Texts in Conversation
The Gospel of Matthew and the Rabbinic text of Mishnah Nedarim both address conditions under which divorce is considered valid, highlighting a common Jewish legal concern. Matthew presents Jesus providing narrower allowances, similar to earlier Jewish traditions and the Mishnah.
Share:
Matthew 5:32
New Testament
30 If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into hell. 31 “It was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a legal document.’ 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. 33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not take oaths at all—not by heaven, because it is the throne of God,
Date: 70-90 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Mishnah Nedarim 11
Mishnah
Rabbinic
Initially the Sages would say that three women are divorced even against their husbands’ will, and nevertheless they receive payment of what is due to them according to their marriage contract. The first is the wife of a priest who says to her husband: I am defiled to you, i.e., she claims that she had been raped, so that she is now forbidden to her husband. The second is a woman who says to her husband: Heaven is between me and you, i.e., she declares that he is impotent, a claim she cannot prove, as the truth of it is known only to God. And the third is a woman who takes a vow, stating: I am removed from the Jews, i.e., benefit from sexual intercourse with any Jew, including my husband, is forbidden to me. They subsequently retracted their words and said that in order that a married woman should not cast her eyes on another man and to that end ruin her relationship with her husband and still receive payment of her marriage contract, these halakhot were modified as follows: A priest’s wife who says to her husband: I am defiled to you, must bring proof for her words that she was raped. As for a woman who says: Heaven is between me and you, the court must act and deal with the matter by way of a request, rather than force the husband to divorce his wife. And with regard to a woman who says: I am removed from the Jews, her husband must nullify his part, i.e., the aspect of the vow that concerns him, so that she should be permitted to him, and she may engage in sexual intercourse with him, but she is removed from all other Jews, so that if he divorces her she is forbidden to all.
Date: 190-230 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Search:
Notes and References
"... Unchastity (Greek “porneia”; see Matthew 19:3–9; compare Mark 10:2–12; Luke 16:18; 1 Corinthians 7:11–13), encompasses more than adultery, e.g., marriages viewed by Leviticus (18:6–18) as incestuous. Jesus’ sexual ethics are stricter than found in most other branches of early Judaism, but see 11QTemple 57.17–19; Damascus Document 4.12–5.14; Mishnah Nedarim 11:12; b. Sanhedrin 22a. ..."
Levine, Amy-Jill & Brettler, Marc Zvi
The Jewish Annotated New Testament
(p. 12) Oxford University Press, 2011
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.