Deuteronomy 22:20

Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the Israelite assembly in the plains of Moab, delivering statutory law for community governance. This verse operates as the conditional clause in a marital dispute case, specifying the outcome if a husband’s claim of non-virginity is substantiated.

The words — אִם־אֱמֶת הָיָה הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה (imemet hayah hadavar haze) translates literally as "if true was this word." The verb נִמְצְאוּ (nimtzu) means "they were found," denoting the physical evidence that must be produced.

The thread — The conditional structure "if... then" governs the surrounding legal case in Deuteronomy 22:13–21. The requirement for corroborating evidence before capital punishment recurs in Deuteronomy 17:6 and 19:15.

Why it lands — The text establishes a procedural barrier to execution by mandating physical proof before the community acts. It requires readers to recognize that communal justice depends on verified facts rather than uncorroborated allegations.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.