The answer to the above is that, Yahweh does not condemn rape, but actually encourages/allows rape-forced marriage.

The above passage mentioned is thrown around by Evangelists, according to them this passage gave captives a right, they were not allowed to be mistreated i.e., they were not allowed to be raped. However it is evident from this passage ( euteronomy !"#"$-"%& and other verses from the 'ible, that (oses on a number of occasions encouraged his men to capture virgins for their own pleasure-to rape them. )et*s now loo+ at the passage they cite as evidence that Yahweh condemned rape. The passage reads as#

euteronomy !"#"$-"% E,panded 'ible (E-'& "$ .hen you go to war against your enemies, the )ord will /help you defeat them 0give them into your hands1 so you will ta+e them captive. "" 2f you see a beautiful woman among the captives and are attracted to 0desire3 fall in love with1 her, you may ta+e her as your wife. "! 'ring her into your home, where she must shave her head and cut her nails "4 and change the clothes she was wearing when you captured her. 5fter she has lived in your house and cried for her /parents 0) father and her mother1 for a month, you may marry her. You will be her husband, and she will be your wife. "% 'ut if you are not pleased with her, you must let her go anywhere she wants. You must not sell her for money or ma+e her a slave, because you have ta+en away her honor 0humiliated3 e,ploited her1.

The command from Yahweh to soldiers, whoever goes out to war and he sees a woman, if he is attracted to her, he can 6T57E8 the woman and force her to marry him after one month of mourning. oes that sound anything li+e this passage forbids rape9 The word :Ta+e* is in itself evidence that the woman was ta+en without her consent i.e., she was forced. ;erse "% ma+es it even more evident by the words#- 6because you have /ta+en away her honor 0humiliated3 e,ploited her18, in other words you raped her, you have humiliated her enough, <ust let her go if you li+e to, not what she wants, but what the man desires. There was no consent involved, all the man had to do is wait one month, so he can be sure that she is not pregnant and after that, he could do what he wills, and the woman had no choice in the matter. (issionaries must be living in fairyland for them to try bring this verse as a defence that woman were not allowed to be raped according to the 'ible. There are dodgy 'ible translations for the above passage, so to ma+e things e,tra clear that the verse allows rape and not forbid it. .e have to loo+ and see what the word :ta+e* in Hebrew means, when used in euteronomy !"#"$-"%. The word that is used for verse "" :ta+e*, in Hebrew is la=ach (or

la+a+h&#

Hebrew word la+a+h

)et*s see what the Hebrew word :)a=ach* ( ) means#

2. to ta+e, get, fetch, lay hold of, sei>e, receive, ac=uire, buy, bring, marry, ta+e a wife, snatch, ta+e away 5. (?al& i. to ta+e, ta+e in the hand ii. to ta+e and carry along iii. to ta+e from, ta+e out of, ta+e, carry away, ta+e away iv. to ta+e to or for a person, procure, get, ta+e possession of, select, choose, ta+e in marriage, receive, accept v. to ta+e up or upon, put upon vi. to fetch vii. to ta+e, lead, conduct viii. to ta+e, capture, sei>e i,. to ta+e, carry off ,. to ta+e (vengeance& 0"1

@otice the Hebrew word :)a=ach* means#- :lay hold of*, :sei>e*, :snatch*. 5ccording to the above definitions for the word, the passage Ahristians cite as defence that the 'ible forbids rape actually bac+fires on missionaries. 5s we have read so far, the verse is clear that the soldier when ta+ing a woman in war as a captive, he too+ it by :force*, there was no consent. The passage itself nowhere says that the woman agreed to be ta+en, to be the soldier*s wife. )et*s read further evidence that is passage is about rape-forced marriage.

Bne of the best +nown 'ible Translations is the :Cood @ews Translation*. The passage, euteronomy !"#"$-"% translated from Hebrew to English, reads as# euteronomy !"#"$-"% Cood @ews Translation (C@T& "$ 6.hen the )ord your Cod gives you victory in battle and you ta+e prisoners, "" you may see among them a beautiful woman that you li+e and want to marry. "! Ta+e her to your home, where she will shave her head, cut her fingernails, "4 and change her clothes. Dhe is to stay in your home and mourn for her parents for a month3 after that, you may marry her. "% )ater, if you no longer want her, you are to let her go free. Dince you forced her to have intercourse with you, you cannot treat her as a slave and sell her.

.hat 2 been discussing all along that the passage is about rape-forced marriage, C@T agrees and ma+es it plain in verse "% that the soldier forced to have se, with the captive woman. Erom the words#- 6Dince you forced her to have intercourse with you8, it is clear that this is the clearest e,ample that the 'ible encourages forced marriage-rape. )et*s show even more evidences from Dcholars that the passage is about forced marriage-rape. )et*s now bring more evidences, this time for verse "% that the word translated in English 'ible translations :humiliated* is 5nah* which means rape, i.e. the soldier humiliated her by having forced se, with the woman.

hebrew word anah

5ccording to the 'oo+# :The 2nternational Dtandard 'ible Encloypedia*, the Hebrew word :5nah* means#

". BT.-5. 5s a verb. ". De,ual 2ntercourse. Heb. :ana* is used in Cen. 4%#! of Dhechem*s rape of inah. E>e+iel condemns the men of Ferusalem who :humble* (ana& women :unclean in their impurity* (!!#"$&. The verb is thus a euphemism for se,ual intercourse (cf. t. !"#"%3 !!#!%, !G& and is fre=uently e=uivalent to rape (Fgs. "G#!%3 !$#H3 !D. "4#"!, "%, !!, 4!3 )am. H#""&. 0!1

'iblical Dcholar 7. Ienato )ings also echoes the same words as the previous

statement on the word :5nah*, he writes#

6The verb :anah* is deployed in some parts of the H' to describe seduction, se,ual assault, or rape-li+e scenarios. Bn account of its primary meaning :oppress* or :humiliate*, se,ual aggression is regarded as an act of humiliation. 2n genesis 4%#!, for instance, Dhechem saw Facob*s daughter inah and too+ her, lay with her and :humiliated* or :debased* her.8 041

@otice how the Hebrew word :anah* is :e=uivalent to rape* or how 'iblical scholar 7..Ienato )ings states that the word :anah* is deployed in the Holy 'ible for 6se,ual assault, or rape-li+e scenarios.8

Aonclusion# 2t is abundantly clear from the evidences shown that euteronomy !"#"$-"% encourages rape, and it clearly does not condemn rape. The evidence presented, has totally debun+ed the fanciful thin+ing by Ahristian 5pologists about the passage giving captives rights i.e. they were not allowed to be raped. The word :humiliated* in vast ma<ority of 'ible translations, meant that the man se,ually forced himself upon the woman. The man raped her.

Ieferences#

0"1 Bn the word )a=ach http#//www.blueletterbible.org/lang/le,icon/le,icon.cfm9 DtrongsJH4G%KLtJ7F; 0!1 The 2nternational Dtandard 'ible Encyclopedia# E-F ;olume ! 0Aopy Iight "GM!1 edited by Ceoffrey .. 'romile page KKH 041 )ove )ost in Translation# Homose,uality and the 'ible 'y 7. Ienato )ings page %N%