It is not unusual for Matthew to add material that doesn’t appear in Mark, and it is not contradictory for Matthew to add an exception to what appears in Mark as, and it is not contradictory for Matthew to add an exception to what appears in Mark as an absolute statement. In Mark 8:11-12 the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign, to which he replied: “Amen, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.” This absolute statement has an exception in Matthew 12:39: “No sign shall be given to (this generation) except [εἰ μὴ] the sign of the prophet Jonah...”
The new Hillelite ruling did not require any valid grounds for the divorce and allowed divorce for any reason. Therefore when contemporary Jews heard the question “Is it lawful to divorce your wife?” [Mark 10:2] they would have mentally added the words “for any reason.” Similarly, when they heard the reply “Whosoever divorces his wife...,” they would have mentally added the phrase “except for valid grounds...”
To continue reading this Bible article, click here.
Author: David Instone-Brewer
Keywords: Marriage, Divorce, Bill of divorcement, Certificate of divorce, Certificate of divorcement, Bill of divorce, School of Hillel, School of Shammai, Any cause, Every cause, Divorce for any cause, Divorce of every cause, Rabbinic debate, Commits adultery, Continues to commit adultery, Remarriage, Divorcement, Exception clause, Except for fornication, Except for adultery, divorce and remarriage, divorce and marriage
Bible reference(s): Deuteronomy 24:1-3, Matthew 5:31-32, Matthew 12:39, Matthew 19:3-9, Mark 8:12, Mark 10:2, Mark 10:4, Mark 10:11-12, Luke 16:18, Romans 7:1-3
Source: Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible: The Social and Literary Context (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002), pp. 153-155.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.