Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
Parallel translations
- WEB Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly.
- KJV Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
- BSB Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.
- NKJV Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
- NASB And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joseph, a righteous man, plans to divorce Mary quietly rather than expose her. His character blends faithfulness to the law with mercy.
Overview
Assuming Mary had been unfaithful, Joseph could have shamed her publicly, but he sought to protect her with a private divorce. His righteousness is shown not in harsh legalism but in compassion, a portrait of mercy tempering justice. This foreshadows the grace that would mark the Savior whose earthly guardian he became.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Deut 22:21–24then they shall bring out the young lady to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done folly in Israel, to play the prostitute in her father’s house. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
- Deut 24:1–4When a man takes a wife and marries her, then it shall be, if she finds no favor in his eyes, because he has found some unseemly thing in her, that he shall write her a bill of divorce, and put it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
- John 8:4–5they told him, “Teacher, we found this woman in adultery, in the very act.
- Mark 6:20for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. When he heard him, he did many things, and he heard him gladly.
- Luke 2:25Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.
- Lev 20:10“‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, even he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
- Gen 38:24About three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has played the prostitute. Moreover, behold, she is with child by prostitution.” Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”
- Ps 112:4–5Light dawns in the darkness for the upright, gracious, merciful, and righteous.
- Mark 10:4They said, “Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be written, and to divorce her.”
- Lev 19:20“‘If a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave girl, pledged to be married to another man, and not ransomed, or given her freedom; they shall be punished. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free.
- Acts 10:22They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous man and one who fears God, and well spoken of by all the nation of the Jews, was directed by a holy angel to invite you to his house, and to listen to what you say.”
- Gen 6:9This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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On the genealogy and the name Immanuel.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 1:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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