Texts in Conversation
Deuteronomy 24 permits divorce using vague language about finding something unacceptable, which allowed many interpretations. Sirach reflects this ambiguity and flexibility by advising divorce when a wife does not act according to her husband’s will.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Deuteronomy 24:1
Hebrew Bible
1 If a man marries a woman and she does not please him because he has found something indecent in her, then he may draw up a divorce document, give it to her, and evict her from his house. 2 When she has left him she may go and become someone else’s wife. 3 If the second husband rejects her and then divorces her, gives her the papers, and evicts her from his house, or if the second husband who married her dies,
Sirach 25:26
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
23 A wicked woman is abasement of heart, sadness of face, and a wounded heart. A woman who won’t make her husband happy is like hands that hang down, and weak knees. 24 The beginning of sin came from a woman. Because of her, we all die. 25 Don’t give water an outlet, and don’t give a wicked woman freedom of speech. 26 If she doesn’t go as you direct, cut her away from your flesh.
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Notes and References
"... The vague expression Deuteronomy 24:1 is translated similarly in the Septuagint, 'an unworthy deed'; similarly, in Deuteronomy 23:15, 'shamefulness of deeds'. This rather literal translation resembles the Hillelite view. However, this does not give us a clue to its date since dating any particular Septuagint version is difficult. Josephus gives an outspoken Hillelite rendering, presenting it as established practice 'for whatever cause'. So does Philo ... 'for any cause whatever' This brings us as far back as the first half of the first century CE. However, evidence definitely from the early second century BCE is found in Ben Sira: ' ... A wicked wife ... if she does not walk following your hand, cut her off from your flesh, give (a divorce bill) and send (her away).' The reference is not to unchastity but to bad behavior in general. It seems that there existed a continuous and widespread tradition since biblical times which interpreted Deuteronomy 24:1 literally as a vague and comprehensive ground for divorce ..."
Tomson, Peter J.
Paul and the Jewish Law: Halakha in the Letters of the Apostle to the Gentiles
(pp. 122-123) Fortress Press, 1990
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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