Albert Barnes Commentary Deuteronomy 22:19

"and they shall fine him a hundred [shekels] of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days." — Deuteronomy 22:19 (ASV)

The fine was to be paid to the father, because the slander was principally against him as the head of the wife’s family. If the young woman was an orphan, the fine reverted to her. The fact that the penalties attached to bearing false witness against a wife were fixed and comparatively light indicates the low estimation and position of the woman at that time.