“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
Parallel translations
- WEB They asked him, “Why then did Moses command us to give her a bill of divorce, and divorce her?”
- KJV They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
- NKJV They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
- NASB They *said to Him, “Why, then, did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
- NLT “Then why did Moses say in the law that a man could give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away?” they asked.
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
The Pharisees object by asking why Moses then commanded a certificate of divorce. They press the apparent tension between Jesus' view and the Law.
Overview
Citing Deuteronomy 24:1-4, they assume Moses 'commanded' divorce, treating a regulation as a mandate. Their question seeks to pit Jesus against Moses. Jesus will clarify that Moses permitted, rather than commanded, divorce, and only as a concession to human sinfulness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Deut 24:1–4If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.
- Matt 5:31It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’
- Mark 10:4They answered, “Moses permitted a man to write his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
- Mal 2:16“For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.
- Isa 50:1This is what the LORD says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of My creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold for your iniquities, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
- Jer 3:8She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well.
- Matt 1:19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.
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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 19:7 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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