They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put 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?
- BSB “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send 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 24:1–4When 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.
- Matt 5:31“It was also said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’
- Mark 10:4They said, “Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be written, and to divorce her.”
- Mal 2:16For I hate divorce”, says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with violence!” says Yahweh of Armies. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you don’t deal treacherously.
- Isa 50:1Yahweh says, “Where is the bill of your mother’s divorce, with which I have put her away? or to which of my creditors have I sold you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, and your mother was put away for your transgressions.
- Jer 3:8I saw when, for this very cause, that backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorce, yet treacherous Judah, her sister, had no fear; but she also went and played the prostitute.
- Matt 1:19Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly.
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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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.