DIVORCE, & REMARRIAGE
In Their Historical Setting
GORDON J. WENHAM
Jesus, Divorce, and Remarriage: In Their Historical Setting
Copyright 2019 Gordon J. Wenham
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Print ISBN 9781683593287
Digital ISBN 9781683593294
Library of Congress Control Number 2019950875
Lexham Editorial: Elliot Ritzema, Jim Weaver
Cover Design: Lydia Dahl
2. Marriage and Divorce in the Old Testament
3. Later Jewish Attitudes to Divorce
6. Jesus versus the Pharisees in Matthew 19
7. Divorce in the Other Gospels
9. The Oldest Interpreters of the Gospel Divorce Texts
It is now more than forty years since my interest in Jesus’ teaching on divorce and remarriage was sparked off by a debate in a Church of Ireland synod. The issue was: Should divorcees be allowed to marry in church? Listening to the debate, I felt the synod members could do with some guidance on the biblical teaching if they were to determine a scriptural approach to this issue. I therefore decided to devote the summer vacation to writing an intelligible but scholarly booklet on Jesus’ teaching on divorce. However, in the course of my research on this topic, I came to the conclusion that it was not just the Synod whose views needed correction but that mine required radical revision, too.
Like most twentieth-century Protestants, I was brought up to believe that marriage was for life, but that in certain limited circumstances divorce was permissible. If the divorce was legitimate, at least one of the parties could remarry. There were long debates about what situations warranted divorce: some people limited it to the innocent party in the case of adultery; at the other end of the spectrum, others would allow both sides a divorce on much slighter grounds. But hardly ever was it supposed that divorce, as understood in the New Testament, did not entitle either party to remarry. It was also largely unknown in the circles I moved in that the early church’s stance was not to permit remarriage for divorcees.
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About Jesus, Divorce, & Remarriage: In Their Historical SettingWhat did Jesus really say about divorce and remarriage? Challenging the evangelical near-consensus that Jesus permitted divorce and remarriage in certain circumstances, Gordon Wenham argues that while Jesus permitted separation in cases of sexual immorality, he did not permit divorce and remarriage. Presenting a revisitation and expansion of several decades of thought and debate on the topic, Wenham builds his case from a close reading of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels, showing how his teaching pushed against the culture of his day. In addition, Wenham brings in insights from ancient Near Eastern marriage laws, the Old Testament, the writings of Paul, and the earliest Christian interpreters of the Gospel divorce texts. Readers will be challenged by a careful biblical argument that provides a counterpoint to the majority view. No study on divorce and remarriage will be complete without considering Jesus, Divorce, and Remarriage. |
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