Eishet Yefat To’ar – Woman Captured in War

 https://aish.com/eishet-yefat-toar-woman-captured-in-war/

I’ll begin by writing that it’s not clear if your astonishment is warranted. The Torah never states that a soldier is permitted to rape a woman on the battlefield – only that if he desires her he may forcibly take her home to be his wife – after she undergoes a lengthy mourning period (and converts to Judaism). This is the simple reading of the Torah – and the explanation followed by a minority of the commentators (Jerusalem Talmud Makkos 2:6, Ramban Deut. 21:13, Da’as Zekainim (21:12)).

In truth, however, the Talmud (Kiddushin 22a, Sanhedrin 21a), Midrash (Sifri, Ki Taitzai 213), most commentators, and Maimonides (Melachim 8:2) all understand the Torah as you are familiar with. And you are right that following that opinion, this section of the Torah is strikingly inconsistent with virtually the entire rest of the Torah and norms of Jewish behavior. And the explanation behind it is a fascinating one.