Matthew 19:9

Context

The Pharisees, seeking to test Jesus, ask, "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?" (Matthew 19:3). In the Judaism of the time, the phrase "some uncleanness" in Deuteronomy 24:1 divided the school of Shammai, which regarded only serious sexual immorality as grounds for divorce, from the school of Hillel, which held that even trivial reasons were sufficient. Jesus answers by appealing to the order of creation in Genesis: "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." After stating that Moses permitted a writing of divorcement "because of the hardness of your hearts," he gives the saying recorded in verse 9.

Interpretation

Mark 10:11–12 and Luke 16:18 call remarriage after divorce adultery without exception; only Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 contain an exception, "except it be for fornication." Interpretations diverge according to the meaning of "fornication" (porneia).

• Adultery or other sexual unfaithfulness: A spouse's adultery is held to be legitimate grounds for divorce, and the innocent party may remarry. The Westminster Confession of Faith recognizes adultery and willful desertion as grounds for divorce (desertion being based on 1 Corinthians 7:15).
• An unlawful marriage: Porneia is understood as a marriage forbidden by the Law, such as an incestuous union, and the clause is taken to mean that such a marriage is void from the outset. This view corresponds to the Catholic concept of the nullity of marriage.
• Unfaithfulness during betrothal: Another view holds that the term refers to unfaithfulness during the betrothal period, as in Joseph's intention to break off his engagement to Mary.

Debates and Issues

• Catholic Church: Marriage is a sacrament, and a validly contracted marriage cannot be dissolved. The Church does, however, provide for a declaration of nullity, which confirms that a valid marriage never came into being.
• Most Protestants: Adultery and desertion are recognized as grounds for divorce, though divorce is not encouraged. Denominations and congregations vary in how strictly they approach remarriage.
• Violence and abuse: An important contemporary question is whether spousal violence or abuse, which the text does not directly mention, may be considered grounds for divorce. A growing number hold that such conduct should be recognized as breaking the marriage covenant, while others maintain that only the grounds specified in the text should be recognized.

Denominational constitutions also differ in how they handle the divorce and remarriage of pastors and church officers. For details, see the article Divorce and Remarriage.

Related Passages

• Matthew 5:31–32
• Mark 10:2–12
• 1 Corinthians 7:10–15
• Deuteronomy 24:1–4