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Deuteronomy 22:13-21 recounts a statement that a newly married husband makes concerning his wife.1 The scandalous nature of the statement has led some to dub this text "the case of the slandered bride."2 The gist of the statement is that the woman was not a virgin at the time of the wedding, as the man expected her to be. The main section of the text (w. 13-19) prescribes a course of action if the husband is lying and his statement turns out to be false. The two concluding verses (w. 20-21) stipulate what to do if the husband is telling the truth. The text states:3
13If a man takes a wife and sleeps with her, but then hates her 14and brings charges against her and causes an evil name to come upon her, saying, "I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find in her the signs of virginity," 15then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take the signs of her virginity and bring them to the elders of the city at the gate. 16The father of the young woman shall say to the elders, "I gave my daughter to this man as a wife, and he has hated her. 17See, he has brought charges against her, saying, 'I did not find in your daughter the signs of virginity.' But these are the signs of my daughter's virginity." And they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city. 18Then the elders of the city shall take the man and flog him, 19and they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has caused an evil name to come upon a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife; he may not divorce her for the rest of his days. 20But if the charge is true-signs of virginity were not found in the young woman-21then they shall bring the young woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death, because she has committed a shameful act in Israel by prostituting herself in her father's house. Thus you shall purge the evil from your...