The Provisions Regarding the Rape and Seduction of an Unbetrothed Girl

Abstract

Abstract This paper seeks to examine the relations between the singular provision on seduction of an unbetrothed girl in the Book of the Covenant and the sequence of provisions regarding illicit intercourse in Deut 22, which reach their peak with the provision on rape of an unbetrothed girl. It will suggest that an examination of the two passages and their various literary and legal contexts, along with a study of similar provisions in the ancient Near Eastern law collections and adherence to the legal logic guiding their articulation, should bring to the conclusion that the provision in the Book of the Covenant is later than, and dependent upon, the sequence of provisions in Deuteronomy, and is intended to complement it. This interpretive decision supports Van Seters’ view of the relationship between the Book of the Covenant and the Deuteronomic legislation.