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Leviticus 19:20
New English Translation
Leviticus 19:20
New English Translation
Lying with a Slave Woman
20 “‘When a man goes to bed with a woman for intercourse,[a] although she is a slave woman designated for another man and she has not yet been ransomed, or freedom has not been granted to her, there will be an obligation to pay compensation.[b] They must not be put to death, because she was not free.
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- Leviticus 19:20 tn Heb “And a man when he lies with a woman, the lying of seed.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakav) “to lie down” acts as a euphemism, implying going to bed for sexual relations. In this case, the phrase “lying for (a man’s) seed” specifies that it refers to sexual intercourse.
- Leviticus 19:20 sn That is, the woman had previously been assigned for marriage to another man but the marriage deal had not yet been consummated. In the meantime, the woman has lost her virginity and has, therefore, lost part of her value to the master in the sale to the man for whom she had been designated. Compensation was, therefore, required (see the explanation in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 130-31).
New English Translation (NET)
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