📖 Scripture (NKJV)

¹⁶ “If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. ¹⁷ If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the bride – price of virgins.”

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🧠 Context & Overview

In the Israelite society of this time sexual responsibility and protection had to be addressed. These verses touch on the honor, future and security of a woman which were closely tied to marriage and family alliances. These rules were set aside to protect a young woman that she would not be left vulnerable or dishonored by a man’s selfish behavior.

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💡 Key Observations

🎯 “If a man entices…” (v.16)

• As per Webster– entice | inˈtīs, enˈtīs | verb [with object] attract or tempt by offering pleasure or advantage: 
• So the word entice implies seduction or persuasion rather than a rape or force.
• The girl is not betrothed, meaning, she is not engaged to be married and still a virgin.

🧾 What Is the Bride-Price (mōhar) מֹהַר?

The Hebrew word “mōhar” (מֹהַר) translates to “purchase price for a wife” or “wedding money” and appears three times in the WLC Hebrew Bible.

In ancient Israel, the mōhar was a gift paid by a groom to the bride’s family as a sign of honor and commitment. It protected the woman’s future, showed the seriousness of the man’s intent, and upheld the dignity of the marriage. It was not a “purchase,” but a symbol of value and responsibility. It was common throughout the ancient Near East and was not unique to Israel.

👉 A symbol of commitment,

👉 A gift of honor to the family,

👉 A form of economic protection for the bride.

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📖 Where Else Is It Seen?

• Genesis 34:12 — Shechem offers Jacob:

“Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as you say…”

➤ Even in pagan societies, the mōhar was a key part of marriage negotiations.

• 1 Samuel 18:25 — Saul asks David for a bride-price of 100 Philistine foreskins to marry Michal.

➤ This shows that the mōhar could be symbolic or honor-based, not just monetary.

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🚫 How It Differs from Dowry

• 📦 Bride-price (mōhar) = given to the bride’s family by the groom.

• 🎁 Dowry = what the bride’s family gives to the couple, often as her personal inheritance.

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⚖️ Exodus 22:18–20 — Capital Offenses Against God and Creation

📖 Scripture (NKJV)

¹⁸ “You shall not permit a sorceress to live. ¹⁹ Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death. ²⁰ He who sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.”

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🧠 Context & Overview

So these verses are not just brief commands. They are very weighty as well. They address specific offenses – (grievances that affect the moral and spiritual fabric of Israelite society) They were crimes against God Himself and His covenant.

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💡 Key Observations

🪄 Sorcery Forbidden (v.18)

• “Sorceress” = meḵaššēpāh (מְכַשֵּׁפָה) — a female practitioner of occult arts.
• Sorcery in Scripture is connected to:
  • Paganism
  • Manipulating spiritual forces
  • Leading others away from trusting God

👉 Deuteronomy 18:10-12 ¹⁰ There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, ¹¹ or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. ¹² For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Dt 18:10–12.

In ancient pagan cultures, sorcery could be seen tied to idolatry, divination, & even sometimes child sacrifice. But God did not want or ask his people to mix with dark spiritual powers.

🐾 Bestiality Condemned (v.19)

This perverse behavior is also condemned and immoral.

There is a really hard line drawn here. Do this and be put to death. Israel cannot behave like the nations around them.

🔥 Exclusive Worship (v.20)

• Sacrificing to other gods = a direct rebellion against the covenant.
• “Utterly destroyed” = ḥērem (חֵרֶם) — a word used for things devoted to destruction as an act of judgment (like Jericho in Joshua 6:17).

⚠️ Idolatry wasn’t just breaking a rule — it was spiritual treason.

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🔗 Cross-References

• Deuteronomy 18:10–12 —“There shall not be found among you anyone… who practices witchcraft… or a medium… For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord.”➤ Direct parallel with Exodus 22:18.
• Leviticus 18:23 —“Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.”➤ Reinforces that bestiality is utterly condemned as a distortion of God’s design.
• Exodus 20:3 —“You shall have no other gods before Me.”➤ Sacrificing to any other god violates the first commandment and breaks covenant loyalty.

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🌀 Thoughtful Questions

1. 💡 Why do you think God was so strict about these particular sins — what do they have in common?
2. ⚔️ How does modern culture still flirt with the kinds of things God forbade here — like spiritual manipulation or mixing truth with error?
3. 🙏 What does this passage reveal about the seriousness of holiness in God’s eyes?
4. 💬 How do we talk about passages like these with grace, clarity, and truth — especially when they feel culturally distant or harsh?