Divorce

DIVORCE

Deuteronomy 24:1   If a man takes a wife and marries her, and it comes to pass that she finds no favour in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, then he shall write her a document of divorce, put it into her hand, and send her out of his house.Hebrew Text Deuteronomy 24:1
כִּֽי־יִקַּ֥ח אִ֛ישׁ אִשָּׁ֖ה וּבְעָלָ֑הּ וְהָיָ֞ה אִם־לֹ֧א תִמְצָא־חֵ֣ן בְּעֵינָ֗יו כִּי־מָ֤צָא בָהּ֙ עֶרְוַ֣ת דָּבָ֔ר וְכָ֨תַב לָ֜הּ סֵ֤פֶר כְּרִיתֻת֙ וְנָתַ֣ן בְּיָדָ֔הּ וְשִׁלְּחָ֖הּ מִבֵּיתֽוֹ
Text 37 Tosefta Ketubot 12:1 Originally, when her marriage settlement (ketubah) was kept by her father, it seemed an easy thing to him to divorce her, so Shimon ben Shetah legislated that the marriage settlement should be kept by her husband, and he wrote for her that “All the property which will come to me is held liable and on pledge to pay you your marriage settlement.”Hebrew Text
Tosefta Ketubot 12:1
  בראשונה כשהיתה כתובתה אצל אביה היתה קלה בעיניו להוציאה התקין שמעון בן שטח שתהא כתובתה אצל בעלה וכותב לה כל נכסים דאית לי אחראין וערבאין לכתובתיך דא
Text 38. Mishnah Ketubut 7:6
The following are divorced without their marriage settlement: she who transgresses Mosaic or Jewish law.  And what is meant here by Mosaic law?  If she fed him food which had not been tithed, or slept with him during her period, or did not separate the dough, or made a vow and did not keep it.  And what is meant here by Jewish law?  If she goes out with her hair loose, or spins in the  market place, or speaks with all men.  Abba Saul said, Also if she curses his parents before him.  Rabbi Tarfon says, Also if she is loud mouthed.  What is meant here by loud mouthed?  One who speaks in her house so that her neighbours can hear her voice.		Hebrew Text
Mishnah Ketubot 7:6
ו וְאֵלּוּ יוֹצְאוֹת שֶׁלֹּא בִכְתֻבָּה, הָעוֹבֶרֶת עַל דַּת מֹשֶׁה וִיהוּדִית. וְאֵיזוֹ הִיא דַּת מֹשֶׁה, מַאֲכִילַתּוּ שֶׁאֵינוֹ מְעֻשָּר, וּמְשַׁמְּשַׁתּוּ נִדָּה, וְלֹא קוֹצָה לָהּ חַלָּה, וְנוֹדֶרֶת וְאֵינָהּ מְקַיֶּמֶת. וְאֵיזוֹהִי דַת יְהוּדִית, יוֹצְאָה וְרֹאשָׁהּ פָּרוּעַ, וְטוֹוָה בַשּׁוּק, וּמְדַבֶּרֶת עִם כָּל אָדָם. אַבָּא שָׁאוּל אוֹמֵר, אַף הַמְקַלֶּלֶת יוֹלְדָיו בְּפָנָיו. רַבִּי טַרְפוֹן אוֹמֵר, אַף הַקּוֹלָנִית. וְאֵיזוֹ הִיא קוֹלָנִית, לִכְשֶׁהִיא מְדַבֶּרֶת בְּתוֹךְ בֵּיתָהּ וּשְׁכֵנֶיהָ שׁוֹמְעִין קוֹלָהּ
Text 39 Mishnah Gittin 9:10
The School of Shammai say, A man is not to divorce his wife unless he has found in her some indecency, as it is said (Deuteronomy 24: 1), “Because he has found some indecency in her.”  But the School of Hillel say, Even if she spoiled the cooking, as it is said “Because he has found some indecency in her.”  Rabbi Akiva says, Even if he has found another more beautiful than she is, as it is said (Deuteronomy 24: 1) “And it shall come to pass, if she does not find favour in his eyes.”  		Hebrew Text
Mishnah Gittin 9:10
  י בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים, לֹא יְגָרֵשׁ אָדָם אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ אֶלּא אִם כֵּן מָצָא בָהּ דְּבַר עֶרְוָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים כד) כִּי מָצָא בָהּ עֶרְוַת דָּבָר. וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים, אֲפִלּוּ הִקְדִּיחָה תַבְשִׁילוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר כִּי מָצָא בָהּ עֶרְוַת דָּבָר. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר, אֲפִלּוּ מָצָא אַחֶרֶת נָאָה הֵימֶנָּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וְהָיָה אִם לֹא תִמְצָא חֵן בְּעֵינָיו
Text 40 Mishnah Kiddushin 1:1   A woman is acquired in three ways and she acquires herself [again] in two ways.  She is acquired by money, by document, or by intercourse.  By money  — the School of Shammai say, by a dinar or something of the same value as a dinar: but the School of Hillel say, by a perutah, or something of the same value as a perutah.  And how much is a perutah? one eighth of an Italian issar.  And she acquires herself [again] by divorce, or by the death of her husband.Hebrew Text
Mishnah Kiddushin 1:1  
א הָאִשָּׁה נִקְנֵית בְּשָׁלשׁ דְּרָכִים, וְקוֹנָה אֶת עַצְמָהּ בִּשְׁתֵּי דְרָכִים. נִקְנֵית בְּכֶסֶף, בִּשְׁטָר, וּבְבִיאָה. בְּכֶסֶף, בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים, בְּדִינָר וּבְשָׁוֶה דִינָר. וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים, בִּפְרוּטָה וּבְשָׁוֶה פְרוּטָה. וְכַמָּה הִיא פְרוּטָה, אֶחָד מִשְּׁמוֹנָה בְּאִסָּר הָאִיטַלְקִי. וְקוֹנָה אֶת עַצְמָהּ בְּגֵט וּבְמִיתַת הַבָּעַל.
Greek Text Matthew 19: 1 – 13   1 Καὶ ἐγένετο ὅτε ἐτέλεσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοὺς λόγους τούτους, μετῆρεν ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς τὰ ὅρια τῆς Ἰουδαίας πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου.  2 καὶ ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ ὄχλοι πολλοί, καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτοὺς ἐκεῖ.  3 Καὶ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ Φαρισαῖοι πειράζοντες αὐτὸν καὶ λέγοντες · Εἰ ἔξεστιν ἀνθρώπῳ ἀπολῦσαι τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ κατὰ πᾶσαν αἰτίαν;  4 ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν · Οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε ὅτι ὁ κτίσας ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτοὺς  5 καὶ εἶπεν · Ἕνεκα τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ κολληθήσεται τῇ γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν;  6 ὥστε οὐκέτι εἰσὶν δύο ἀλλὰ σὰρξ μία. ὃ οὖν ὁ θεὸς συνέζευξεν ἄνθρωπος μὴ χωριζέτω. 7 λέγουσιν αὐτῷ · Τί οὖν Μωϋσῆς ἐνετείλατο δοῦναι βιβλίον ἀποστασίου καὶ ἀπολῦσαι αὐτήν; 8 λέγει αὐτοῖς ὅτι Μωϋσῆς πρὸς τὴν σκληροκαρδίαν ὑμῶν ἐπέτρεψεν ὑμῖν ἀπολῦσαι τὰς γυναῖκας ὑμῶν, ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς δὲ οὐ γέγονεν οὕτως. 9 λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν ὅτι ὃς ἂν ἀπολύσῃ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ μὴ ἐπὶ πορνείᾳ καὶ γαμήσῃ ἄλλην μοιχᾶται καὶ ὁ ἀπολελυμένην γαμήσας μοιχᾶται. 10 Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταί · Εἰ οὕτως ἐστὶν ἡ αἰτία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετὰ τῆς γυναικός, οὐ συμφέρει γαμῆσαι. 11 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς · Οὐ πάντες χωροῦσι τὸν λόγον τοῦτον ἀλλ’ οἷς δέδοται.  12 εἰσὶν γὰρ εὐνοῦχοι οἵτινες ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς ἐγεννήθησαν οὕτως, καὶ εἰσὶν εὐνοῦχοι οἵτινες ὐνουχίσθησαν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ εἰσὶν εὐνοῦχοι οἵτινες εὐνούχισαν ἑαυτοὺς διὰ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. ὁ δυνάμενος χωρεῖν χωρείτω. 13 Τότε προσηνέχθησαν αὐτῷ παιδία ἵνα τὰς χεῖρας ἐπιθῇ αὐτοῖς καὶ προσεύξηται · οἱ δὲ μαθηταὶ ἐπετίμησαν αὐτοῖς. 14 ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν · Ἄφετε τὰ παιδία καὶ μὴ κωλύετε αὐτὰ ἐλθεῖν πρός με, τῶν γὰρ τοιούτων ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.



 
Greek Text Mark 10: 1 – 14  
1 Καὶ ἐκεῖθεν ἀναστὰς ἔρχεται εἰς τὰ ὅρια τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, καὶ συμπορεύονται πάλιν ὄχλοι πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ ὡς εἰώθει πάλιν ἐδίδασκεν αὐτούς. 2 Καὶ προσελθόντες Φαρισαῖοι ἐπηρώτων αὐτὸν εἰ ἔξεστιν ἀνδρὶ γυναῖκα ἀπολῦσαι, πειράζοντες αὐτόν. 3 ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς · Τί ὑμῖν ἐνετείλατο Μωϋσῆς;  4 οἱ δὲ εἶπαν
Ἐπέτρεψεν Μωϋσῆς  βιβλίον ἀποστασίου γράψαι καὶ ἀπολῦσαι. 5 ὁ δὲ  Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς · Πρὸς τὴν σκληροκαρδίαν ὑμῶν ἔγραψεν ὑμῖν τὴν ἐντολὴν ταύτην ·  6 ἀπὸ δὲ ἀρχῆς κτίσεως ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς · 7 ἕνεκεν τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ προσκολληθήσεται πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, 8 καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν · ὥστε οὐκέτι εἰσὶν δύο ἀλλὰ μία σάρξ · 9 ὃ οὖν ὁ θεὸς συνέζευξεν ἄνθρωπος μὴ χωριζέτω. 10 Καὶ εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν  πάλιν οἱ μαθηταὶ περὶ τούτου  ἐπηρώτων αὐτόν. 11 καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς · Ὃς ἂν ἀπολύσῃ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ καὶ γαμήσῃ ἄλλην μοιχᾶται ἐπ’ αὐτήν, 12 καὶ ἐὰν αὐτὴ ἀπολύσασα τὸν ἄνδρα αὐτῆς γαμήσῃ ἄλλον  μοιχᾶται. 13 Καὶ προσέφερον αὐτῷ παιδία ἵνα αὐτῶν ἅψηται · οἱ δὲ μαθηταὶ ἐπετίμησαν αὐτοῖς. 14 ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἠγανάκτησεν.  		Text 41   (i)  Matthew 19: 1 – 13 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; 2 and large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.  3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?”  4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one’?  6 So they are no longer two but one.  What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”  7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”  8 He said to them, “For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery.”           10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.”  11 But he said to them, “Not all men can receive this precept, but only those to whom it is given.  12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from  birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.  He who is able to receive this, let him receive it.”     13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people: 14 But Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’  
(ii)  Mark 10: 1 -14
And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again; and again, as his custom was, he taught them.        2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”  3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?”  4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away.”  5 But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.  6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’  7 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one.’  So they are no longer two but one. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”  10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter.  11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” 13 And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them.  14 But when Jesus saw it he was indignant.  

Notes

Deut 24: 1 Hebrew ervat davar: Greek άσχημον πράγμα (unseemly, hence shameful)

Onkelos: פִּתְגָּם    עֲבֵרַת = a fault of words.

A few verses earlier in Deut 23:15

כִּי֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ מִתְהַלֵּ֣ךְ ׀ בְּקֶ֣רֶב מַחֲנֶ֗ךָ לְהַצִּֽילְךָ֙ וְלָתֵ֤ת אֹיְבֶ֙יךָ֙ לְפָנֶ֔יךָ וְהָיָ֥ה מַחֲנֶ֖יךָ קָד֑וֹשׁ וְלֹֽא־יִרְאֶ֤ה בְךָ֙ עֶרְוַ֣ת דָּבָ֔ר וְשָׁ֖ב מֵאַחֲרֶֽיךָ׃

Since the Eternal One your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you, let your camp be holy; let God not find anything unseemly among you and turn away from you.