Male Dominance in Deuteronomy

Patriarchy is defined as, “the manifestation and institutionalization of male dominance

over women and children in the family and the extension of male dominance over women in

society in general” by Gerda Lerner, this definition is displayed throughout all of history. One

specific example would be in Deuteronomy 22:13-30. Deuteronomy depicts a woman’s status of

virginity as a reflection of her monetary value thus assigning women the role of objects and

property.

Women are constantly depicted as property. When a crime involving a woman’s virginity

is committed, the recompense is often paid to the father of the young woman, rather than the

woman who was violated. This is because it was the father’s property had been violated, not the

woman. This is reflected in the first few paragraphs of Deuteronomy, where when the man is

charged a fine, he pays it to her father because it is her father’s property that has been violated.

The only purpose of a woman at the time was to have legitimate heirs so men are looking to

marry virgins to ensure the heir will be legitimate, once again assigning women’s “value” to their

virginity. The father’s “property” has been violated because she is no longer a virgin and is

basically useless and has lost her ability to produce legitimate heirs therefore, cannot be “given”

(by her father) to someone else. The father is paid because if the woman is no longer a virgin she

cannot produce legitimate heirs.

Consequences of rape in Deuteronomy often end in the punishment of men and women.

When a man lays with a woman who is engaged, he is put to death, not because he has raped a

woman but because he has taken someone else’s property. In another scenario listed in

Deuteronomy, if a woman is raped in the town, both the man and the woman are put to death,
once again because the man has violated another man’s property, and the woman because she did

not cry for help when she could have been heard. This implies that the woman has committed

some sort of crime by being raped and her cries not being heard. Not only is the woman not

compensated in some way for the trauma she has endured but, is put to death for it. In a situation

where a man rapes a woman who isn’t engaged, the man must pay a fine to the woman’s

“owner,” marry her, and remain married to her forever. Now, the woman is forced to marry the

man who raped her and is to be pushed aside like nothing has happened. Her feelings toward the

trauma or her marriage are irrelevant to everyone involved in the case except her. Much like in

every case listed in Deuteronomy, the woman, who is at the center of the case, is unheard.