Women as Property

Exodus 20:14 “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Old Testament punishment - Leviticus 20:10 “And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.”

The issue here is one of property rights – not marital sanctity. Consider that polygamy was common and condoned (a man with many wives {polygyny} that is – never a woman with many husbands {polyandry}), the use of concubines was accepted, and surrogate reproduction (the old-fashioned way) was a recurring motif in Genesis.

This is undeniable to any intellectually honest person – that is, one who has no prior emotional commitment that would force him to equivocate and deny the distasteful facts - who has conducted even a cursory review of the Bible.

Further reading for your spiritual pleasure:

“When the LORD your God hands it over to you, kill every man in the town. But you may keep for yourselves all the women, children, livestock, and other plunder. You may enjoy the spoils of your enemies that the LORD your God has given you.” Deuteronomy 20:12-14

“If a man is caught in the act of raping a young woman who is not engaged, he must pay fifty pieces of silver to her father. Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he will never be allowed to divorce her.” Deuteronomy 22:28-29

“If within the city a man comes upon a maiden who is betrothed, and has relations with [i.e. rapes] her, you shall bring them both out of the gate of the city and there stone them to death: the girl because she did not cry out for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife.” Deuteronomy 22:23-24

They must be dividing the spoils they took: there must be a damsel or two for each man, Spoils of dyed cloth as Sisera's spoil, an ornate shawl or two for me in the spoil. (Judges 5:30 NAB)

……… ad infinitum

[For further inspiration see: www.evilbible.com]