Divorce in the New Testament
Matthew
The text presents numerous mentions of divorce which are located in chapters 5 and 19. However, Matthew seems to have undergone a lot of editorial redaction, as many manuscripts contain many variants of each other.
5:32
| Translation | Oldest Attested Source |
|---|---|
| …and whoever should marry her who has been divorced, they commit adultery… | Codex Sinaiticus |
| …and the one who should marry her who has been divorced, they commit adultery… | Codex Vaticanus |
| …and he who ... her who has been divorced, they commit adultery… | 1546 |
| (omitted) | Origin |
19:9a
| Translation | Oldest Attested Source |
|---|---|
| …except on account of sexual immorality, and marries another, causes her to commit adultery… | syrpal |
| …except on account of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery… | 𝔓25 |
| …except on account of sexual immorality, and marries another… | |
| …except on the basis of sexual immorality, and marries another, causes her to commit adultery… | 69c |
| …unless on the basis of sexual immorality, and marries another, causes her to commit adultery… | Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus |
| …unless on the basis of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery… | Codex Petropolitanus Purpureus |
| …unless on the basis of sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery… | Codex Sinaiticus |
| …unless on the basis of sexual immorality, marries another, commits adultery… | Codex Washingtonianus |
| …and marries another… | 1574 |
19:9b
| Translation | Oldest Attested Source |
|---|---|
| …And likewise anyone marrying a divorced woman commits adultery… | 𝔓25 |
| …And anyone marrying a divorced woman sent away by a man commits adultery… | 579 |
| …And anyone marrying a divorced woman commits adultery… | Codex Vaticanus |
| (omitted) | Codex Sinaiticus |
Mark
Mark 10:11-12 reads as follows:
He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Luke
Luke 16:18 reads as follows:
“Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
Paul
1 Corinthians 7:10-11 reads as follows:
To the married I give this command—not I but the Lord—that the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.
Analysis
During the days of the historical Jesus, there were two main Jewish perspectives of divorce:
- One was espoused by Hillel the Elder (if the wife did anything disgraceful; permissive interpretation), and
- another by Shammai the Elder (if the wife was unfaithful or unchaste; strict interpretation).
Given the possible renditions of Matthew, it appears the authors of the text portray Jesus siding with Shammai's interpretation. It should be noted that Matthew disagrees entirely with Mark and Luke which portray Jesus absolutely prohibiting divorce and thereby reject all Jewish interpretations of it. Strangely, Mark and Luke are incorrect that Jewish law allowed a woman to divorce her husband.
Paul gives an even more different perspective of divorce. According to him, divorce is permitted if a non-believing husband leaves the marriage from a believing woman. In summary:
- Matthew allows divorce in the case of unfaithfulness,
- Mark and Luke absolutely prohibit it, and
- Paul allowed it if a non-believing spouse chooses to leave the marriage.