Deuteronomy 24: 1-3: An Analysis

The Bible, being authored by many writers, contains a number of viewpoints that are similar to the ancient Greek schools of thought in a sense. One such type of viewpoint was the Deuteronomistic view. This retelling and editing of the Bible contains more than a basic retelling and recounts what kinds of symbolism exists within the history. The Deuteronomistic History is a unique account of ancient Israelite history that hinges on key themes to further the meaning the Deuteronomists which to point out in the stories.

Divorce did not come about until the Protestant Reformation and even then, it was mostly used by upper class citizens. “Fornication, clandestine marriage, and adultery were sexual offenses related to marriage.” Adultery was seen as a “wife’s crime” and was very serious. On the other hand, men did the same thing but were not punished for it. These men even had children outside of their marriage and the wife was expected to take care of them just the same. This happened mostly with high status families, but in poorer families men resulted to bigamy of desertion. Either way, the woman was put in an unfair position that she had to deal with.13

The whole book of Deuteronomy is telling the story of a people that made a deal with God. They made promises to serve him according to the way that he wanted to be served. Deuteronomy laid out all the wonderful things that would happen to them if they were obedient and kept their promises. It also laid out what would happen if they did not keep their promise. It was pretty harsh too.

In his essay on divorce under Jewish Law, John D. Rayner describes how it is the man who makes the decision to divorce his wife, because women didn’t have the right to initiate divorce (Jacob & Zemer, 2001). The process is discussed in Deuteronomy by saying a man “writes her a bill of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house” (Deut. 24 1-4). A husband could issue a divorce for any reason, if he feels that the wife was not “pleasing him well enough” (Greenburg, 2009). Again, this took place during biblical times, but even through the changes over the years, there were some instances of inequality in divorce. “Modern” times brought many changes in Jewish practices, especially in the secularization of many countries, making marriages more political and more concerned with the laws of the country, and not so much about Jewish Law (Jacob & Zemer, 2001). This shifted the connotation of divorce as well, focusing on civil separation rather than the termination of a holy connection in a religious light. However, even in the case of civil divorce in modern day government, a couple is still linked together under Jewish Law unless they sign a get. A get is a formal document of divorce that declares a Jewish couple’s separation under Jewish Law (Jacob & Zemer, 2001). Without this document, the divorce will go unacknowledged by the Jewish community. This relates to gender privileges in the Jewish culture because throughout these modernizing changes, these gets were unobtainable for women. Therefore, although a wife may be able to initiate a civil divorce in modern day, it would go unrecognized by Jewish Law unless the man decides to make it religiously

The first justification for polygamy that he presents is that it was not banned, but was regulated under the law, therefore causing polygamy to be an accepted form of lifestyle. The verses given to support this claim are Exodus 21:10, “If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing, and marital rights,” and Deuteronomy 21:15, “if a man has two wives…,” but there are issues with how these verses are being used. The Bible is not addressing the issue of polygamy in these verses. They are being taken out of context and bent to please the will of one man; the former is under the context of servants and the latter is about the rights of the firstborn son. Based on this, I would say that this point invalid and not worth further discussion.

Throughout the Bible the four gospel writers talk about being loyal to your spouse. What these writers talk about also refers back to the tenth commandment. The tenth commandment states that thou shalt not commit adultery. When God gave Moses these ten commandments on Mount Sinai he wanted all people to follow these commandments as a set of laws and if you were to break these commandments your friendship with God will

With the number of wives that historical figures have had in the Bible, it raises the question of whether or not polygamy or the act of bigamy is actually biblical. Many prominent and godly men of the Bible had multiple wives including Abraham, David, Jacob, and Solomon. Many state also that God never explicitly states that marrying multiple wives is a sin, but clearly they have not read their Bible. The scriptures states time and time again the holy construct for a healthy marriage. Genesis 2:24 states, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife [not wives], and they will become one flesh [not fleshes]." 1 Corinthians 7:2 equally states, "But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should

Exodus 19-20 and Deuteronomy 5 Moses went up to god and god told him to obey him fully and that he would become his treasured possession. God practically tells mosses that he is a disciple for the holy nation and it is his job to tell the people of Israel to obey God’s word so that they can become the lords treasured possessions too. The Israelites agree to the lord’s word and mosses delivers the message that they must get ready for the third day because that is when the lord will come down on Mount Sinai. To prepare for the third day the Israelites were told to wash their clothes and abstain from sexual relations. When the lord landed, he insisted that the people of Israel and the priests must not force their way up to see the lord.

The wife marries many husbands for several different reasons. The wife says “I shal seye sooth, tho housbondes that I hadde, As thre of hem were goode, and two were badde” (Chaucer 195-197). This quote indicates how the wife marries multiple husbands, some for good reasons and some for bad reasons. This shouldn’t be the case because a women should find the right soulmate for her and not have to keep on searching for the perfect one. Genesis 2: 24 states “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body” (USCCB). The Church says that marriage is a sacrament that unites a man and a woman together, not between several men. In her marriage, the wife goes against the Church by choosing to marry five husbands. Also, Matthew 19:5-6 adds “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh” emphasizing marriage combines two people together to become one. The wife’s decision to marry five husbands contradicts what the Church envisions for marriage and goes against what I see as a true marriage.

Christianity. Christianity can be used in good and bad forms. From a quote from the old testament it states, “For there will never to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.” Deuteronomy 15:11, this means that there are the poor people out in the world and we should help to the needy and the poor. Then from the quote from the new testament it states, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” John 8:24, this means that you shall die in your mistakes that you have made such as murder. From both of these quotes from the old and new testament they both show either good

The contradictory of the position is God hates divorce, according to Malachi 2:16; however, God is gracious in forgiving, because of the humanist’s nature (Matthew 9:19, NASB). Jesus was sent into the world to proclaim the Gospel of love and to heal brokenness (Anderson, p.87). All the endurance of the world is a ministry to God (John 3:17).

Deuteronomy is a pivotal book in the Old Testament for several reasons. Thought it is the last book in the Pentateuch it seems to be transitional in nature. Deuteronomy opens with all of Israel on the plains of Moab waiting to enter the land that the Lord God had promised their forefathers to give to them (Num. 33:48; 36:13). This is a new generation, for the older generation, which the Lord led out of Egypt, has died in the wilderness. This new generation was not alive when the first covenant was made, thus it would make sense that they would have to renew the covenant. They will also enter the Promised Land, a place that their forefathers only hoped to enter, not even Moses would be able to enter. How will the Lord address this new generation before they enter the Promised Land?

The prisoners said that a loved-one who was supposed to take care of them were not present on their lives. No one taught how to live right and stop them from doing the wrong deeds. What they were missing was guidance when it was clearly written in Deuteronomy that the parents “shall teach [the children] diligently” the words of YHWH.

Deuteronomy 32:8 and Genesis 49:10 are two examples of textual critical problems in the Old Testament. The phrase “sons of God” will be examined in Deuteronomy 32:8, and the word “Shiloh” in Genesis 49:10. These issues have caused much debate as to how one should interpret these verses in light of the textual critical problems. This paper will examine both passages and provide solutions to each of the textual critical issues.

Matthew 5:31-32: ¡¥ ¡§It has been said, ¡¥Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.¡¦ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become and adulteress, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.¡¨¡¦