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Deuteronomy 22

Deuteronomy 22 places everyday responsibility and sexual conduct under God’s authority, prescribing concrete duties and severe judgments for Israel.

Moses gives Israel laws covering lost animals, clothing, farming, and household safety, then turns to marriage and sexual offenses. Neighbors must return lost property and help fallen animals; homeowners must guard against fatal falls. The marriage laws address accusations about virginity, adultery, and sexual assault, with fines and death penalties among the judgments. They distinguish several circumstances, including whether a woman was pledged in marriage and whether anyone could have come to her aid.

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1You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep go astray and hide yourself from them. You shall surely bring them again to your brother.
2If your brother isn’t near to you, or if you don’t know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall be with you until your brother comes looking for it, and you shall restore it to him.
4You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide yourself from them. You shall surely help him to lift them up again.
5A woman shall not wear men’s clothing, neither shall a man put on women’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.
6If you come across a bird’s nest on the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the hen sitting on the young, or on the eggs, you shall not take the hen with the young.
7You shall surely let the hen go, but the young you may take for yourself, that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days.
8When you build a new house, then you shall make a railing around your roof, so that you don’t bring blood on your house if anyone falls from there.
9You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest all the fruit be defiled, the seed which you have sown, and the increase of the vineyard.
12You shall make yourselves fringes on the four corners of your cloak with which you cover yourself.
13If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, hates her,
14accuses her of shameful things, gives her a bad name, and says, “I took this woman, and when I came near to her, I didn’t find in her the tokens of virginity;”
19They shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver, and give them to the father of the young lady, because he has given a bad name to a virgin of Israel. She shall be his wife. He may not put her away all his days.
21then they shall bring out the young lady to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done folly in Israel, to play the prostitute in her father’s house. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
22If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both die, the man who lay with the woman and the woman. So you shall remove the evil from Israel.
24then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones; the lady, because she didn’t cry, being in the city; and the man, because he has humbled his neighbor’s wife. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
29then the man who lay with her shall give to the lady’s father fifty shekels of silver. She shall be his wife, because he has humbled her. He may not put her away all his days.
30A man shall not take his father’s wife, and shall not uncover his father’s skirt.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Deuteronomy 22:21This death sentence shows the severity of Israel’s covenant judgments concerning sexual wrongdoing within the father’s household.
Deuteronomy 22:9The vineyard restriction places agricultural practice within Israel’s holiness laws, alongside prohibitions concerning mixed labor and fabrics.
Deuteronomy 22:22The adultery law holds both participants accountable and treats their offense as evil affecting the whole community.
Where this chapter reaches

Exodus shares commands about returning wandering animals and helping burdened animals, while Leviticus shares restrictions on mixtures and laws concerning sexual offenses. 1 Corinthians echoes Deuteronomy’s language about removing evil from the community when addressing sexual wrongdoing within the church.

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After reading the whole chapter

Which duty in verses 1–8 makes you reconsider a responsibility you might otherwise overlook?

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What questions do the distinctions between sexual offenses raise for you about guilt, evidence, and protection?

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Questions people ask about Deuteronomy 22

Does Deuteronomy 22 require a rape victim to marry her attacker?

Verses 28–29 describe a man grabbing an unbetrothed virgin and having intercourse with her, then require payment to her father and marriage without divorce. Readers debate the precise force of the wording, but the woman’s consent is unstated. This ancient legal provision must never be used to compel someone into marriage with an abuser.

Why does Deuteronomy 22 mention whether a woman cried out?

Verses 23–27 contrast a city encounter, where help is presumed available, with an assault in a field, where no rescuer is present. The field case declares the woman free of guilt and compares the attack to murder. These cases do not make silence a reliable measure of consent; people under assault may be unable to cry out.

Why does Deuteronomy 22 forbid mixing seeds and fabrics?

Verses 9–11 prohibit mixed seed in a vineyard, plowing with an ox and donkey together, and weaving wool with linen. The vineyard command warns that the produce would be defiled. The chapter supplies no further explanation for these distinctions, so claims about their precise symbolism remain uncertain.

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What the Bible says about anger →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).