Beautiful captive woman

Apr 19, 2026 - 14:34
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Beautiful captive woman

Modern views

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==Modern views==
==Modern views==
[[Harold C. Washington]] cites {{nobr|Deuteronomy 21:10–14}} as an example of how the Bible condones acts of sexual violence which are committed by Israelites; they were taking advantage of women who, as war captives, had no recourse or means of self defense.{{cite book |last=Washington |first=H. C. |author-link=Harold C. Washington |year=2004 |orig-year=1998 |section=Lest he die in the battle and another man take her: Violence and the construction of gender in the laws of Deuteronomy 20–22 |editor1-first=Victor H. |editor1-last=Matthews |editor2-first=Bernard M. |editor2-last=Levinson |editor3-first=Tikva |editor3-last=Frymer-Kensky |title=Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East |publisher=[[Sheffield Academic Press]] |pages=186–213 |isbn=9780567080981 }} Philosopher [[Jay Newman]] writes, "The evil inherent in slavery itself—sexual or otherwise—is not conveyed".{{cite book |last1=Newman |first1=Jay |title=Biblical Religion and Family Values: A Problem in the Philosophy of Culture |date=30 August 2001 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-0-313-07534-6 |page=109 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z7bOEAAAQBAJ&dq=Beautiful+captive+woman&pg=PA109 }}
[[Harold C. Washington]] cites {{nobr|Deuteronomy 21:10–14}} as an example of how the Bible condones acts of connexion which are committed by Israelites; they were taking advantage of women who, as war captives, had no recourse or means of self defense.{{cite book |last=Washington |first=H. C. |author-link=Harold C. Washington |year=2004 |orig-year=1998 |section=Lest he die in the battle and another man take her: Violence and the construction of gender in the laws of Deuteronomy 20–22 |editor1-first=Victor H. |editor1-last=Matthews |editor2-first=Bernard M. |editor2-last=Levinson |editor3-first=Tikva |editor3-last=Frymer-Kensky |title=Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East |publisher=[[Sheffield Academic Press]] |pages=186–213 |isbn=9780567080981 }} Philosopher [[Jay Newman]] writes, "The evil inherent in slavery itself—sexual or otherwise—is not conveyed".{{cite book |last1=Newman |first1=Jay |title=Biblical Religion and Family Values: A Problem in the Philosophy of Culture |date=30 August 2001 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-0-313-07534-6 |page=109 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z7bOEAAAQBAJ&dq=Beautiful+captive+woman&pg=PA109 }}


M. I. Rey argues that the passage is an endorsement of [[sexual slavery]] and [[genocidal rape]], because the capture of these women is justified on the ground that they are not Hebrew; the women were considered war trophies, and their captors had no qualms which would have prevented them from engaging in acts of sexual violence.{{cite journal |last1=Rey |first1=M. I. |year=2016 |title=Reexamination of the foreign female captive: {{nobr|Deuteronomy 21:10–14}} as a case of genocidal rape |journal=Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=37–53 |doi=10.2979/jfemistudreli.32.1.04 }} However, the biblical text does not specify that the enemy is non-Hebrew, and in fact the Bible describes a number of civil wars between different groupings of Israelites.See [[List of Israelite civil conflicts]][https://biblehub.com/topical/t/the_civil_war_in_israel.htm The Civil War in Israel] In most of history, rape of captured women was seen as the inevitable result of war, not limited to ethnic conflicts.Tuba Inal, ''Looting and Rape in Wartime: Law and Change in International Relations'', p.20
M. I. Rey argues that the passage is an endorsement of [[connexion]], because the capture of these women is justified on the ground that they are not Hebrew; the women were considered war trophies, and their captors had no qualms which would have prevented them from engaging in acts of connexion.{{cite journal |last1=Rey |first1=M. I. |year=2016 |title=Reexamination of the foreign female captive: {{nobr|Deuteronomy 21:10–14}} as a case of genocidal rape |journal=Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=37–53 |doi=10.2979/jfemistudreli.32.1.04 }} However, the biblical text does not specify that the enemy is non-Hebrew, and in fact the Bible describes a number of civil wars between different groupings of Israelites.See [[List of Israelite civil conflicts]][https://biblehub.com/topical/t/the_civil_war_in_israel.htm The Civil War in Israel] In most of history, rape of captured women was seen as the inevitable result of war, not limited to ethnic conflicts.Tuba Inal, ''Looting and Rape in Wartime: Law and Change in International Relations'', p.20


According to scholar Shira Weiss, "the biblical command may have been an attempt to counter the wanton rape of women common during times of war in the Bible... With the acknowledgment that deeply rooted social practices cannot likely be completely eradicated, the Bible attempts to limit them as much as possible".{{cite book |last1=Weiss |first1=Shira |title=Ethical Ambiguity in the Hebrew Bible: Philosophical Analysis of Scriptural Narrative |date=6 September 2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-42940-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wcZmDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Beautiful+captive+woman%22+rape&pg=PA225 |language=en}} Similarly, [[Alexander Rofé]] concludes that “this humane ruling reflects a universal concern with limiting the soldiers’ unbridled brutality and demonstrates consideration for the feeling of captives".Alexander Rofé, "The Laws of Warfare in the Book of Deuteronomy: Their Origins, Intent, and Positivity.” In ''The Pentateuch: A Sheffield Reader'', edited by J. W. Rogerson, 128–49. 1996.
According to scholar Shira Weiss, "the biblical command may have been an attempt to counter the connexion with women common during times of war in the Bible... With the acknowledgment that deeply rooted social practices cannot likely be completely eradicated, the Bible attempts to limit them as much as possible".{{cite book |last1=Weiss |first1=Shira |title=Ethical Ambiguity in the Hebrew Bible: Philosophical Analysis of Scriptural Narrative |date=6 September 2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-42940-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wcZmDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Beautiful+captive+woman%22+rape&pg=PA225 |language=en}} Similarly, [[Alexander Rofé]] concludes that “this humane ruling reflects a universal concern with limiting the soldiers’ unbridled brutality and demonstrates consideration for the feeling of captives".Alexander Rofé, "The Laws of Warfare in the Book of Deuteronomy: Their Origins, Intent, and Positivity.” In ''The Pentateuch: A Sheffield Reader'', edited by J. W. Rogerson, 128–49. 1996.


Some scholars assert that the purpose of the law was to provide a mechanism by which an Israelite man could marry a woman when the normal mechanism - negotiation with the woman's guardian - was impossible as the guardian had been killed.Carolyn Pressler, ''The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws'', 11; Sandra Jacobs, "Terms of Endearment? The אשת יפת-תאר (Desirable Female Captive) and her Illicit Acquisition,” in ''Exodus and Deuteronomy (Text and Context Series''; ed. G. Yee and A. Brenner; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012)
Some scholars assert that the purpose of the law was to provide a mechanism by which an Israelite man could marry a woman when the normal mechanism - negotiation with the woman's guardian - was impossible as the guardian had been killed.Carolyn Pressler, ''The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws'', 11; Sandra Jacobs, "Terms of Endearment? The אשת יפת-תאר (Desirable Female Captive) and her Illicit Acquisition,” in ''Exodus and Deuteronomy (Text and Context Series''; ed. G. Yee and A. Brenner; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012)
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