Jesus and the forms of divorce

A week ago, I blogged about a GLBT Study Bible I've come across. As I said even then, it contains interesting new ideas about certain concepts we've become accustomed to take for granted. At the time, I mentioned the mistake of taking the word arsenokoites to mean homosexual.

Another (though minor) example is the profession of Joseph, Mary's husband. Traditionally, the Greek word tekton has been rendered as "carpenter" in Matt 13:55 and Mark 6:3, but according to Dr Ann Nyland, it actually means "skilled craftsperson" - including carpenters, to be sure, but also metal workers, sculptors, people working in horn etc.

An interesting bit of information is divulged in the notes to Gospel passages where Jesus discusses divorce (Matt 5:31-32, 19:1-12; Mark 10:1-12; Luke 16:18). I quote from the note in Luke, p. 126:

* In Matthew 19:3, the Pharisees asked Jesus, "Is it legal for a person to divorce his wife on the grounds of 'Any Matter'?" The Rabbis were asking Jesus about his interpretation of Deuteronomy 24:1. The "Any Matter" is a technical term from Jewish divorce law, a form of divorce introduced by the Rabbi Hillel. The other type of divorce, on the ground of "General Sexual Immorality", was available to both men and women, both of whom were able to divorce their partner on the specific grounds based on Exodus 21:10-11. This traditional divorce was becoming rarer by the start of the first century, being replaced by the "Any Matter" divorce, which was for men only, and popular as no grounds had to be shown and there was no court case. For an "Any Matter" divorce, the man simply had to write out a certificate of divorce and give it to his wife. My Jesus' time, the "Any Matter" was the more popular form of divorce, but the rabbis were still arguing about the legalities of it. The disciples of Shammai were particularly opposed to it. [...]
* Jesus replied that a divorce on the grounds of "Any Matter" was not legal, that "whoever divorces his wife, unless it's on the grounds of 'General Sexual Immorality', and marries someone else, commits adultery". Jesus is simply saying that if someone divorces by a form other than the grounds of "General Sexual Immorality" form of divorce, they are not properly divorced and thus not free to remarry, and so are committing adultery if they do. He is continuing his statement that he disagrees with the "Any Matter" form of divorce.
* It is most important to note the significance of the above. The way the passage has traditionally been translated implies that Jesus was asked the question, "Is it ever legal to divorce?" and he answered, "No, except on the grounds of sexual immorality." This is not the case. Jesus was asked if it was legal to divorce on the grounds of "Any Matter" and he answered, "No, only on the grounds of 'General Sexual Immorality'". In other words, he was disagreeing with the form of "Any Matter" form of divorce. He certainly wasn't saying that at that time, or in the time to come, people were never to divorce except for sexual immorality. *

If this is accurate, it would for sure mean a world of difference to many people. Divorcés who despite tremendous effort weren't able to save their marriage, and on whom those more fortunate are looking down their noses, could now raise their heads and show this as an example of how Jesus' tolerance, acceptance and love far outshines that of his most ardent followers. Which (sadly) isn't news.