Hi guys,
I was hoping you could assist me with Matthew 5:31–32.
Additionally, it was said, “Let the person who divorces his wife provide her a divorce certificate.” However, I tell you that anyone who divorces their wife—apart from abuse—causes her to commit adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery. (NRSV)
How can one reconcile this with a feminist interpretation of the Bible? That was my question. Jesus appears to set quite tight guidelines for divorce, excluding other possible causes such as abuse or even a falling out of love. He even gives the impression that marrying a divorced woman is a sin, as in adultery.
In order to be certain of Jesus’ meaning in this line, I would like to be given a fresh interpretation of it.
Thanks in advance!
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Divorce is an unfortunate fact of life. Jesus is criticising a patriarchal religious system in which men could divorce their wives for any cause and receive rabbinic approval, causing the women to become destitute and destitute. Remember that women are not allowed to file for divorce in Orthodox Judaism even today. A get, or divorce decree, can only be issued by the husband. Here, Jesus is taking on a sexist legalistic system in order to support women.
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Divorce held a much different significance in the past compared to today. Marriage was nearly essential for meeting basic needs, and divorcing a woman often condemned her to poverty and social stigma, a reality that is hard for us to grasp today. There are obvious exceptions beyond what’s mentioned here, often overlooked because we don’t fully understand the nuances that were clear in first-century Palestine. Additionally, the influence of biblical literalism can heavily skew our perception.
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I think one crucial aspect often overlooked in this passage is the idea that a man “makes his wife commit adultery.” Makes her? Additionally, in the Greek concept of adultery, it wasn’t even something a woman could do! It was an act a man committed against another man by taking his woman without permission.
The series of lessons in Matthew 5 is not about laws or rules but about the kind of person one should strive to be. The passage addresses men who are divorcing their wives. How should they change?
One key point here is that a man should consider himself so responsible for his wife that her being forced to violate her vows to survive becomes his responsibility. A true man would never put his own flesh in such a position.
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I can’t say I fully understand what Jesus meant, but here is my interpretation. As others have mentioned, marriage was crucial for a woman’s survival after her father’s death. It doesn’t matter if you no longer love your wife or if the relationship has become difficult; you made a commitment to be her husband and support her. You can’t discard her just because things got tough. Women are to be cherished, not treated as objects for men’s pleasure. The question at hand is when a man can divorce his wife. It seems that abuse by women wasn’t a common issue, which might explain why it’s not addressed.
I believe this passage highlights that remarriage is significant to God. Sacramental marriages are intended to last a lifetime. While sometimes a couple cannot continue living as if they are married and must divorce, remarriage after divorce should be avoided if possible. It’s a challenging teaching, but I think it’s present in the text.
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Adultery was also not the same concept back then. They were corrupt in addition to cheating on their marriage.