never be broken, since the earth, to which seemingly this is still less applicable, "standeth for ever" (Eccles. 1:4). Therefore the man that is dead shall never rise again. Objection 2: Further, Our Lord proves the resurrection by quoting the words: "I am the God of Abraham, and the God
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Annunciation to Joseph of the Birth of Jesus.
(at Nazareth, b.c. 5.) ^A Matt. I. 18-25. ^a 18 Now the birth [The birth of Jesus is to handled with reverential awe. We are not to probe into its mysteries with presumptuous curiosity. The birth of common persons is mysterious enough (Eccl. ix. 5; Ps. cxxxix. 13-16), and we do not well, therefore, if we seek to be wise above what is written as to the birth of the Son of God] of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his mother Mary had been betrothed [The Jews were usually betrothed ten or twelve months
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Parable of the Good Samaritan.
(Probably Judæa.) ^C Luke X. 25-37. ^c 25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and made trial of him, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? [For the term lawyer see pp. 313, 314, The lawyer wished to make trial of the skill of Jesus in solving the intricate and difficult question as to how to obtain salvation. Jesus was probably teaching in some house or courtyard, and his habit of giving local color to his parables suggests that he was probably in or near Bethany, through
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Healing of the Woman - Christ's Personal Appearance - the Raising of Jairus' Daughter
THERE seems remarkable correspondence between the two miracles which Jesus had wrought on leaving Capernaum and those which He did on His return. In one sense they are complementary to each other. The stilling of the storm and the healing of the demonised were manifestations of the absolute power inherent in Christ; the recovery of the woman and the raising of Jairus' daughter, evidence of the absolute efficacy of faith. The unlikeliness of dominion over the storm, and of command over a legion of
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Among the People, and with the Pharisees
It would have been difficult to proceed far either in Galilee or in Judaea without coming into contact with an altogether peculiar and striking individuality, differing from all around, and which would at once arrest attention. This was the Pharisee. Courted or feared, shunned or flattered, reverently looked up to or laughed at, he was equally a power everywhere, both ecclesiastically and politically, as belonging to the most influential, the most zealous, and the most closely-connected religions
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Barren Fig-Tree. Temple Cleansed.
(Road from Bethany and Jerusalem. Monday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXI. 18, 19, 12, 13; ^B Mark XI. 12-18; ^C Luke XIX. 45-48. ^b 12 And ^a 18 Now ^b on the morrow [on the Monday following the triumphal entry], ^a in the morning ^b when they were come out from Bethany, ^a as he returned to the city [Jerusalem], he hungered. [Breakfast with the Jews came late in the forenoon, and these closing days of our Lord's ministry were full of activity that did not have time to tarry at Bethany for it. Our
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Mothers, Daughters, and Wives in Israel
In order accurately to understand the position of woman in Israel, it is only necessary carefully to peruse the New Testament. The picture of social life there presented gives a full view of the place which she held in private and in public life. Here we do not find that separation, so common among Orientals at all times, but a woman mingles freely with others both at home and abroad. So far from suffering under social inferiority, she takes influential and often leading part in all movements, specially
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

How Does it Come?
How does the Filling of the Spirit come? "Does it come once for all? or is it always coming, as it were?" was a question addressed to me once by a young candidate for the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. There are many asking the same question. We have considered how the Fullness is obtained, but now we proceed to consider, How does the Fullness come? In speaking of the blessing of being filled with the Spirit, the New Testament writers use three tenses in the Greek--the Aorist, the Imperfect, and the
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life

The Development of the Earlier Old Testament Laws
[Sidenote: First the principle, and then the detailed laws] If the canon of the New Testament had remained open as long as did that of the Old, there is little doubt that it also would have contained many laws, legal precedents, and ecclesiastical histories. From the writings of the Church Fathers and the records of the Catholic Church it is possible to conjecture what these in general would have been. The early history of Christianity illustrates the universal fact that the broad principles are
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf.
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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