Exodus 22:16-18 Does God see women as property and do God really hate witches?

EXODUS 22:16-20

16 When a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to be married, and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife.

17But if her father refuses to give her to him, he shall pay an amount equal to the bride-price for virgins.

18 You shall not permit a female sorcerer to live.

            Biblical laws are of utmost fascination.  They are assumed to be the very statutes that God has given to humanity to live by yet these rules seem awfully sexist and liberal with a death sentence.  Could it be that God only considers women property and sub-human vessels that were just created to fulfill the sexual whims of men?  Did God okay the selling of their bodies from father to husband as a holy decree that should be obeyed by the people?  Does God prefer men to be miracle workers and label powerful women witches or sorceresses who deserve to be eliminated because of their gender?  I propose that these laws were not statutes given by God but laws formulated by the Hebrew leader(s) to trivialize the importance of women and reduce them to property and to take the power away from women who were spiritually gifted because of fear of feminine power.

With great dismay I read this passage of laws that move from economics to capitol punishment as it acknowledges that virgins (as if men are born sexually experienced) are mere property in verses 16-17 then casually shifts to capitol punishment law in verse 18.  

These laws are placed here preceding property laws because they are focusing on finance.   

Virgin women were deemed as property to men of Israel and prime real estate at that!  A priest of God is only allowed to marry a virgin (Lev. 22:13).  Any woman that had lost her virginity is considered to be defiled (Lev.22:14) although a man may be sexually experienced  before he marries and he also has the right to sleep with any unmarried woman while he is married and/or her can take more wives (Deut. 21: 15-17, Exod. 21:10, Judg. 8:30, 2 Sam. 5:13; 1 Chr. 14:3 and 1 Kgs. 11:13). The virginity of a woman was to be guaranteed before marriage or the woman would be stoned to death (Duet. 22: 20-21).  The accusation of lost virginity could mean a hefty fine and a lifetime of marriage to the women accused (Deut. 22:18-19).  A life time of marriage to a man who abhors you seems like more punishment to the woman.

The word virgin (בּתוּלה b^ethûlâh beth-oo-law) is the feminine passive participle of an unused root meaning to separate; a virgin (from her privacy); sometimes (by continuation) a bride; also (figuratively) a city or state: - maid, virgin.  According to Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, the generic word for virgin (betulah) was used approximately 60 times in the bible where it refers to sexually inexperienced women (Gen. 24:16; Deut. 22:16-17).  It is also used for women who may or may not be virgins like in Ester 2:17-19.  Virgin is also used to symbolically describe Israel. 

Not only is a virgin property, she apparently has no power over her own body.  Her father has the option to give her away or keep her (and still turn a profit) regardless of her feelings on the matter.  Also, the word give in v. 17 is ironic because her body is definitely for sale and has a specific price.

Knowing this information leads me to believe that the writer of Ex. 22:16-17 modeled the society at the time in which they lived and showed no reverence for women and saw them as human items to be used as sexual objects and domestic servants.  It is difficult to believe that God would initiate such laws since in Gen. 1:27 God created man and woman in the image of God, took woman from the side of man equating to equality.  I am aware of the curse of woman in Gen. 3:16 but I assume this is also a ploy for a patriarchal society to justify why women should be subservient.

Even more fascinating than vs. 16-17 is v. 18.  According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, the word witch means “one who knows.”  Why would people want to kill someone who knows?  Maybe if a woman knew her divine worth and power in that society and shared it with other women it would uproot their entire belief system.

Furthermore, the modern ideas of witch or witchcraft were unknown in the biblical era.   The word “witch/sorcerer” occurs twice in the the bible; the first time in Ex. 22:18 (where the feminine meaning is attached and the second in Deut. 18:10. The Hebrew word for witch is the participle of the verb (כּשּׁף, kishshēph), meaning “to practice magic” or “to practice the magical article.” 

      The word “witchcraft” in 1Sam. 15:23, “the sin of witchcraft” should be, “the sin of divination,” the latter representing the Hebrew word קסם, ḳeṣem, generally translated “divination”.

      The words witchcraft or sorcery comes the Hebrew verb (כּשּׁף, kishshēph) being that whence the participles in Ex. 22:18 and Deu. 18:10, translated in the King James Version “witch,” are derived. The ISBE states, “The word translated in the King James Version “witchcraft” in Gal. 5:20 (φαρμακεία, pharmakeı́a) is the ordinary Greek one for “sorcery,” and is so rendered in the Revised Version (British and American), though it means literally the act of administering drugs and then of giving magical potions. It naturally comes then to stand for the magician's art, as in the present passage and also in The Wisdom of Solomon 12:4; 18:13; and in the Septuagint of Isa. 47:9, where it represents the Hebrew noun כּשׁפים, k^eshāphı̄m, translated “sorceries”; compare the Hebrew verb כּשּׁף, kishshēph; see above.”  The plural “witchcrafts” ...stands for the Hebrew noun just noticed (k^eshāphı̄m) in 2Ki. 9:22; Mic. 5:12; Nah. 3:4, but in all three passages a proper rendering would be “sorceries” or “magical arts.” “Witchcrafts” is inaccurate and misleading.”

 Ironically, in other places in the bible, the word sorcerer or witch is used for both women and men.  And it can also substitute for divination.  Now the question is, why the recorder of the law felt the need to only call for the death of a female sorcerer (Ex. 22:18, Ezek. 13:18)  instead of both a male and female sorcerer as in Deut. 18:10, 14 and  Lev. 19:26.  It is obvious for me that this redactor either feared women or simply did not care for them.  There didn't seem to be a problem with supernatural powers when Moses and Aaron were using them in Ex. 4-11 or when Joseph used them in Gen. 30:27.  It seems that magic is only evil when foreigners (Ex. 7:11), Israelites influenced by foreigners (2 Kgs. 21:6),  or women (Ex. 22:18, Ezek 13:18, and 2Kgs, 9:22) use it.  Other than that, it's okay.  Its obvious that a woman with such powers must be feared because if she was harmless, why would she deserve death?  There has to be a reason why great measures are being taken to ensure that women are diminished to property and rendered powerless.  There is a need to control in Ex. 16-18. 

Overall, only the males of Israelite society benefit from these laws.  They have the right to buy their women and kill the rebellious ones and call them witches.  These laws were a brilliant part of the master plan to secure a patriarchal society.  Israel is a new a nation and laws are important to establish a new way of life.

The theological importance of this passage is for people to read and think for themselves.  It is important to know the difference between the laws of man and the laws of God.  It is okay to question the bible.  Questioning the bible does not mean that you are questioning the validity of God.  Questioning God does not mean that you do not have the utmost reverence and love for God.  God wants us to seek wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.  There is no wisdom, knowledge and understanding in taking something that may be unjust or confusing and just accepting it just because a writer said that God said it.  An intelligent person questions, thinks, and seeks to understand.  It's okay to ask why. 1 Thess.5:21 tells us to test all things and hold on to what is good.

This passage can be used as a sermon preaching about the nature of God and the nature of people.  It can be preached from the standpoint that everything that people touch is flawed and agenda driven, even if these people are believers in God.  It is natural to let one's own theologies and ideologies bleed into their understanding of God.  The sermon should emphasize that the bible was written by people to a certain group of people who shared a common culture and this culture will shape the writings of each prophet or redactor.  Therefore, the writer will write things that they know the people will agree with and the writer will also slip some of their own thoughts and opinions into the text.

The sermon will preach on building a personal relationship with God so that you can differentiate between what God may say or do or what people may say or do.  Knowing the nature of the God we serve is important.  It is important so that we won't be mislead by unsound doctrines, unjust lays, pointless traditions, and asinine rituals.  The sermon will teach that the message of God is in the bible through and through but it is being filtered through the eyes of people and sometimes people see different things.  This fact does not invalidate the bible.  It simply makes people aware that the bible has flaws because people have flaws.  This does not mean that God has flaws.  It only means that people can only share what they know from the best of their ability and sometimes their personal opinions, social standing, culture, political position, ethnic group, sexuality,or religion can slant their writings.  

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