2008. Mr "Eli Cash"
(Christian forum deleted this after some years):

One of the most common attempts at rejecting this interpretation is to cast doubt on the meaning of the Hebrew word "taphas", which is translated as "lay hold on" in the King James version of this passage. Strong's dictionary defines it as follows.

8610. taphas (taw-fas')

A primitive root; to manipulate, i.e. Seize; chiefly to capture, wield, specifically, to overlay; figuratively, to use unwarrantably

catch, handle, (lay, take) hold (on, over), stop, X surely, surprise, take.

It is claimed by the opposition that this word should not be interpreted with a forceful interpretation of "seize" or "capture", but is instead better interpreted as consistent with consensual relations. To adopt such a position, however, one would have to ignore a large amount of scriptural evidence to the contrary.

Jeremiah 52:8,9
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. Then they took [taphas] the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him.

Jeremiah 37:13,14
And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took[taphas] Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans. Then said4 Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took[taphas] Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.

Jeremiah 26:8
Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took[taphas] him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.

Isaiah 36:1
Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took[taphas] them.

2 Chronicles 25:23
And Joash the king of Israel took[taphas] Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Bethshemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits.

2 Kings 25:6
So they took[taphas] the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.

2 Kings 18:13
Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took[taphas] them.

2 Kings 16:9
And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took[taphas] it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.

2 Kings 14:13
And Jehoash king of Israel took[taphas] Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Bethshemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits.

2 Kings 14:7
He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took[taphas] Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day.

2 Kings 10:14
And he said, Take[taphas] them alive. And they took[taphas] them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.

1 Kings 18:40
And Elijah said unto them, Take[taphas] the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took[taphas] them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

1 Samuel 15:8
And he took[taphas] Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

Joshua 8:22,23
And the other issued out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side: and they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape. And the king of Ai they took[taphas] alive, and brought him to Joshua.

Jeremiah 50:46
At the noise of the taking[taphas] of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.

Ezekiel 21:24
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken[taphas] with the hand.

Ezekiel 19:8,9
Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken[taphas] in their pit. And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.

Ezekiel 19:4
The nations also heard of him; he was taken[taphas] in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.

Ezekiel 17:20
And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken[taphas] in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.

Ezekiel 12:13
My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken[taphas] in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.

Jeremiah 38:23
So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken[taphas] by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.

Jeremiah 34:3
And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken[taphas], and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.

Psalm 10:2
The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken[taphas] in the devices that they have imagined.

Joshua 8:7,8
Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. And it shall be, when ye have taken[taphas] the city, that ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.

Psalm 71:10,11
For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take[taphas] him; for there is none to deliver him.

1 Samuel 23:26
And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take[taphas] them.

Deuteronomy 20:19
When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take[taphas] it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege:

Ezekial 14:3
And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold[taphas] on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21
If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold[taphas] on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Jeremiah 50:24
I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught[taphas], because thou hast striven against the LORD.

2 Kings 7:12
And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch[taphas] them alive, and get into the city.

Here we have over thirty passages demonstrating a clear Biblical pattern of using the word "taphas" to mean forcible seizure or capture.

One of the more inane arguments against interpreting "taphas" in this way relies on its Biblical use with regard to inanimate objects. The argument seems to suggest that since it would be nonsensical to talk about an object such as a harp being forced, then taphas shouldn't be translated interpreted as "force" with regard to people either. Such an argument ignores the fundamental distinction between people and objects that makes such a usage absurd in the case of objects. Namely, inanimate objects have no will. This actually reinforces my interpretation, since, when used of people, it would imply a disregard of their autonomy, i. e. using people like objects.

A second objection argues from the fact that in the earlier case of rape, a different Hebrew word for force is used. In verse 25, the word is "chazaq", not "taphas". However this would only be a valid objection if their were not a Biblical pattern of using "taphas" interchangeably with other words for force in the same passage. But their are several passages where just such a pattern is evident.

Joshua 8:7,8
Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize[yarash] upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver1 it into your hand. And it shall be, when ye have taken[taphas] the city, that ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.

Here we see two different words, "yarash" and "taphas" used for the same action, in the same passage.

Jeremiah 50:24 KJV
I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken[lakad], O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught[taphas], because thou hast striven against the LORD.

And here the words "lakad" and "taphas" are used synonymously in the same passage.

Furthermore there are other passages referencing rape that don't use the same word as verse 25.

2 Samuel 13:11-14 KJV
And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force['anah] me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger[chazaq] than she, forced['anah] her, and lay with her.

Here the word for force is "'anah", not "chazaq". "Chazaq" is used in reference to Amnon's strength, as is a common use in the Bible. In fact, I think a better case could be made from scriptural usage that "chazaq" should not be translated force than can be made for "taphas", since a relatively smaller proportion of passages use "chazaq" in a way that implies non-consent.

Judges 20:5 KJV
And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced['anah], that she is dead.

Again, "'anah", not "chazaq", is used for rape here.

Furthermore ,the case of specifically consensual relations is dealt with in Exodus 22:16. Here, however, the word is not "taphas", but the more appropriate "pathah", which is translated as "seduce' or "entice". Which raises the question, if the Deuteronomy passage refers specifically to consensual sex, then why would it not use this word, instead of one implying force?

Thus it should be obvious that the attempt to cast doubt on the meaning of the word "taphas" in this passage is without serious merit.