Divorce in the Pentateuch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Divorce in the Pentateuch - Essay Example This essay will critically analyze what the Pentateuch has to say on the topic. According to the Creation story it would appear that divorce was not a part of God’s plan when he created man and woman. â€Å"This is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body† (Genesis 2: 24). If marriage was meant for two persons to be as one body then divorce would be viewed as an illness since it was making the body less wholesome. ‘If a man, after marrying a woman and having relationships with her, comes to dislike her, and makes monstrous charges against her and defames her by saying, â€Å"I married this woman, but when I first had relations with her I did not find her a virgin,† (Deut 22:13 – 14). The woman is viewed as an object and is always the property of the man whether it is the husband or the father. The verse further explained that the father should try to prove her innocence. Although this passage gave instructions that if the girl is found to be innocent the man should not divorce her it shows the responsibility that the community has when it comes to marriage and divorce. In return the couple is supposed to bear witness to the community and they had to show proof before a divorce could take place. The man was supposed to write the woman a certificate of divorce and send her away from his house. According to Hall this certificate was â€Å"crucial to protect her status† (359). Furthermore it served as a way of announcing to society that the woman was eligible to remarry. The man according to this verse in Deuteronomy is bound by the law in keeping his wife. He cannot divorce her because she was found to be innocent. This shows that this was the only grounds he had. â€Å"Moreover, she shall remain his wife, and he may not divorce her as long as he lives.† On the other hand