Deuteronomy 22:26

Summary

The verse states that no action is to be taken against the na'arah ("young woman", H5291): she carries no chet' mavet ("sin of death", H2399 + H4194). The text then draws an explicit comparison: her situation is ken ("so", H3651C) like the case of a man who rises against his neighbor and kills him.

Key words

• na.'ar ("young woman", H5291) — feminine singular noun, repeated twice (once with prefixed preposition + article as indirect object, once as the subject of the negated clause "there is no sin of death for the young woman").
• chet' ("sin of", H2399) — construct-state masculine noun, linked to Ma.vet ("death", H4194) to form the phrase "sin of death," i.e., a capital offense.
• ka.'a.Sher ("as", H9004 + H0834D) — preposition plus relative particle forming the comparative "just as," introducing the analogy that follows.
• ya.Kum ("he will arise", H6965J) — qal imperfect, describing the hypothetical aggressor's action of "rising up" against his neighbor.
• re.tza.Ch...o ("he will kill him", H7523 + H9033) — qal sequential perfect with pronominal suffix, continuing the narrative chain begun by ya.Kum, describing the killing as the outcome of the rising-up.

What the text says

The clause opens with ve.la.na.'ar ("and to the young woman", H9002 + H9005 + H5291) marking her as the indirect object of the negated verb lo'-ta.'a.Seh ("you will not do", H3808 + H6213A), followed by da.Var ("anything", H1697I) — a general object meaning no action is to be taken toward her. The next clause, 'ein la.na.'ar chet' mavet ("there is no sin of death for the young woman"), uses 'ein (H0369) in construct form to negate the existence of a capital offense attributable to her; the construct chain chet' mavet binds "sin" tightly to "death," producing the specific legal category "a sin punishable by death."

The comparative clause beginning with ki ka'asher ("for, just as", H3588A + H9004 + H0834D) sets up an analogy rather than a simple statement. The imperfect ya.Kum ("he will arise", H6965J) describes a man rising up against his re.'E.hu ("his neighbor", H7453 + H9023), and the sequential perfect re.tza.Ch.o ("he killed him", H7523 + H9033) continues that action to its result — the neighbor's death. The noun Ne.fesh ("life", H5315H) here functions as the object indicating what is taken. The closing formula ken ha.da.Var ha.zeh ("so is this matter", H3651C + H9009 + H1697L + H9009 + H2088) applies the analogy directly: the case under discussion is legally equated with the case of a man killed by an assailant, establishing the young woman's role as that of the victim rather than an offender.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (VULCLEM) renders the analogy with latro ("robber/bandit") attacking fratrem suum ("his brother"), where the Hebrew has 'ish ("a man/someone", H0376I) rising against re.'E.hu ("his neighbor", H7453). The LXX (LXXSWETE) uses ἄνθρωπος ("a man") against τὸν πλησίον ("the neighbor"), closer to the Hebrew's general terms than the Vulgate's specific "robber/brother" pairing.