The Background
The Midianites seduced the Israelites into sexual immorality and the worship of their gods. The chief’s daughter even flaunted the sexual immorality publicly. God told Moses to kill the Israelites who had united themselves with Baal.
Then God said to kill the Israelites who bowed their knee to Baal, and to wage war against the Midianites for their deceit.
When the army of Israel returned, it had killed the men and brought back the women and youth. Moses was furious.
15 “Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them. 16 “They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the Peor incident, so that a plague struck the Lord’s people. 17 Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, 18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man (Num 31:15-18).
1 – WHY KILL THE YOUNG BOYS?
This was likely done as young men would not or could not assimilate into an enemy nation. They would grow up and avenge the death of their fathers. History is full of these kinds of scenarios.
2 – WHAT WAS TO HAPPEN TO THE GIRLS?
- The fact that they were virgins simply meant they were not participants in this sexual immorality. Those who were involved in the sexual immorality were killed for their behavior.
- Girls could grow up and one day become of the age to marry.
3 – WERE THE GIRLS RAPED AND MADE INTO SEX SLAVES?
- No. That isn’t even in the text. That is a false assumption used to attack God’s character and the Christian faith. It is an assumption found nowhere.
- Rape and sexual immorality were punishable by death in Israel
- God would not punish them for a behavior and then allow them to do the very same thing.
- Remember, the Israelites men were killed too who had participated in this behavior (Numb 25). God dealt strongly with sexual immorality.
- Girls could grow up and one day become of the age to marry. When they had children, they would be more connected to Israel as mothers in a different way than the boys.
- There were very strong rules that governed the marriage of anyone who had been a captive of Israel when they came of age.
4 – WHAT ABOUT MARRYING THEM WHEN THEY WERE OLDER?
Here were the rules regarding marrying captives.
The Text of Marrying of Captives
10 When you go to war against your enemies and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives, 11 if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife. 12 Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails 13 and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. 14 If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her. (Deut 21:10-14)
- In this context, the women Midianites for the most part had been killed. Mainly the “young women” were left. These “young women” were preserved as they hadn’t defiled themselves at the sex cult of Baal.
- Marriage took place among the Hebrews when a girl had reached at least puberty (implied in Ezekiel 16), and were “grown up” and ready to be married (Ruth 1:12-13). We also know from the time of Jesus that the girl had to be at least older than 12 as a 12 year old was considered a child as the word Korasion is used by the Jews (Mark 5:41; Luke 8:42).
- The person the Israelites could marry was a “woman.” It doesn’t say he could marry a young girl or even a young woman. Captive or not captive. In Hebrew culture, she had to be of age to marry before she could be taken as a wife.
- If there was a “woman” that was available whom a man was attracted to (notice it doesn’t say young girl), then the girl had to make herself entirely unattractive. After a full month, she could be his and he could be hers, which implies a level of mutual consent. But he must treat her a wife and not as a slave. If he wants to divorce her, he cannot treat her a slave as he has dishonored her.
5 – But What about Verse 18?
18 But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves. (Numbers 31:18)
- These “young women” were preserved as they hadn’t defiled themselves at the sex cult of Baal.
The young girls were brought into the Israelite homes to be raised. Where else would they go? The purpose was to have them grow up and one day marry into Israel. - If there was a “woman” that was available whom a man was attracted to (notice it doesn’t say young girl), then the girl had to make herself entirely unattractive. After a full month, she could be his and he could be hers, which implies a level of mutual consent. But he must treat her a wife and not as a slave. If he wants to divorce her, he cannot treat her a slave as he has dishonored her.
6 – But What about a Virginity Test? How did they Do that?
- Critics say the girls had to be “tested” to see if they were virgins. What is being implied her is that a man had to have sex with her to determine her virginity. Or fondle her inappropriately. No. They didn’t.
Does a a man goes around and sleep with a bunch of women or fondle her to determine if she is a virgin before he decides to find a good wife because he only wants to marry a virgin? Not at all. People have to go to sick places to make something up that isn’t there. - Typically in ancient culture a married woman was marked by ornaments or symbols or different types of clothing. Not unlike we have a symbol today of wedding rings. Or other symbols in ANY country today.
If she was a temple prostitute, that typically was noted as well by special symbols. In fact, ancient culture had a much more clear designation of the “maidens” and “virgins” and those that were “married” and not virgins. - The ancient culture and even in places today like Tajikistan, on the wedding night the wedding sheets and the blood on them was the proof of a woman’s virginity. If there wasn’t blood, she came under suspicion and it created problems. But the virgin was MARRIED at this point (Deut 22:13-15).
IN SUMMARY
- To say this text is about rape and sex captives is to go beyond the text and make assumptions that aren’t even in the text. Rape and sex outside of marriage, were, in fact, highly punishable by death.
- There is NO ONE example in Scripture of someone who married a child, captive or otherwise, or made them into sex slaves. (Some will say, but Rebecca was 3 when she was married. That argument is even more ridiculous and full of nonsensical assumptions. See the respective blog post at www.gracedfollower.com).
- There is no admonition or example of a girl being married before her time.
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