Divorce became easier for women in most ancient societies during the last two centuries B.C.E and the first century C.E. In the Greco-Roman world, women were almost equal to men in their right to divorce. In Jewish law women had equal standing with men in most areas, except with regard to reproductive functions. This meant that married women were subject to their husbands in most matters, including divorce. However, they did have a limited right to force their husbands to divorce them.
In classical Greek culture and in early Roman society divorce was almost unknown. The most ancient form of Roman marriage held women in total subjection to their husbands. This was abandoned by the third century B.C.E. in favor of “free marriage.” Augustus tried to reassert traditional values by making laws in 18 B.C.E. that rewarded those who married and produced children, and by making adultery a crime. These laws had little effect because they relied on private prosecution, and gradually divorce became more common. By New Testament times a social revolution had taken place that enabled women and men to divorce at will, without citing any grounds. A woman would lose her dowry if she was divorced for adultery, and a man would have to return the dowry plus a half if he committed adultery, but divorce for other grounds was without any penalty.
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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, 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): Matthew 5:31-32, Matthew 19:3-9, Mark 10:4, Mark 10:11-12, Luke 16:18, 1 Corinthians 7:15, 1 Corinthians 7:28
Source: Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible: The Social and Literary Context (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002), pp. 72-3.
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