[Celtjew Libertarian]

From Deuteronomy (I'm using the Kaplan translation, which doesn't exactly dance around the language.)

22:28 If a man encounters a virgin girl who is not betrothed and is caught raping her,
22:29 then the rapist must give the girl's father 50 [shekels] of silver. He must then take the girl he violated as his wife, and he may not send her away as long as he lives.

[cyborg]

I wonder if the girl had a choice in marrying him or not. Very interesting. Thanks for the quote.

[jimboster]

[RiverDrifter]

Check out the explanation at http://answering-islam.org.uk/Shamoun/ot_and_rape.htm

 

Don't think this passage condones rape.

[MitchellC]

22:29 then the rapist must give the girl's father 50 [shekels] of silver. He must then take the girl he violated as his wife, and he may not send her away as long as he lives.

While this would be a terrible solution in today's society, back then it was an effective punishment, as the rapist had ruined the girl's social value and severely limited her chances of marriage.

A good read on it here: "This is not a matter of having the rapist be one's loving partner, or cohort for further sexual relations."

[TomSmedley]

I wrote a short story on that theme once. If I recall correctly, the seducer's bride payment is 50% higher than is normal -- and the family can collect the money and send the seducer on his way. The notion being that a bigger "hope chest" might compensate for the seducee's compromised status.

Until recently, we had the tradition of the "shotgun wedding" in this country.