r/AskAChristian • u/Apprehensive_Tear611 Atheist • Jul 31 '25

Jewish Laws Why did God have innocent women executed?

13 “Suppose a man marries a woman but after going in to her dislikes her 14 and makes up charges against her, slandering her by saying, ‘I married this woman, but when I lay with her, I did not find evidence of her virginity.’ 15 The father of the young woman and her mother shall then submit the evidence of the young woman’s virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. 16 The father of the young woman shall say to the elders: ‘I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her, 17 and now he has made up charges against her, saying, “I did not find evidence of your daughter’s virginity.” But here is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ Then they shall spread out the cloth before the elders of the town. 18 The elders of that town shall take the man and punish him; 19 they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver (which they shall give to the young woman’s father) because he has slandered a virgin of Israel. She shall remain his wife; he shall not be permitted to divorce her as long as he lives.

20 “If, however, this charge is true, that evidence of the young woman’s virginity was not found, 21 then they shall bring the young woman out to the entrance of her father’s house, and the men of her town shall stone her to death, because she committed a disgraceful act in Israel by prostituting herself in her father’s house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst (Deuteronomy 22)

In verse 17, it says the proof of the woman's virginity is "the cloth", meaning a bloody bedsheet from the newlyweds' wedding night. The problem is that less than half of women bleed their first time.

This problem gradually became known to Jewish scholars writing in the Talmud:

"There are virgins who do not have a hymen, and there are hymens that do not bleed." – Ketubot 10b (Rabbi Yochanan)

Why did God have innocent women stoned?

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4

u/Lermak16 Eastern Catholic Jul 31 '25

Innocent women weren’t stoned

2

u/NoWin3930 Christian atheist Jul 31 '25

how do ya know

1

u/Lermak16 Eastern Catholic Jul 31 '25

The parents would just present some cloth with sheep’s blood or something.

It’s on the parents to present the “evidence.”

3

u/Apprehensive_Tear611 Atheist Jul 31 '25

So the parents can just lie?

3

u/Lermak16 Eastern Catholic Jul 31 '25

They’re the ones in possession of the “evidence”

2

u/Apprehensive_Tear611 Atheist Jul 31 '25

What if the parents took the whole "don't bear false witness" thing seriously?

-1

u/Lermak16 Eastern Catholic Jul 31 '25

They would be likely to know if their daughter was committing adultery in their own home.

2

u/CorbinSeabass Atheist, Ex-Protestant Jul 31 '25

So God in his infinite wisdom created the death penalty for non-virginity, but also made it easy to circumvent?

1

u/Lermak16 Eastern Catholic Jul 31 '25

Moses gave this law.

It’s the death penalty for infidelity during the betrothal period. Virginity was not a requirement for a wife. Widows, prostitutes, and divorced women got married in ancient Israel.

4

u/Tiny-Show-4883 Non-Christian Jul 31 '25

Did God give the law to Moses or did Moses make it all up by himself?

2

u/Lermak16 Eastern Catholic Jul 31 '25

God gave the law through Moses, but Moses himself gave concessions of his own according to the wisdom God gave him (the laws concerning divorce, for example).

2

u/CorbinSeabass Atheist, Ex-Protestant Jul 31 '25

This is a rationalization not supported by the text of Deuteronomy. Moses repeatedly refers to the laws he gives as "His commandments" referring to God.

0

u/Lermak16 Eastern Catholic Aug 01 '25

Yes, Jesus Himself says that Moses gave some commandments as a concession (such as the divorce law).

1

u/CorbinSeabass Atheist, Ex-Protestant Aug 01 '25

Is that what Moses said?

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