Matthew

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NASB	Matthew 5:32 but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
AMPLIFIED 2015	Matthew 5:32 but I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except on grounds of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who has been divorced commits adultery. [Deut 24:1-4; Luke 16:18]

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Bible Question (short): Understanding the Greek word Porneia

Question (full): I found this write up and would like opinions on it.
First let me agree with those who have pointed out that it's the EXCEPTION clause that tends to get all the attention as people look for a loophole to escape their marriage . . . the PRIMARY intent of Jesus was to combat the attitude of many Jewish rabbis in his time, which was that the Mosaic commandment that a bill of divorce be given to the woman proved the legitimacy of divorce itself. It is this that Jesus denies, by showing God's original intention from the account of creation before the time of Moses. Marriage is intended to be permanent. The exception clause is not mentioned in either Mark or Luke. It's worth noticing that when Paul writes to the married believers in Corinth, he also does not mention the exception clause but gives the Lord's command regarding the non-separation of the parties in a marriage (1 Cor 7.10-11).

So what does the exception clause mean in Matthew 5 and 19? The Jewish community of that time regarded marriage unions between people of certain blood or legal relationships as a form of incest, and used the Greek word 'porneia' for them. These were the kinds of relationships spelled out in Leviticus 18. These unlawful marriages, so offensive to the Jews, were often acceptable to Gentiles and became a real problem for Gentile converts to both Judaism and Christianity. Strict rabbis required Gentile converts to end those relationships if they were entangled in them; liberal rabbis allowed them to remain in those unions. Jesus is endorsing the stricter view, in keeping with his belief that God's word cannot be altered to suit man's whims.

It is this meaning of 'porneia' as incestuous unions forbidden by God that we see again in Acts 15. Once the issue of whether Gentiles were saved by God's grace just as Jews was settled, the Jerusalem church decided to send their decision in the matter by way of a letter to Gentile believers. That letter also included their request that, in order to foster good relations with Jewish Christians, the Gentile Christians abstain from those things which Jewish Christians still found offensive: "You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from [porneia]. You will do well to avoid these things". Here too, I think the word 'porneia' means something more specific than sexual immorality; it again means those unlawful incestuous relationships forbidden by Jewish law but allowed in the Graeco-Roman world.

Finally, it is this same meaning of 'porneia' which we find in 1 Cor 5, where Paul deals with this problem: "It is actually reported that there is [porneia] among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife." Again, the issue is not just immorality, but a particular case of incestuous union.

Thus the exception clause does not contradict Christ's absolute prohibition of divorce as found in Mark, Luke, and 1 Cor. 7; it deals with the uniquely Jewish issue of illegal and incestuous marriages, which to the Jews were unlawful unions to begin with.

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Questions and/or Subjects for Matt 5:32

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Understanding the Greek word Porneia (?)

EdB

Greetings Ed! I have been working a l...

Morant61

Thanks so much Tim for responding, I wa...

EdB

Thanks for the kind words, Ed! If you...

Morant61

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