Do people agree?

[crusadernoel]

If two men are fighting and the wife of one tries to rescue her husband by grabbing the testicles of the other man, her hand must be cut off without pity. (Deuteronomy 25:11-12)

I saw this passage when I was in Church today.

It's in the Bible so it must be true.

But I don't think I agree with it.

Does this make me insolent in the eyes of God?

 

[LamorakDesGalis]

I really don't think you are insolent. Its a cultural thing. The problem is bridging a wide cultural gap which includes a lot of issues that seemingly conflict what we would practice today.

While today children are considered optional, in the agricultural setting of ancient Israel, children meant everything. The land was handed down from father to son. Special laws were provided to make sure the land was inherited through family heirs. This was important for many reasons, including what we would call "retirement." Grandparents with children could depend on them in old age; a couple without children usually would have a rough and very uncertain future.

Seeing Deut 25:11-12 in light of these values is important. Using an expression from our time, the woman is "hitting below the belt" - in a literal sense. An "accident" in a fight might determine who ultimately inherits the land. The law was saying she should be punished accordingly for depriving the man of any future children. The law was also meant to be a deterrent to crime.

Now, does this law apply to us today? No, it does not. We are not ancient Israelites who stand to inherit the land. Its such a big cultural gap from then that most of us aren't even living an agricultural-based life. If a woman is attacked on the streets in a city, she can and ought to use any means necessary to escape the situation.


Lamorak Des Galis

 

[crusadernoel]

Phew!

Thank you. I was worried for a moment there!

 

[Daniels]

Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these
shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath
commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.​