A frequent misinterpretation portrays this verse as victim-blaming all rape cases by holding women responsible, disregarding its narrow context of betrothal in a populated city where silence suggests complicity, distinct from non-consensual assault in isolated areas addressed later; others erroneously apply it as timeless endorsement of capital punishment for consensual sex or ignore its cultural role in ancient Near Eastern marriage laws emphasizing family honor and societal order.
Deuteronomy 22:23
King James Version (1769)
23 If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;
This passage from Deuteronomy 22:23 outlines a specific provision in Mosaic Law addressing a case of sexual relations involving a betrothed virgin in a city, where her failure to cry out for help—presumably audible to nearby residents—implies consent, treating it as adultery punishable by stoning for both parties to uphold the sanctity of betrothal covenants, communal purity, and deterrence of immorality within Israel.