One who had betrothed a maiden, corrupted her sister, so that she conceived. After that he married his betrothed, but she who had been corrupted hanged herself. The parties to this affair were ordered to be received among the co-standers after ten years [of penance] according to the prescribed degrees.
The recounted sins in this canon were many: adultery, suicide, and murder in one scenario. A betrothed man slept with his future sister-in-law. He went on to marry his fiancée, but the sister-in-law found herself pregnant and disgrace, so she decided to end both her life that of the unborn child.
Why would an unwed pregnant woman consider ending her life and that of her child? Rome had no social welfare system to care for widows, orphans, unwed mothers, poor, etc. except for the extended family. If none was available, the situation was hopeless. Based on that condition and lack of prospects, we can understand why the woman would choose to end her life rather than face the harsh future.
Those involved in were to be prevented from full fellowship for ten years. The man was complicit in the death of the woman though not an active agent in carrying it out.
Lastly, lest we think the Roman empire was overly harsh in this regard, note that our Bibles say the same thing: the family is to care for its own. The responsibility for social justice is squarely on the individual. Within the Mosaic covenant were laws given to care for those who could not care for themselves. Most were directed to toward to what the individual family units were obligated to do (Lev 23:22; Deut 24:19), though every three years the tithe was set aside for the Levite, orphan, and widow in their towns (Deut 14:28-29).
The recounted sins in this canon were many: adultery, suicide, and murder in one scenario. A betrothed man slept with his future sister-in-law. He went on to marry his fiancée, but the sister-in-law found herself pregnant and disgrace, so she decided to end both her life that of the unborn child.
Why would an unwed pregnant woman consider ending her life and that of her child? Rome had no social welfare system to care for widows, orphans, unwed mothers, poor, etc. except for the extended family. If none was available, the situation was hopeless. Based on that condition and lack of prospects, we can understand why the woman would choose to end her life rather than face the harsh future.
Those involved in were to be prevented from full fellowship for ten years. The man was complicit in the death of the woman though not an active agent in carrying it out.
Lastly, lest we think the Roman empire was overly harsh in this regard, note that our Bibles say the same thing: the family is to care for its own. The responsibility for social justice is squarely on the individual. Within the Mosaic covenant were laws given to care for those who could not care for themselves. Most were directed to toward to what the individual family units were obligated to do (Lev 23:22; Deut 24:19), though every three years the tithe was set aside for the Levite, orphan, and widow in their towns (Deut 14:28-29).
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