Recall from Mat 19:3 that the Pharisees had asked Jesus if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause at all, His answer to which was clearly “no” because they are no longer two but one flesh. Are we to then understand that there is no cause for which it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife? What is the one exception that Jesus notes in Mat 19:9 when divorce and remarriage would not constitute adultery? Cf. Mat 5:32. What is meant by “immorality” or “unchastity”? Note that the Greek word used in both Mat 5:32 and 19:9 is translated every time by the KJV as “fornication”. How is fornication typically understood as being different from adultery? Cf. 1Co 7:1-2 and notice they are distinguished from one another in Mat 15:19, Mar 7:21, 1Co 6:9 and Heb 13:4. Considering this distinction, what word would we expect to find in Jesus’ exception, but don’t? Is it significant that the exception Jesus gives is not adultery but fornication, or are we to understand these as synonymous in this context?
Consider also that the “exception” clauses to divorce and remarriage are found only in Matthew who was writing to Jews and not in any of the other gospels or Paul’s letters that were written to Gentiles (see Mar 10:11-12, Luk 16:18, Rom 7:2, 1Co 7:39); why do you think that is? Think: were the Gentiles given any less to immorality than the Jews? Cf. 2Co 12:21, Eph 4:19, 1Pe 4:3. Think too: because women historically had no other means to provide for themselves they needed a man to provide for them; thus, when a man divorced his wife he caused her to commit adultery (Mat 5:32) because she was forced either to remarry or into prostitution. Would not the “immorality” involved with her marrying or consorting with another man thus render of no account the whole thrust of Jesus’ one-flesh argument for the permanence of marriage and that whoever divorces his wife and marries another is committing adultery?
What is the defining characteristic of marriage that makes a man and woman one flesh? See 1Co 6:16. Is it significant that this is also what makes their relationship creative? What insight does this give us about why every other sexual union is sinful? Cf. Gen 6:2,4, Jude 1:6-7. What insight might it give us about how God views our modern practices of birth control that have transformed our notion of sex as being primarily for pleasure and not procreation?
What was different about Jewish marriage from Gentile marriage that would warrant an exception clause for fornication, considering that once a man and woman have consummated their marriage to become one flesh such immorality is more properly called adultery? See Mat 1:18-19,24-25. Consider too the more binding and often lengthy nature of the Jewish betrothal period (Gen 29:18-21) and the ramifications of sexual misconduct that took place during this period (Deut 22:23-27). Would Joseph, a righteous man, have been sinning against God in desiring to divorce Mary and marry another woman because he assumed she must have committed fornication during the time of their betrothal when they were lawfully considered to be married although the marriage had not yet been consummated?
What are we to conclude then regarding the exception clause that Jesus gives in Mat 19:9? Should we understand that it refers to adultery in general, and it is purely incidental that 1) the word used is not adultery but fornication and 2) the exception is entirely absent from the other gospels and Paul’s writings? Or, should we understand that the exception clause refers to sexual immorality during the Jewish betrothal period before the man and woman consummate their marriage at the wedding feast to become one flesh—an example of which Matthew has used as central to his purpose of rebutting the Jews’ defamation of Jesus as the son of a harlot—and it is for this reason that 1) Jesus used the word fornication to distinguish His meaning from adultery in keeping with His one-flesh argument for the permanence of marriage and 2) the exception is not found in any of the other gospels or Paul’s letters that were written to Gentiles because they did not observe the same marriage customs as the Jews that would warrant such an exception? Cf. the laws for the marriage of priests; see Lev 21:7,13-15, Eze 44:21-22, 1Pe 2:9.
The Greek word used for “immorality” (NAS) / “fornication” (KJV) in Mat 19:9 is porneia: what English word do we get from this? Considering the sanctity and permanence of the marriage relationship and that this is the one and only exception for divorce and remarriage—even if only during the time of betrothal prior to the consummation of the marriage—what does this teach us about the great evil, seriousness, and danger to one’s soul of every form of porneia in the eyes of God? Cf. Mat 5:28-30, Heb 13:4, Gal 5:19-21. What is the Christian response to every form of porneia? See 1Co 6:18, 2Ti 2:22.
Matthew 19:3-6 (Jesus’ Teaching on Divorce, Part 1)
Matthew 19:7-9 (Jesus’ Teaching on Divorce, Part 2)
Matthew 19:9 (The Exception Clause to Divorce and Remarriage)
Scripture Passages Related to Divorce and Remarriage
Matthew 19:1-9 (The Spiritual Significance of Marriage)
Matthew 19:10 (The Disciples’ Response To Jesus’ Teaching on Divorce)
Matthew 19:1-10 (Answers to the Really Hard Questions Regarding Divorce)
Matthew 19:1-10 (Answers to the Really Hard Questions Regarding Remarriage Part 1)
Matthew 19:1-10 (Answers to the Really Hard Questions Regarding Remarriage Part 2)
Matthew 19:11-12 (On Celibacy)
I suppose the main problem with the betrothal interpretation of the divorce exception clause is that, in ancient Jewish culture, a betrothed woman was regarded as married for it was during betrothal that the bride price was paid and vows exchanged. For this reason, sexual unfaithfulness on the part of a betrothed woman was regarded as adultery, not premarital fornication. Adultery in Jewish culture has always been defined as infidelity on the part of a woman who is betrothed or in a consummated marriage. This completely undermines the betrothal view of the divorce exception clause which is based on the idea that unfaithfulness during betrothal is fornication rather than adultery.
The grounds for Joseph’s contemplated divorce of Mary in Matthew 1:18-19 would have been adultery, not fornication.
It is doubtful that the term “porneia” in the divorce exception clause is a reference to premarital fornication during the betrothal period. It seems to me that porneia in the divorce exception clause refers to harlotry (prostitution). This is the primary meaning of the Greek term “porneia” and it is the sense in which the word was used both in secular classical Greek and in the Old Testament. The corresponding Old Testament Hebrew term is “zanah” which is translated “porneia” in the Greek Septuagent and harlotry (whoredom, fornication) in English. Note that the term “fornication” encompasses harlotry (prostitution) and premarital sex. The etymology of the term “fornication” traces back to the Latin word “fornix”, meaning “arch”. For this reason, the term “fornication” was used in ancient Rome as a euphemism for prostitution because prostitutes often waited under arches for customers. It appears the Hebrew Old Testament uses the term “zanah” (translated “porneia” in Greek, and “harlotry”, “fornication” or “whoredom” in English) to refer to both professional prostitution and simple premarital fornication and makes no distinction between professional prostitution and non-commercial premarital sex.
In the case of a married woman, porneia is not simply a single act of adultery. Rather, it implies habitual sexual promiscuity or wantonness possibly with multiple sexual partners, for gain or pleasure. There is ample biblical evidence that a married woman can commit the sin of porneia (prostitution). For example, see Hosea 3:3, Amos 7:17, Prov. 7:10-19, Ezekiel 16:8-26, Ezekiel 23, and Jeremiah 3:1-20.
It is noteworthy that God divorced His metaphorical wife—Israel—on the sole grounds of porneia (Jeremiah 3:6-8), the same grounds for divorce in the divorce exception clause of Matthew 5:32 and 19:9. God’s wife Israel was charged with spiritual porneia (spiritual harlotry) and, for this reason, God divorced her. In Jeremiah 3, Ezekiel 16, and Ezekiel 23, Israel is charged with harlotry because she relentlessly pursued illicit “sexual affairs” with multiple “lovers” (idols). The Old Testament Hebrew word used to refer to Israel’s harlotry is “zanah” which is translated “porneia” in the Septuagint. So, the grounds for God’s divorce of His wife in the Old Testament corresponds perfectly well with the divorce exception clause of Matthew 5:32 and 19:9.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment.