Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Exodus 22:14-17
Two Further Commandments (Exodus 22:14).
Both these verses begin with ‘and if', differentiating them from the previous section. They deal with borrowing and enticement and stand on their own.
Borrowing From A Neighbour and The Enticement of a Virgin (Exodus 22:14)
These two examples go together because the first deals with borrowing a beast, the second with ‘borrowing' a daughter.
a If a man borrows some beast from his neighbour and is unable to restore it in its proper condition, he must make restitution (Exodus 22:14).
b If its owner is with it or of it is hired he need not make it good, for the owner must accept responsibility for caring for what is his, and the cost of hire takes into account the risks of loss.
b If a man entice a virgin who is not betrothed and lie with her (and thus ‘borrows' her without permission, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife. She shall be recompensed and treated as though her father had agreed to it, the appropriate dowry being paid.
a If her father utterly refuse to give her to him he shall pay silver according to the dowry of virgins. In other words he must make full restitution for what the father has lost.
Note that in ‘a' restitution is made for loss, and the same is true in the parallel. In ‘b' there is a contrast, for in the first ‘b' the borrowing is by agreement whereas in the second it is not. In the second case the father was neither there nor ‘hired' her out. Thus in the first case the loss must be borne, in the second the woman has to be taken into account and must be made an honest woman.
“And if a man borrow anything from his neighbour, and if it is hurt or dies its owner not being with it, he shall surely make restitution. If its owner is with it he shall not make it good. If it is a hired thing it is reckoned in its hire.”
In the case of borrowing restitution must be made for loss unless it was lost while the owner was in charge of it. But in the case of hire it is assumed that the insurance against loss is included in the hire so that no restitution is required.
“And if a man entice a virgin who is not betrothed and lie with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife. And if her father utterly refuse to give her to him he shall pay silver according to the dowry of virgins.”
The unmarried daughter is seen as totally subject to her father, who takes responsibility for her welfare. If the man is seen as suitable he pays the dowry price and marries her. He seemingly has no choice in the matter. By his act he has basically chosen to marry her. But if the father objects then the man still has to pay the marriage dowry because the father will now have difficulty in marrying his daughter to someone else and thus loses the benefit of the marriage dowry.
The marriage dowry is mentioned only in Genesis 34:12 and 1 Samuel 18:25 but was well known elsewhere. It was paid to the father at the time of betrothal.
In the case of rape the dowry is later fixed at fifty shekels of silver and the man must marry her and cannot ever divorce her (Deuteronomy 22:28). Where the virgin is betrothed the penalty is death (Deuteronomy 22:23).