Why did God allow the capture of women in the bible OT?

[SeriousQuestion]

Deuteronomy is mostly Moses’s instructions. The Israelites are kind of famous for not following God’s instructions.

 

[Rozellelily]

Yes,this is unfortunately true.
I am from Bosnian background and there were Bosnian women who got raped in the civil war (and Serb and Croatian) and this is more due to men using sexual violence as war terror and evil.
It’s slightly different though from Isis because unlike in these other cases and the ones you mentioned,Isis is actually reading from a “Holy book” and feels they are really doing Gods work (twisted).

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Yes, there was some trickery involved (the people claimed to be from far away when actually they were right in the middle of Israel) and I seem to recall the Jewish people weren’t happy when they found that out, but they had already made the covenant and they were stuck with it.

 

[abucs]

My understanding from the Hadiths is that part of Muhammad’s visions were that it was ok for him to marry a 6 year old and God also told him he could sleep with one of his follower’s wives. I personally don’t see these visions as anything else but man made desires that sometimes give excuses for doing the wrong thing.

The OT writings are different in that it sets such practice generally in war time of 3000 years ago although I am also open to the argument of them being not from God but also from men.

I do not know either way but the OT writings you mentioned are not the way of Jesus.

 

[CRM_Brother]

While many of the replies above have addressed the social standing of this act in light of modern values and cultures, I think we also must look at this passage in light of the Jewish Law within the contemporary culture and the theology behind it.

First among them, this is within the context of slavery held within Israel. When we think of slaves, most of us first think of the racial slavery found in the United States before the Civil War. This was not the case in ancient times. There were strict laws regarding the treatment of slaves and were allowed much greater leeway than those enslaved in the United States. It was more akin to indentured servitude for an unspecified time until you were able to pay for your freedom. And yes, most slaves received some sort of payment, however small it was.

This passage restricts the men of Israel from simply ordering a slave to their bed. Instead, they must marry the slave they have taken a liking to. In Jewish marriages, you could not marry without total and free consent of both parties. As such, a slave could not be forced into a marriage simply because her master ordered it. This aspect was investigated by the priests, and if found in violation, the owner would face harsh charges.

12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house, and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;

First, you shall bring her home into thine house. This is not to say that the slave is brought directly into the home as a wife, but rather her household and those within it come under the authority and protection of the man’s as does any fiance of an Israelite male. This is like when Mary was betrothed to Joseph and yet still not living with him.

Shave her head and pare her nails. - Women were the carriers of religious belief within Israelite culture. Faith passed through the female line. Long hair and long nails had religious significance in many cultures of the time. Thus the removal of these is symbolic of the abandonment of her foreign gods (as Israelite women would not be held as slaves anyway).

13 And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.

Thus, she shall no longer dress like a slave but rather like an Israelite. She shall remain within the protection of the man’s household for a month of betrothal. Like in Genesis we see those to be married leave their parents and cling to their spouse, so too does the woman. She is being brought into the Tribes of Israel and thus may only associate as family with those within the Tribes. She not only leaves her parents, but as she can no longer even call them family, she mourns them as if they had died.

After a month, the man can marry her. After that, however, if a divorce is wished for under the laws of Israel, then she is no longer a slave because she has been taken into the Tribes of Israel and is no longer the property of the man.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

At the same time though,I’d be lying it if I didn’t say I think it’s unfair that God would give them instructions in treating the pretty ones with mercy and let the “unattractive” ones be killed.

The Scripture left it up to the individual’s taste to decide which women were “beautiful” in the sense that a man might be attracted to them and love them enough to make them his wife, not just his sex toy but his wife. You have no idea whether the men chose women that were conventionally physically beautiful, other than assuming they probably would choose women of marriageable age and not elderly. From your past posts it seems like you fixate a lot on ideas of physical beauty. Men actually don’t make all these decisions purely on physical beauty. A man might think a woman was beautiful in part because she was very kind, as happened with Ruth and Boaz. He could also have unconventional taste in women - a lot of men actually do, but they don’t talk about it. I know men who actually prefer women who are fat or have big noses or some quirk.