A question about divorce

[charityagape]

Divorced is divorced even if it is for the wrong reasons.
That is why Deuteronomy 24 says that a divorced woman cannot go back to her first spouse later after they are divorced.

But they also can't remarry?

 

[charityagape]

If an abuser is actively abusing, I do not see how it is at all possible he is Christian. It's an oxymoron: Christian Spouse Abuser:o

oxymorons like:

Christian alcoholic
Christian drug adict
Christian who tells lies

Etc

 

[JimB]

Our sufficiency is from God who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Cor. 3.5-6)
​

I believe the blood of Christ applies to everyone, divorced or undivorced. I also believe that that encouragement of 1 John 1-2 is for every Christian:

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. 1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
​

Divorce and remarriage, even for imagined “unbiblical” reasons, is covered by this passage or else, if it is not, divorce and/or remarriage is the unpardonable sin. Does a Christian who divorces her/his spouse for unbiblical reasons - even for being tempted away from their spouse by their lust for another person - to be forever punished for their sin, without the ability to be “cleansed from ALL unrighteousness”?

Or must they forever live alone or, as often happens even in a neighborhood near yours, they marry someone for whom they left their wife/husband, what do we tell them after they realize their sin and repent?

Do we tell them they must now divorce one another and live alone?

And what happens to the children born of this union? Are we prepared to take care of them when the mother can no longer do it? Or do we just stna dback quoting scriptures and wish them well?

Are those who tell them that their marriage is not “approved” by God, that they are still in their sin,

This can of worms grows bigger and bigger the more you look at it through eyes of love. While we are legalistically applying the letter of scripture to divorced/remarried people let’s not forget to apply the spirit of the New Testament to ourselves:

Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others]. 1 Peter 4.8 Amplified
​

The problem with applying scriptures, even those about divorce and remarriage, legalistically (i.e., demanding obeying the “letter” of scripture) and not following love (i.e., adhering to the “spirit” of scripture)

~Jim

And now let us pray for good luck.​

​

 

[4Christ2]

Jesus was not talking about divorce, He was talking about putting away, which is a totally different issue.

Svt, what are your thoughts about this essay?

Why "put away" means "to divorce", not merely "to separate" in Matt. 5:32 and Matt. 19:9
There is a teaching that a number of people are promoting that states that the Greek word for "put away" in Matt. 5:32 and Matt. 19.9 does not mean "to divorce", but that "put away" means a separation without a divorce, and is something totally different from "divorce". They state that "apostasion" (Strongs #647) is the Greek word for divorce and that if Jesus had meant divorce then He would have used "apostasion" instead of "apoluo" (Strongs #630) ("put away" — which they say means to separate without a divorce). This teaching totally changes the interpretation of the passages on divorce and remarriage and some of them hold that divorce and remarriage is a gift from God. This teaching sounds very convincing and is hard to argue with as long as you accept their narrow definition for "apoluo" (put away) and do not check if their definition is correct. The entire teaching hinges on the definition of the word "apoluo" — "put away". Let me repeat, the definition of the word "apoluo" is what the teaching stands on.
The following explains what is wrong with the teaching that "put away" ("apoluo") in the Matthew passages means "to separate without a divorce, and that it is not referring to divorce", and why it is a false teaching:

1. The word "apoluo" #630 does not have only one definition or meaning. Depending on the context in which the word is used, it can have a number of different meanings just like many English words do. As you can see in the definitions in the Greek lexicons listed below, "to divorce" is one of the definitions of "apoluo". Therefore it cannot be stated, as they argue, that "apoluo" #630 cannot mean "to divorce".
2. The arguments used in this teaching show an ignorance of the Greek language. They are looking at the Greek from the perspective of English. In English, divorce can be either a verb or a noun, but in Greek "apostasiou" is a noun and can not be used as a verb such as "whoever divorces his wife". "Apoluo" is a verb and can not be used as a noun. The word, "Apoluo", found in the two Matthew passages is the verb form (example: "I divorce"), and "Apostasion" is the noun "a divorce" In Matt. 19:9 "biblion apostasion" is "a certificate of divorce". There are two different Greek words used because "apostasion" is a noun and "apoluo" is a verb, not because they refer to two different things. Matthew could not use a noun #647 where a verb was needed.
3. In Matt. 19:7,8 both the Pharisees and Jesus used the term "put away" (apoluo Strong's #630) in a context that implies that it means "to put away in a divorce" and is referring to the divorce process. Matt. 19:7-9 "7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement,647 and to put her away630 8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away630 your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away630 his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away630 doth commit adultery. "

4. In V. 7 #630 "apoluo" "to put her away" is referring to the divorce, not a separation separate from the divorce.

1. • In V.8 the word "apoluo" "to put away" does not refer to Moses giving permission for separation without a divorce, but to divorce and remarry. Deut. 24:1-4
   • The very context of the way #630 is used in the entire passage gives the definition as referring to separation in a divorce not separation apart from a divorce.
2. The writings of the early church fathers who knew New Testament Greek as their native language, show that they understood "apoluo" to mean divorce not separation without divorce.
3. If #630 "apoluo" only refers to separation and not to divorce, then there is still no allowance in the New Testament that permits divorce or remarriage. One has to go to the Old Testament where Moses (not God) gave permission to divorce. Jesus said that Moses' command was not God's will from the beginning. Romans 7:2-3 also states that divorce and remarriage are permissible: "For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. (3) So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man." This passage does not give divorce any power to end a marriage.
4. Their interpretation in allowing remarriage destroys the illustration of human marriage as being a type of the marriage of Christ and the church, and the eternal security of the believer.
5. Sources are quoted that line up with their interpretation of the word "to put away" but they ignore sources that show that it could mean "to divorce". For example quoting from little known modern English dictionaries showing that divorce is not part of the definition for the Old English use of the words "put away". In examining an older dictionary, the 1961 Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary Unabridged Edition has divorce as one of the meanings for English use of the words "put away".
   
   This problem of selective sources is a big problem with many teachings in the church today on various subjects. People write or speak very convincingly and lead you to the wrong conclusion, but are not giving all the facts. It may be intentional misleading, but probably is done ignorantly by relying on the research and writings of others, and not thoroughly checking things out for themselves before they pass the information along as truth. This type of sloppy scholarship is destroying the church spiritually.

The following are the definitions found in a number of Greek lexicons. The newest Greek lexicons are listed first.
apoluo
ap-ol-oo'-o
Strong's #630

• The NIV Theological Dictionary of New Testament Words, Editor Verlyn Verbrugge, Zondervan Publishers, ©2000
  "In the New Testament apolyo has the classical Greek meaning release a prisoner, set free from disease, acquit, send people away, dismiss from the duties of life, allow to die. It is especially used of divorcing a wife. Apostasion means divorce."
• A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd. Edition, Revised and Edited by Frederick Danker, University of Chicago Press, ©2000
  "#5 To dissolve a marriage relationship, to divorce"
• Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, by Timothy Friberg, Barbara Friberg, Neva Miller, Baker Books, ©2000
  "#2 Of divorce — send away, dismiss, let go"
• Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament Vol. 1, Edited by Horst Baly and Gerhard Schneider, Eerdmans Publishing, ©1990
  "In the Synoptics (13 of the occurrences there) apolyo is a (common) term for the dismissal of a woman from marriage by means of a letter of divorce (Apostasiou), so primarily in the phrase "send away one's wife." It occurs in Jesus' prohibition of divorce (Mk 10:2,11; Matt. 19:3,8,9; Matt. 5:31,32; Luke 16:18)"
• The New Englishman's Greek Concordance and Lexicon by Wigram-Green — Verb
  "to set free, dismiss, relieve, of divorce - let go; fig, pardon"
• Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament by F. Wilber Gingrich
  "1. Release, set free, pardon 2. Let go, send away, dismiss, Euphemistic for let die, divorce. 3. mid. Go away"
• Thayer's:
  1) to set free
  2) to let go, dismiss, (to detain no longer)
  2a) a petitioner to whom liberty to depart is given by a decisive answer 2b) to bid depart, send away
  3) to let go free, release
  3a) a captive, i.e. to loose his bonds and bid him depart, to give him liberty to depart
  3b) to acquit one accused of a crime and set him at liberty
  3c) indulgently to grant a prisoner leave to depart
  3d) to release a debtor, i.e. not to press one's claim against him, to remit his debt
  4) used of divorce, to dismiss from the house, to repudiate. The wife of a Greek or Roman may divorce her husband.
  [Webster's defines repudiate as "To divorce or separate formally from (a woman)"]
  5) to send one's self away, to depart
• Strong's Greek Dictionary
  "From G575 and G3089; to free fully, that is, (literally) relieve, release, dismiss (reflexively depart), or (figuratively) let die, pardon, or (specifically) divorce: - (let) depart, dismiss, divorce, forgive, let go, loose, put (send) away, release, set at liberty."
• Kittle's Theological Dictionary does not address "apoluo" or "apostasion"
  
  
  apostasion
  ap-os-tas'-ee-on
  Strong's #647
• Strong's Greek Dictionary
  "Neuter of a (presumed) adjective from a derivative of G868; properly something separative, that is, (specifically) divorce: - (writing of) divorcement."
• The New Englishman's Greek concordance and Lexicon by Wigram-Green — Noun
  "something that separates (specifically, divorce)"
• Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words — Noun
  "primarily, a defection, lit., a standing off, denotes, in the N.T., a writing or bill of divorcement."

 

[4Christ2]

IMO, divorce is not the sin, REMARRIAGE is....

Mat 5:32) But I say unto you, That whosoever, shall put away630 his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever, shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Mat 19:9 And I say unto you, Whosoever, shall put away630 his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another,committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away630 doth commit adultery.

Mar 10:11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever, shall put away630 his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.

Mar 10:12 And if a woman shall put away630 her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

Luk 16:18 Whosoever putteth away630 his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away630 from her husband committeth adultery.

Now I was divorced by my husband of 25 years. He has since remarried a divorced woman. I am single now for over a year. Now, according to the Word of God. Who is sinning now? And if I remarry, who is sinning then?

 

[charityagape]

Our sufficiency is from God who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Cor. 3.5-6)
​

I believe the blood of Christ applies to everyone, divorced or undivorced. I also believe that that encouragement of 1 John 1-2 is for every Christian:

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. 1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
​

Divorce and remarriage, even for imagined “unbiblical” reasons, is covered by this passage or else, if it is not, divorce and/or remarriage is the unpardonable sin. Does a Christian who divorces her/his spouse for unbiblical reasons - even for being tempted away from their spouse by their lust for another person - to be forever punished for their sin, without the ability to be “cleansed from ALL unrighteousness”?

Or must they forever live alone or, as often happens even in a neighborhood near yours, they marry someone for whom they left their wife/husband, what do we tell them after they realize their sin and repent?

Do we tell them they must now divorce one another and live alone?

And what happens to the children born of this union? Are we prepared to take care of them when the mother can no longer do it? Or do we just stna dback quoting scriptures and wish them well?

Are those who tell them that their marriage is not “approved” by God, that they are still in their sin,

This can of worms grows bigger and bigger the more you look at it through eyes of love. While we are legalistically applying the letter of scripture to divorced/remarried people let’s not forget to apply the spirit of the New Testament to ourselves:

Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others]. 1 Peter 4.8 Amplified
​

The problem with applying scriptures, even those about divorce and remarriage, legalistically (i.e., demanding obeying the “letter” of scripture) and not following love (i.e., adhering to the “spirit” of scripture)

~Jim

And now let us pray for good luck.​

excellent

 

[NewSong]

In the light of Jesus' words in Matt. 5:32, knowing that we are under the Blood of Christ, how are we to justify a divorce?

I am not putting this out to start a big argument, I just want some of you theologians out there to help me understand.

Also, I am not devorced, and I do not see a divorced person as lost. I don't think the church at large does either, because there are divorced pastors, and deacons.

"We" don't have to justify divorce. God justifies us! I have never hated anything so much as I do my past and unfortunately I am a divorced woman and I done the divorcing. My mom brought up my first husband tonight and I was so repulsed by the thought of being married to him that I had to ask my mom if we could not discuss it because it is a part of my life I am absolutely ashamed of and yet I turned around and married again right after this on rebound and married wrong again and divorced again. Yet I feel no condemnation but utterly and completely ashamed of my past. If it were not for God who wiped away my tears and heartached, heart breaks and picked me up after making a mess I don't know what I would have done. I truly cannot justify it in any way but yet again I do not have any condemnation and have perfect liberty in my spirit should God send someone my way I am able to remarry without doubts.

I should mention my second husband is dead and I have not been married in over 20 years now and mostly because I cannot justify my actions of marrying two wrong men and don't trust my judgement any more. I do feel embarrassed, ashamed and do not attempt to justify. I do take God's justification for my life though.

Good question

 

[Yitzchak]

But they also can't remarry?

The funny thing is in the jewish law , people could get remarried. It happened all the time and still does today. My older brother is orthodox jewish and I would have been too if not for Jesus. It seems strange that things are more strict in Christian churches than they are amongst the Pharisees. In fact in the same passage in Deuteronomy it mentions remarriage.

[BIBLE]Deuteronomy 24:1-4[/BIBLE]

God's best and original intent was no divorce and therefore no remarriage. But the two do go hand in hand. If you have one in society then you will have the other. People don't like to be alone and in fact God mentions that in Genesis when he give Eve to Adam.

Fighting against remarriage is like fighting against a force of nature.

Why is there divorce and remarriage ? Because of the hardness of people's hearts. If men never beat their wives and people were always faithful and never cheated on each other and always loved each other then there would be no divorce.

The way that I read the passage about divorce , it is not so much speaking against remarriage. It is speaking against divorce. The remarriage is just part of that package for most.

 

[Yitzchak]

By the way , if a person looks closely at this passage in Deuteronomy. It becomes very clear that God does indeed recognise second marriage even while the first spouse is still living.

[BIBLE]Deuteronomy 24:1-4[/BIBLE]

Jesus did comment on this practice and mention that their hearts were hard and so God had to basically allow then to take this second best option when His first best was no divorce or remarriage. But because people's hearts were hard and they do end up getting divorces , then God allowed for both divorce and remarriage.

I hope this clears it up. There is no seperating divorce and remarriage. Where a culture has the one , you will find the other. I would even say that based upon this passage , God thought it better to allow divorce and remarriage than to let society unravel completely because of the breakdown of the family unit.

In cases where a culture insists upon a high rate of divorce , then in that case I think not only is God not opposed to remarriage but He actually is in favor of it. for the sake of the family unit and for the children and for the sexual and companionship needs of people , it is better for most to be married.

 

[heron]

Wow, these are some amazing posts, y'all. I have never seen a divorce thread with so much concrete information! We need to save this one, or keep bumping it into eternity.

 

[heron]

If an abuser is actively abusing, I do not see how it is at all possible he is Christian. It's an oxymoron: Christian Spouse Abuser:o

Ideally, of course it's an oxymoron. But notice that most of the times God verbally intervened in the OT, it was to reprimand believers for horrible offenses against mankind.

 

[Svt4Him]

Svt, what are your thoughts about this essay?

Why "put away" means "to divorce", not merely "to separate" in Matt. 5:32 and Matt. 19:9
There is a teaching that a number of people are promoting that states that the Greek word for "put away" in Matt. 5:32 and Matt. 19.9 does not mean "to divorce", but that "put away" means a separation without a divorce, and is something totally different from "divorce". They state that "apostasion" (Strongs #647) is the Greek word for divorce and that if Jesus had meant divorce then He would have used "apostasion" instead of "apoluo" (Strongs #630) ("put away" — which they say means to separate without a divorce). This teaching totally changes the interpretation of the passages on divorce and remarriage and some of them hold that divorce and remarriage is a gift from God. This teaching sounds very convincing and is hard to argue with as long as you accept their narrow definition for "apoluo" (put away) and do not check if their definition is correct. The entire teaching hinges on the definition of the word "apoluo" — "put away". Let me repeat, the definition of the word "apoluo" is what the teaching stands on.
The following explains what is wrong with the teaching that "put away" ("apoluo") in the Matthew passages means "to separate without a divorce, and that it is not referring to divorce", and why it is a false teaching:

1. The word "apoluo" #630 does not have only one definition or meaning. Depending on the context in which the word is used, it can have a number of different meanings just like many English words do. As you can see in the definitions in the Greek lexicons listed below, "to divorce" is one of the definitions of "apoluo". Therefore it cannot be stated, as they argue, that "apoluo" #630 cannot mean "to divorce".
2. The arguments used in this teaching show an ignorance of the Greek language. They are looking at the Greek from the perspective of English. In English, divorce can be either a verb or a noun, but in Greek "apostasiou" is a noun and can not be used as a verb such as "whoever divorces his wife". "Apoluo" is a verb and can not be used as a noun. The word, "Apoluo", found in the two Matthew passages is the verb form (example: "I divorce"), and "Apostasion" is the noun "a divorce" In Matt. 19:9 "biblion apostasion" is "a certificate of divorce". There are two different Greek words used because "apostasion" is a noun and "apoluo" is a verb, not because they refer to two different things. Matthew could not use a noun #647 where a verb was needed.
3. In Matt. 19:7,8 both the Pharisees and Jesus used the term "put away" (apoluo Strong's #630) in a context that implies that it means "to put away in a divorce" and is referring to the divorce process. Matt. 19:7-9 "7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement,647 and to put her away630 8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away630 your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away630 his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away630 doth commit adultery. "

4. In V. 7 #630 "apoluo" "to put her away" is referring to the divorce, not a separation separate from the divorce.

1. • In V.8 the word "apoluo" "to put away" does not refer to Moses giving permission for separation without a divorce, but to divorce and remarry. Deut. 24:1-4
   • The very context of the way #630 is used in the entire passage gives the definition as referring to separation in a divorce not separation apart from a divorce.
2. The writings of the early church fathers who knew New Testament Greek as their native language, show that they understood "apoluo" to mean divorce not separation without divorce.
3. If #630 "apoluo" only refers to separation and not to divorce, then there is still no allowance in the New Testament that permits divorce or remarriage. One has to go to the Old Testament where Moses (not God) gave permission to divorce. Jesus said that Moses' command was not God's will from the beginning. Romans 7:2-3 also states that divorce and remarriage are permissible: "For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. (3) So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man." This passage does not give divorce any power to end a marriage.
4. Their interpretation in allowing remarriage destroys the illustration of human marriage as being a type of the marriage of Christ and the church, and the eternal security of the believer.
5. Sources are quoted that line up with their interpretation of the word "to put away" but they ignore sources that show that it could mean "to divorce". For example quoting from little known modern English dictionaries showing that divorce is not part of the definition for the Old English use of the words "put away". In examining an older dictionary, the 1961 Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary Unabridged Edition has divorce as one of the meanings for English use of the words "put away".
   
   This problem of selective sources is a big problem with many teachings in the church today on various subjects. People write or speak very convincingly and lead you to the wrong conclusion, but are not giving all the facts. It may be intentional misleading, but probably is done ignorantly by relying on the research and writings of others, and not thoroughly checking things out for themselves before they pass the information along as truth. This type of sloppy scholarship is destroying the church spiritually.

The following are the definitions found in a number of Greek lexicons. The newest Greek lexicons are listed first.
apoluo
ap-ol-oo'-o
Strong's #630

• The NIV Theological Dictionary of New Testament Words, Editor Verlyn Verbrugge, Zondervan Publishers, ©2000
  "In the New Testament apolyo has the classical Greek meaning release a prisoner, set free from disease, acquit, send people away, dismiss from the duties of life, allow to die. It is especially used of divorcing a wife. Apostasion means divorce."
• A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd. Edition, Revised and Edited by Frederick Danker, University of Chicago Press, ©2000
  "#5 To dissolve a marriage relationship, to divorce"
• Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, by Timothy Friberg, Barbara Friberg, Neva Miller, Baker Books, ©2000
  "#2 Of divorce — send away, dismiss, let go"
• Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament Vol. 1, Edited by Horst Baly and Gerhard Schneider, Eerdmans Publishing, ©1990
  "In the Synoptics (13 of the occurrences there) apolyo is a (common) term for the dismissal of a woman from marriage by means of a letter of divorce (Apostasiou), so primarily in the phrase "send away one's wife." It occurs in Jesus' prohibition of divorce (Mk 10:2,11; Matt. 19:3,8,9; Matt. 5:31,32; Luke 16:18)"
• The New Englishman's Greek Concordance and Lexicon by Wigram-Green — Verb
  "to set free, dismiss, relieve, of divorce - let go; fig, pardon"
• Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament by F. Wilber Gingrich
  "1. Release, set free, pardon 2. Let go, send away, dismiss, Euphemistic for let die, divorce. 3. mid. Go away"
• Thayer's:
  1) to set free
  2) to let go, dismiss, (to detain no longer)
  2a) a petitioner to whom liberty to depart is given by a decisive answer 2b) to bid depart, send away
  3) to let go free, release
  3a) a captive, i.e. to loose his bonds and bid him depart, to give him liberty to depart
  3b) to acquit one accused of a crime and set him at liberty
  3c) indulgently to grant a prisoner leave to depart
  3d) to release a debtor, i.e. not to press one's claim against him, to remit his debt
  4) used of divorce, to dismiss from the house, to repudiate. The wife of a Greek or Roman may divorce her husband.
  [Webster's defines repudiate as "To divorce or separate formally from (a woman)"]
  5) to send one's self away, to depart
• Strong's Greek Dictionary
  "From G575 and G3089; to free fully, that is, (literally) relieve, release, dismiss (reflexively depart), or (figuratively) let die, pardon, or (specifically) divorce: - (let) depart, dismiss, divorce, forgive, let go, loose, put (send) away, release, set at liberty."
• Kittle's Theological Dictionary does not address "apoluo" or "apostasion"
  
  
  apostasion
  ap-os-tas'-ee-on
  Strong's #647
• Strong's Greek Dictionary
  "Neuter of a (presumed) adjective from a derivative of G868; properly something separative, that is, (specifically) divorce: - (writing of) divorcement."
• The New Englishman's Greek concordance and Lexicon by Wigram-Green — Noun
  "something that separates (specifically, divorce)"
• Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words — Noun
  "primarily, a defection, lit., a standing off, denotes, in the N.T., a writing or bill of divorcement."

This is an interesting study, but the problem with it is it is interpreting the word in light of a doctrine it is trying to promote, and the argument is not accurate. It is making assumptions then breaking them down. There is more to this argument than an interpretation on one word. For instance, did Jesus change the law of Moses after He said He wouldn't?

The other error of this essay is it is somehow showing the correct translation by pointing out the word can mean divorce or it can mean put away. If that is the case, then how does one properly do a Biblical exegeses? It certainly isn't' choosing the one they want it to mean.

In the New Testament apolyo has the classical Greek meaning release a prisoner, set free from disease, acquit, send people away, dismiss from the duties of life, allow to die. It is especially used of divorcing a wife. Apostasion means divorce

Where is it especially used?

(ASV) but I say unto you, that every one that putteth away his wife, saving for the
cause of fornication, maketh her an adulteress: and whosoever shall marry her
when she is PUT AWAY committeth adultery.​

(Bible in Basic English) But I say to you that everyone who puts away his wife
for any other cause but the loss of her virtue, makes her false to her husband;
and whoever takes her as his wife after she is PUT AWAY, is no true husband
to her.​

(Darby) But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except for
cause of fornication, makes her commit adultery, and whosoever marries one
that is PUT AWAY commits adultery.​

(DRB) But I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, excepting the
cause of fornication, maketh her to commit adultery: and he that shall marry her
that is PUT AWAY, committeth adultery.​

(LITV) But I say to you, Whoever puts away his wife, apart from a matter of
fornication, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever shall marry the one
PUT AWAY commits adultery.​

(MKJV) But I say to you that whoever shall put away his wife, except for the cause
of fornication, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever shall marry her who is
PUT AWAY commits adultery.​

(Worldwide English) But I tell you, no man may send away his wife unless she has
committed adultery. If he does send her away, he is making her commit adultery.
And if a man marries a woman who has been sent away from her husband, he
commits adultery.​

(World English Bible) But I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for
the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her
when she is put away commits adultery.​

(WYC) But I say to you, that every man that leaveth his wife [that every man
that shall leave his wife], except (for) [the] cause of fornication, maketh her to do
lechery, and he that weddeth the forsaken wife, doeth adultery.​

(Youngs Literal Translation) But I—I say to you, that whoever may PUT AWAY
his wife, save for the matter of whoredom, doth make her to commit adultery; and
whoever may marry her who hath been PUT AWAY doth commit adultery.​

 

[Svt4Him]

Now let's look at the original law that was being questioned:

When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give [it] in her hand, and send her out of his house.

There are three steps in that, or only two?
1. Write her a bill of divorce.
2. Give it to her
3. Send her out/put her away


Authorities on APOLUO:
1. Thayer says apoluo means, “to dismiss from the house, to repudiate...”
(Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pg. 66). Later
in the definition "divorce" is noted, but that definition is apparently
included because some think the context of Matt. 1:19 indicates that
Joseph was "of a mind to" actually divorce his spouse. Actually, they
were not married married and therfore there is no justification for
including divorce in the meaning in this text.
2. Bagster’s Analytical Lexicon: “Apoluo. Put away: To let go; to let loose; to
send away.” This definition was taken from an article published in
Truth Magazine. Some have noted that their version of Bagster's work
includes divorce.

B. Authorities on the meaning of the English words "PUT AWAY":
Some English dictionaries do not even include divorce as a definition of “put away”
including:
a. Wordnet Dictionary:
“Put Away”
Definition:
1. [v] turn away from and put aside, perhaps temporarily; “She turned away from her
painting”
2. [v] eat up; usually refers to a considerable quantity of food; “My son tucked in a
whole pizza”
3. [v] kill gently, as with an injection, as of pet animals
4. [v] place in a place where something cannot be removed or someone cannot
escape; “The parents locked her daughter up for the weekend”; “She locked her
jewels in the safe”
5. [v] throw or cast away; “Put away your worries”
6. [v] lock up or confine, in or as in a jail; “The suspects were imprisoned without
trial”; “the murderer was incarcerated for the rest of his life”

Synonyms include: cast aside, cast away, cast out, discard, dispose, throw away,
throw out

b. The Collins English Dictionary © 2000 HarperCollins Publishers:
“Put Away”
verb[transitive, adverb(ial)]
1 to return (something) to the correct or proper place
example: he put away his books
2 to save
example: to put away money for the future
3 to lock up in a prison, mental institution, etc.
example: they put him away for twenty years
4 to eat or drink, esp. in large amounts
5 to put to death, because of old age or illness
example: the dog had to be put away

c. There was NO MENTION of divorce anywhere in the definition of “put away”.
1) Why is this significant?
2) Because apoluo is properly translated, “put away” and “put away”, in our
language does not mean divorce.
3) In the O.T. there were two parts to a divorce, and it is pretty much the same
today.
a) You file for divorce, and when the papers are completed you present them
to your spouse.
b) Then you put her away or send her out of the house. (Of course, in our
day the woman usually gets the house and the man leaves.)

D. Authorities on the meaning of Divorce:
“Apostasion”, properly translated “divorce” or “divorcement”. [Grk. 647] apostasion
(ap-os-tas’-ee-on) “neuter of a (presumed) adjective from a derivative of 868; properly,
something separative, i.e. (specially) divorce:--(writing of) divorcement” (Strong's).
Smith’s Bible Dictionary defines divorce as: “A legal dissolution of the marriage
relation.”

E. What about the fact that some versions of the N.T. translate apoluo as divorce?
1. It is true that several translations have translated apoluo as divorce in Matt 5:32 etc.
a. However, as far as I have been able to find out, the KJV was the first to translate
apoluo as divorce and it was certainly inconsistent in so doing.
1) Of the 11 times Jesus used the word apoluo the KJV rendered it “put away”
ever time except in one case – Matt. 5:32.
2) There is no apparent reason for the inconsistency.
b. Previous to the KJV was the Wyclilff version:
Mark 10:11 - “Whosoever putteth awaye his wyfe and maryeth another, breaketh
wedlock to herward. And if a woman forsake her husband and be maryed to
another, she committeth advoutry also.”
c. A margin note in The Geneva Bible translated from the Textus Receptus in
1560 (about 50 years before the KJV) concerning the term put away said, “that
is, was not lawfully divorced.”
1) Why is this worthy of note? It gives support to the idea that Jesus was talking
about men merely putting away their wives and NOT divorcing them lawfully.

d. Greek/English Interlinear (tr){BUT I} legw [3004] (5719) {SAY} umin [5213] {TO
YOU} oti [3754] {THAT} oV [3739] an [302] {WHOEVER} apolush [630] (5661)
thn [3588] {SHALL PUT AWAY} gunaika [1135] autou [846] {HIS WIFE,} parektoV
[3924] {EXCEPT} logou [3056] {ON ACCOUNT} inappropriate contenteiaV [4202] {OF
FORNICATION,} poiei [4160] (5719) {CAUSES} authn [846] {HER} moicasqai
[3429] (5738) {TO COMMIT ADULTERY;} kai [2532] {AND} oV [3739] ean
[1437] {WHOEVER} apolelumenhn [630] (5772) {HER WHO HAS BEEN PUT
AWAY} gamhsh [1060] (5661) {SHALL MARRY,} moicatai [3429] (5736)
{COMMITS ADULTERY.}
e. The ASV is widely respected as being the most literal and accurate version.
a. It consistently renders apoluo as “put away” in the passages relative to our
study, but never does it render it as divorce.
b. Had the ASV scholars understood apoluo to mean divorce they would have so
translated it.
2. What appears to have happened is that the KJV erred by translating apoluo as
divorce in one instance, probably due to Papal influence.
a. Then by the time many of the newer versions came along many scholars were
indoctrinated in the idea that Jesus meant divorce when he was talking about
merely "putting away", and therefore their biases were reflected in their decisions.
b. Considering that the KJV has been so respected and widely used there is no wonder
that many were influenced by it.

Quoted with permission: http://www.totalhealth.bz/divorce-and-remarriage-truth-1.htm

 

[Raph]

Mt 19:3-6 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

Seems to me, marriage is not about a ring and a few vows. One is considered married by a physical action. Could having this physical interaction, regardless of any ceremony, constitute a marriage in the eyes of God?

Mt 19:7-9 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

Mt 19:10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

Seems to me that the disciples also think that the rules of conduct between men and women seems too hard to them as well?

Mt 19:11-12 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

Seems to me Jesus is saying to me that those who follow Him may have to lay down their right to marriage for the sake of being in His Kingdom. I wonder why?

1Co 6:15-20 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Seems to me that this is saying, for a Christian, sexual sin is the worst because it forces the Holy Spirit to partake in it.

 

[LJSGM]

Seems to me, marriage is not about a ring and a few vows. One is considered married by a physical action. Could having this physical interaction, regardless of any ceremony, constitute a marriage in the eyes of God?





Seems to me that the disciples also think that the rules of conduct between men and women seems too hard to them as well?



Seems to me Jesus is saying to me that those who follow Him may have to lay down their right to marriage for the sake of being in His Kingdom. I wonder why?



Seems to me that this is saying, for a Christian, sexual sin is the worst because it forces the Holy Spirit to partake in it.

Interesting post.

 

[Svt4Him]

Seems to me, marriage is not about a ring and a few vows. One is considered married by a physical action. Could having this physical interaction, regardless of any ceremony, constitute a marriage in the eyes of God?

No it can not. If that was the case, you could then be married to every person you have had that physical action with, therefore there would never be fornication and tons of adultery. Not only that, but there are cultures where people actually wait until they are married before they can have those physical actions, and it seems God intended it that way.

 

[LJSGM]

Fornication

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The origin of the word derives from Latin. The word fornix means "an archway" or "vault" (in Rome, prostitutes could be solicited there). More directly, fornicatio means "of the archway"; thus a euphemism for prostitution.

 

[Raph]

No it can not. If that was the case, you could then be married to every person you have had that physical action with, therefore there would never be fornication and tons of adultery. Not only that, but there are cultures where people actually wait until they are married before they can have those physical actions, and it seems God intended it that way.

Jn 4:15-18 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty o and have to keep coming here to draw water.” He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

This seems to me that God views our total sexual history not only in terms of numbers but as marriages(he is your husband but not your husband).

Who married Adam and Eve? Did they say vows and exchanged rings or was their marriage ordained by their physical devotion to one and another. If this is not the case, then Adam and Eve lived in sin and God caused them to be in sin which we all know is impossible. So the only conclusion is that marriage is not a ceremony but a physical union between man and woman.

If a man and woman get legally married but never touch one and another (remaining virgins) then get legally divorced and then each legally remarry to other virgins, are they all committing adultery even though they are virgins? If marriage is a matter of ceremony then they would all be adulterers.

.

 

[heron]

If marriage is a matter of ceremony then they would all be adulterers.

maketh her to do
lechery,

And each of us could be called a letch.

 

[Simon_Templar]

In the light of Jesus' words in Matt. 5:32, knowing that we are under the Blood of Christ, how are we to justify a divorce?

I am not putting this out to start a big argument, I just want some of you theologians out there to help me understand.

Also, I am not devorced, and I do not see a divorced person as lost. I don't think the church at large does either, because there are divorced pastors, and deacons.

Divorce is wrong, except under very specific circumstances. Contrary to what many like to say, the issue is that simple.

However, gluttony is also wrong, so is pride, hatred, unjust anger, envy... Last time I checked most of us do quite a few of those on a daily basis, or a weekly basis.

Sin is bad, we should try to avoid it. However a sin, even many sins, is not going to condemn you to hell. If you accept sin, and justify sin, that might lead you down the path to hell.

It is not the church's job to tell people.. its ok, go ahead and sin if you really need to. It is the church's job to tell people, you sinned, but God will make you new. You may sin over and over, but God will make you new.. So keep fighting, keep getting up, keep striving and seeking after righteousness, pray for it, desire it, and God will make you new. Never give up.