The Hebrew Bible contains a number of references to rape and other forms of sexual violence, both in the Law of Moses, its historical narratives and its prophetic poetry.

Until well into the 20th century, academic consensus did not view the Hebrew Bible as containing acts of rape, that is, sexual actions performed without the consent of a participant^{[citation needed]}, apart from the rape of Tamar in 2 Samuel 13. Some narratives such as those of Samson and Delilah (Judges 16) and Shechem and Dinah (Genesis 34) were even interpreted to be love stories (e.g. about elopement) rather than rape stories. An example of a rare exception to this is a claim by Thomas Paine, who asserted in The Age of Reason (1795) that Numbers 31 portrayed Moses as ordering the Israelites to kill all Midianites except the virgin girls, whom they could keep for what Paine termed "debauchery": "Among the detestable villains that in any period of the world would have disgraced the name of man, it is impossible to find a greater than Moses, if this account be true. Here is an order to butcher the boys, to massacre the mothers, and debauch the daughters." In An Apology for the Bible (1796), Richard Watson, the Bishop of Llandaff, sought to refute Paine's arguments: "I see nothing in this proceeding, but good policy, combined with mercy. [...] The women-children were not reserved for the purposes of debauchery, but of slavery." In any case, Paine was not so much focused on sexual violence in particular; this example was part of his general critique of Christian ethics. Johannes Pedersen's work Israel, Its Life and Culture (1926, 1940), commonly cited by scholars for information about Israelite sexual mores, never mentioned rape, only 'forbidden degrees of relationship'. Several Bible passages, which were later widely recognised as 'rape texts', were referred to by Pedersen as 'inappropriate marriage arrangements'.

It was not until the late 1970s, with the emergence of the anti-rape movement due to second-wave feminism, that feminist scholars reached the consensus that some texts in the Hebrew Bible referred to rape, such as the Levite's concubine and the Benjamites seizing the virgins of Jabesh-Gilead and Shiloh as gang rapes (Judges 19–21). However, they also initially disagreed whether some narratives such as Dinah (Genesis 34) and Hagar depicted sexual violence or not. Some of the most notable works in this formative era in the study of biblical rape literature were:

With regards to the Hebrew Bible's attitude to rape, particularly the sex laws in Deuteronomy chapters 20 to 22 with respect to the beautiful captive woman, two schools of thought have emerged. In one camp are scholars such as Richard Elliott Friedman and Shawna Dolansky, who concerning "Women's Status" in The Bible Now (2011) wrote: "What should not be in doubt is the biblical view of rape: it is horrid. It is decried in the Bible's stories. It is not tolerated in the Bible's laws." In the other camp are scholars such as Harold C. Washington, who in "'Lest he die in the battle and another man take her': Violence and the construction of gender in the laws of Deuteronomy 20–22" (1998) concluded: "The laws do not interdict sexual violence; rather they stipulate the terms under which a man may commit rape."

Scholars such as Susanne Scholz (2021) have pointed out that meanings of words in the Hebrew Bible are contextual, and Bible translators or commentators often misinterpret terms, miss important nuances, or use euphemisms for sexual violence. Even in modern English, the verb 'to rape' does not necessarily always refer to sexual violence, but could be used metaphorically to describe being subjected to a deeply unpleasant yet non-sexual experience. Similarly, a Hebrew verb such as עָנָה‎ anah usually means 'to rape, to force/violate sexually', but in some non-sexual contexts is best translated as 'to oppress', 'to weaken', and so on. On the other hand, normally non-sexual words may sometimes describe something sexual; a verb such as עָשַׁק‎ 'āšaq usually means 'to crush, to destroy, to oppress', but in one particular Bible verse (Isaiah 23:12) may actually mean 'to rape' in connection with the term 'virgin daughter', as the latter has a special sexual meaning. Biblical Hebrew is also full of euphemisms and sexual slang that may be difficult for modern readers to understand. 'To lie with', 'to know', 'to come to', and 'to uncover the nakedness of' are such examples which, in particular contexts, mean 'to have sex'. Such phrases do not necessarily imply that this sex is forced by one person upon another, and could actually describe consensual sex, but especially if the context of the narrative adds forms of coercion (such as violence and intimidation) upon someone, or claims that this serves as a 'punishment', then 'to rape' becomes a plausible translation. Likewise, nouns such as 'skirts', 'nakedness' and 'shame' may be euphemisms for 'women's genitals'.

In Genesis 9:22, just after the Genesis flood narrative, it is written that Ham, a son of Noah, "saw" his father's "nakedness", a phrase which elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible can mean "had sex with". Some interpretations conclude that Ham had sex with Noah, perhaps even "sodomised" him in his sleep. The same explanations are found in three Greek translations of the Bible, which replace the word "see" in verse 22 with another word denoting homosexual relations. Because of what happened, Noah put a curse on Ham's son Canaan and his descendents, the Canaanites.

Phyllis Trible (1984) was the first scholar to suggest that the story of Hagar in Genesis 16:1–4 was a rape narrative, a conclusion later supported by some feminist biblical researchers such as J. Cheryl Exum and Suzanne Scholz, but rejected by others. Some have even considered the possibility that verse 16:6 is saying that Sarah "raped" Hagar as well, since the verb used, עִנָה‎ inah in the pi'el, is sometimes used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible to mean "to rape", "to mistreat" or "to oppress" (amongst other things), depending on the context. Trible rejected that idea, reasoning that it simply meant 'oppression'; womanist theologian Delores S. Williams (1993) accepted it as the sexual violation of her physical integrity; Scholz concluded that "the story does not provide a clear answer".

Genesis 19 features an attempted gang rape. Two angels arrive in Sodom, and Lot shows them hospitality. However, the men of the city gathered around Lot's house and demanded that he give them the two guests so that they could rape them. In response to this, Lot offers the mob his two virgin daughters instead. The mob refuses Lot's offer, but the angels strike them with blindness, God eventually destroys the city, and Lot and his family escape.