Mt. 19:1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.
Mk. 10:1a Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan.
Mt. 19:2 And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.
Mk. 10:1b And the people gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.
Mt. 19:3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
Mk. 10:2 The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” testing Him.
Yeshua is presently in the region under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas. The Pharisees are trying to lay a trap for Him, hoping He would say something about the marriage of Herod Antipas. Herod had beheaded Yochanan haMatbil for criticizing Herod about his marriage to Herodias.
Mk. 10:3 And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?”
Mt. 19:4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’”
Mk. 10:6 “But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’”
Source: Genesis 2:22
Mt. 19:5a “And said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
Mk. 10:7 “‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife.’”
Mt. 19:5b “‘and the two shall become one flesh’”?
Mk. 10:8a “‘And the two shall become one flesh.’”
Source: Genesis 2:24
Mt. 19:6a “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.
Mk. 10:8b “So then they are no longer two, but one flesh.”
Mt. 19:6b “Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate.”
Mk. 10:9 “Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate.”
Mk. 10:10 And in the house His disciples asked Him again about the same matter.
Mt. 19:7 They said to Him, “Why did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
Mk. 10:4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.”
Source: Deut. 24:1
There is a difference between Matthew and Mark that could be significant. Matthew uses the word “command,” while Mark uses the word “permitted.” Matthew is probably in error in this instance, as divorce is never “commanded” in Judaism. Divorce was only permitted, but never commanded. The ideal situation was always reconciliation.
Mt. 19:8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.”
Mk. 10:5 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.”
Mt. 19:9a “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery;”
Mk. 10:11 So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.”
Before one can study divorce, it must be recognized that in many ways marriage and the family were the primary focus of Judaism during the time of Jesus. The home was a place of love and togetherness. The man, the wife, and the children formed a family unity where the study of Scripture, prayers, and blessings provided a solid foundation for home life. The Jewish faith and piety of the period emphasized peace in the home (shalom bayit), and the oneness of God who sanctified the marriage relationship. Nonetheless, the Scriptures clearly teach that divorce was possible under certain circumstances (Deut. 24:1,2). Originally, the law of the Hebrew Scriptures was designed to preserve the unity of the family and to discourage divorce. The Gospels indicate that Yeshua desired to strengthen the position of the wife in the event of divorce.
In the Mishnah we discover that a woman who is divorced because of an adulterous relationship is not permitted to marry her paramour. Wile the Mishnah deals with the case of a married woman who commits adultery, Yeshua addresses a somewhat similar case. What if a man divorces his wife in order to marry someone else? Actually Yeshua seems to be addressing this specific case. Divorce to marry another is the same as adultery. The second part of the verse must be understood in a similar fashion. In light of the Mishnah passage, if a man marries a woman who obtained a divorce merely for the sake of her second marriage, then it is considered adultery. Divorce is not adultery. However, one can obtain a divorce for the sake of remarriage and thereby break the sacred trust of marriage fidelity.
Mt. 19:9b “And whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
Mk. 10:12 “And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Yeshua dealt with this same question in this “Commentary” in volume no. 2, segment 117. You have to look into the original Hebrew to get the correct interpretations, but basically what Yeshua was saying was that if you divorced your spouse without a valid reason in order to marry someone else, then you were committing adultery. He was not saying that adultery was the only valid reason for divorce. That would have put Him in conflict with Deut. 24:1.
When the legal system is used to abused one partner of the marriage contract by seeking a new relationship, the meaning of the higher purpose of the Law is annulled. No one should attempt to lessen the force of a powerful saying of Yeshua. When a man abuses the Law and divorces his wife to marry another, it is the same as adultery.
There was quite a debate between the two primary schools of thought during Yeshua’s time and before (School of Hillel and the School of Shammai) over the interpretation of Deut. 24:1. The phase found in this verse is erivat devar, which means reason for uncleanness. The School of Shammai took a narrow interpretation of this term, while the School of Hillel took a very broad interpretation. Three references from the Mishnah, tractate Gittin, demonstrate these differences. “The School of Shammai said, ‘A man does not put away his wife unless he has found some uncleanness in her, as it is said, “because he had found some matter of uncleanness of behavior. The School of Hillel says, ‘He may put her away if she has spoiled his food, because it is said, “If he found her uncleanness of anything else.” Rabbi Akiba said, ‘A man may put away his wife if he had found one more beautiful than she, as it is said, ‘If she had found no favor in his eyes.”’” Another verse says, “A person who has divorced his wife on account of an evil report may not take her back, not when he had divorced her on account of a vow.” And another says, “When a person divorces his wife because she is barren, he may not take her back, according to Yehudah, but the Sages allow it.”
Sources: M:Gittin 9:10; 4:7; 4:8
Mt. 19:10 His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.
Mt. 19:11 But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:”
Mt. 19:12 “For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s wombs, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”
The Rabbis distinguished two kinds of eunuchs: (1) Seris adam, a eunuch made by man; (2) seris hamma, a eunuch made by the sun; that is to say, one born incapable of reproduction, so that the sun never shone on him as a man. A “seris adam” is not allowed to enter into the assembly of the Lord (BT:Yebamoth 70a), as it is written (Deut. 23:1,2)” “He who is wounded in the stones shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord;” that is to say, shall not marry an Israelite wife. Removal of or defect in either or both of the testicles disqualifies for admission to the assembly of the Lord. It is a sin liable for severe punishment to cause one to become a eunuch (BT:Shabat 111a). Still there is a difference whether one castrates another with his own hands or cause him to be castrated. In the first case the punishment is malkot, that is, thirty-nine stripes. In the second and indefinite number of stripes may be inflicted.
Sources: Deut. 23:1,2; BT:Yebamoth 70a; BT:Shabbat 111a
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