divorce

In Ghari different words are used for a husband divorcing a wife and a wife divorcing a husband. (Source: David Clark)

In Mairasi the term that is used means “discard.” (Source: Enggavoter 2004)

See also divorced (woman).

complete verse (Matthew 19:7)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 19:7:

  • Uma: “The Parisi people replied/argued: ‘If thus, why did Musa give-opportunity for a man to give a letter of divorce to a woman, if he wants to divorce her?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then the Pariseo said to him, ‘Na, why does Musa in the law allow a man to sign a letter of divorce and then he can divorce his wife?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the Pharisees asked again, ‘Then why does Moses permit a man to give his wife a document of separation if he wants to divoce that wife of his?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘Yes granted perhaps,’ they said. ‘But why then does the law of Moses permit a man to give his wife a writing that confirms that they divorced, then he makes-her-leave?'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “He was again questioned by the Pariseo, ‘Well why did Moises command that a man just give his wife a writing as a sign that they are now divorced, and then it’s possible/acceptable for them to be separated?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The Pharisees said: ‘But how come Moses said that a man can make out a paper to divorce his wife?'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

For the Old Testament quote, see Deuteronomy 24:1.

Moses

The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English means “taken out of the water,” “saved out of the water,” “a son.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

It is translated in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language with a sign in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Moses” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).

In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:


“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )

The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).

In Swiss-German Sign Language (and Hungarian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).


“Moses” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)


“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL

In Korean Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the arms held up by Moses to assure the Israelites victory over the Amalekites (see Exodus 17:11).


“Moses” in Korean Sign Language, source: Korean Sign Language Bible House

In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff. )


“Moses” in Estonian Sign Language, source: Glossary of the EKNK Toompea kogudus

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Moses .

Translation commentary on Matthew 19:7

They said to him: Good News Translation, together with Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Bible en français courant, identifies the speakers as “The Pharisees” on the basis of verse 3. The Greek verb “say” covers a wide area of meaning in English, and the translations vary; for example, “they objected” (New English Bible), “they asked” (New International Version), and “they retorted” (Phillips).

Why then did Moses command one … and to put her away is once again a literal representation of the Greek text, except for the inclusion of the pronouns one and her. Both of these pronominal forms are necessary in English, though one is entirely absent from the Greek text, and her is found only in some Greek manuscripts. In the UBS Greek text, the pronoun her is placed in brackets in order to indicate that its position in the text is doubtful. Since the Greek text is very concise, it is quite possible that her was introduced by some later scribe for the sake of clarification (other Greek manuscripts have “his wife,” which is surely a scribal clarification). On the other hand, her may have been dropped from the text so as to make the passage read like its parallel in Mark 10.4. In either case most languages will require not only the specification of the object but of the subject. New English Bible (similarly Good News Translation) indicates both subject and object of the divorce procedure: “Why then … did Moses lay it down that a man might divorce his wife by note of dismissal?” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is slightly different in its restructuring: “Why is it then, that according to the Law of Moses a man may send his wife away by means of a written notice of divorce?” On the other hand, New Jerusalem Bible translates without indicating either subject or object of the transaction: “Then why did Moses command that a writ of dismissal should be given in cases of divorce?”

The Revised Standard Version text is a little awkward and may give the impression that Moses commanded people to get a divorce. The correct meaning is that Moses allowed a man to get a divorce if he wished to, and he provided a way to do it. So the sentence can be translated “But Moses provided (or, gave) a law that says a man may divorce his wife by giving her a divorce notice and sending her away. Why did he do that?” or “Why, then, did Moses give a commandment about how a man can divorce his wife by giving her a divorce notice and sending her away?”

The phrase put her away is better rendered as “send her away” (Good News Translation) or “have her leave his house.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 19:7



19:7a

Why then: The Berean Standard Bible has translated the two Greek words Why then in the same order as they are in Greek. In some languages, it will be more natural to change the order. For example:

Then why (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

Why…did Moses order a man: In Greek, this question does not include the phrase a man. In other words, the verb order has no object. Some English versions, like the Berean Standard Bible, add the words a man because it is natural in English to have an object.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Why…did Moses command us (NET Bible)
-or-
Why…did Moses command one (English Standard Version)

Here the Pharisees referred to a portion of the law in Deuteronomy 24:1–4. They did not quote this passage. Instead they gave a sort of summary statement.

they asked: The pronoun they refers to the Pharisees who asked Jesus a question in 19:3. The Greek has the pronoun “him” as well, which refers to Jesus. In some languages, it will be natural to make this explicit.

The verb asked can also be translated as “said” since it introduces a question.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

the Pharisees said to him
-or-
the Pharisees asked Jesus

19:7b

to give his wife: Here the Greek does not add any words to the word give. But in many languages, it will be more natural to add a phrase like “his wife” as the Berean Standard Bible has done. For example:

give his wife (New International Version)

a certificate of divorce: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a certificate of divorce refers to a legal paper. This paper recorded the separation of the man and woman from their marriage. It also included the reason for the separation and the statement that the woman was free to remarry.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

a letter/paper of divorce
-or-
a writing that they are divorced

This phrase also occurs in 5:31b. You should translate it the same way in both places.

and send her away: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible here translates as send…away is the same verb that it translates as “divorce” in 19:8a. It can mean both “dismiss” and “release.” When the man gave his wife a divorce paper, he both ended the marriage and released the woman to marry again.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

and end the marriage

-or-

to divorce her (God’s Word)

Actually, the passage in Deuteronomy does not command the giving of a certificate of divorce. It does not command a man to send away his wife. But that is how the Pharisees describe it.

© 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.