The Meaning of Matthew 19:8 Explained

Matthew 19:8

KJV: He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

YLT: He saith to them -- 'Moses for your stiffness of heart did suffer you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it hath not been so.

Darby: He says to them, Moses, in view of your hardheartedness, allowed you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not thus.

ASV: He saith unto them, Moses for your hardness of heart suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it hath not been so.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He saith  unto them,  Moses  because of  the hardness  of your  hearts  suffered  you  to put away  your  wives:  but  from  the beginning  it was  not  so. 

What does Matthew 19:8 Mean?

Study Notes

Moses
Thus confirming the Mosaic authorship of Deut.

Verse Meaning

Jesus explained that the concession in the Mosaic Law was just that, a concession. It did not reflect the will of God in creation but the hardness of the human heart. Divorce was not a part of God"s creation ordinance any more than sin was. However, He permitted divorce, as He permitted sin.
"Moses regulated, but thereby conceded, the practice of divorce; both were with a view to (pros) the nation"s (hymon) hardness of heart: since they persist in falling short of the ideal of Eden, let it at least be within limits." [1]
The divorce option that God granted the Israelites testifies to man"s sinfulness. Therefore one should always view divorce as evidence of sin, specifically hardness of heart. He or she should never view it as simply a morally neutral option that God granted, the correctness or incorrectness of which depended on the definition of the indecency. The Pharisees" fundamental attitude toward the issue was wrong. They were looking for grounds for divorce. Jesus was stressing the inviolability of the marriage relationship.
Notice in passing that Jesus never associated Himself with the sin in the discussion. He consistently spoke of the peoples" sin as their sin or your sin, never as our sin (cf. Matthew 6:14-15). This is a fine point that reveals Jesus" awareness that He was sinless.
What was the indecency for which Moses permitted divorce? It was not adultery since the penalty for that was death, not divorce ( Deuteronomy 22:22). However, it is debatable whether the Israelites enforced the death penalty for adultery. [2] It could not be suspicion of adultery either since there was a specified procedure for handling those cases ( Numbers 5:5-31). Probably it was any gross immoral behavior short of adultery, namely, fornication, which includes all types of prohibited sexual behavior. Even though divorce was widespread and easy to obtain in the ancient Near East, and in Israel, the Israelites took marriage somewhat more seriously than their pagan neighbors did.

Context Summary

Matthew 19:1-12 - Jesus' View Of Marriage
Divorce was common among the Jews of that decadent age, being justified by Deuteronomy 24:1. Concerning this it should be remembered that this legislation, though in advance of the standards of its age, was a distinct concession to the state of morality which had then been reached. You can legislate only slightly ahead of the general maxims and practices of the people, else you discourage them and bring your laws into disuse.
The Lord takes us back to the original constitution of the family, where the one man was for the one woman. The only act that justifies divorce is the act which violates the marriage vow. Some are debarred from marriage by circumstances, but for such there is provided special grace, if they will seek it. Some refuse marriage in order to be more free for their life-work. Christ does not set these above others. He does not put special honor on celibacy: but in Matthew 19:13-14 places special emphasis on the beauty of family life. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 19

1  Jesus heals the sick;
3  answers the Pharisees concerning divorce;
10  shows when marriage is necessary;
13  receives the little children;
16  instructs the young man how to attain eternal life;
20  and how to be perfect;
23  tells his disciples how hard it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God;
27  and promises reward to those who forsake all to follow him

Greek Commentary for Matthew 19:8

For your hardness of heart [προς την σκληροκαρδιαν μων]
The word is apparently one of the few Biblical words (lxx and the N.T.). It is a heart dried up (σκληρος — sklēros), hard and tough. [source]
But from the beginning it hath not been so [απ αρχης δε ουκ γεγονεν ουτως]
The present perfect active of γινομαι — ginomai to emphasize the permanence of the divine ideal. “The original ordinance has never been abrogated nor superseded, but continues in force” (Vincent). “How small the Pharisaic disputants must have felt in presence of such holy teaching, which soars above the partisan view of controversialists into the serene region of ideal, universal, eternal truth” (Bruce). [source]
Because of [πρὸς]
Rev., for: having regard to. [source]
It was not so [οὐ γέγονεν οὕτως]
The A. V. is commonly understood to mean, it was not so in the beginning. But that is not Christ's meaning. The verb is in the perfect tense (denoting the continuance of past action or its results down to the present). He means: Notwithstanding Moses' permission, the case has not been so from the beginning until now. The original ordinance has never been abrogated nor superseded, but continues in force. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 19:8

Mark 10:4 To write a bill of divorcement and to put her away [biblion apostasiou grapsai kai apolusai)]
The word for “bill” Wycliff has it here “a libel of forsaking.” This same point the Pharisees raise in Matthew 19:7, showing probably that they held to the liberal view of Hillel, easy divorce for almost any cause. That was the popular view as now. See note on Matthew 19:8 for this and for discussion of “for your hardness of heart” Jesus expounds the purpose of marriage (Genesis 2:24) and takes the stricter view of divorce, that of the school of Shammai. See notes on Matthew 19:3-11 for discussion. Mark 10:10 notes that the disciples asked Jesus about this problem “in the house” after they had gone away from the crowd. [source]
Hebrews 3:8 Harden not [μὴ σκληρύνητε]
In N.T. mostly in this epistle. Comp. Acts 19:9; Romans 9:18, see note. The group of kindred words consists of σκληρός hard(see on Matthew 25:24; see on Judges 1:14); σκλψρότης hardness(Romans 2:5); σκληρύνειν toharden (Acts 19:9; Romans 9:18); and the compounds σκληροκαρδία hardnessof heart (Matthew 19:8; Mark 10:5), and σκληροτράχηλος stiff-necked(Acts 7:5). All occur in lxx, with the addition of σκληρῶς hardlypainfully (not in N.T.). [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 19:8 mean?

He says to them - Moses in view of the hardness of heart of you allowed you to divorce the wives from [the] beginning however not was [it] this way
Λέγει αὐτοῖς Ὅτι Μωϋσῆς πρὸς τὴν σκληροκαρδίαν ὑμῶν ἐπέτρεψεν ὑμῖν ἀπολῦσαι τὰς γυναῖκας ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς δὲ οὐ γέγονεν οὕτως

Λέγει  He  says 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
αὐτοῖς  to  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Ὅτι  - 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
Μωϋσῆς  Moses 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Μωσεύς 
Sense: the legislator of the Jewish people and in a certain sense the founder of the Jewish religion.
πρὸς  in  view  of 
Parse: Preposition
Root: πρός  
Sense: to the advantage of.
σκληροκαρδίαν  hardness  of  heart 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: σκληροκαρδία  
Sense: hardness of heart.
ὑμῶν  of  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
ἐπέτρεψεν  allowed 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐπιτρέπω 
Sense: to turn to, transfer, commit, instruct.
ἀπολῦσαι  to  divorce 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: ἀπολύω  
Sense: to set free.
γυναῖκας  wives 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Plural
Root: γυνή  
Sense: a woman of any age, whether a virgin, or married, or a widow.
ἀπ’  from  [the] 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἀπό 
Sense: of separation.
ἀρχῆς  beginning 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ἀρχή  
Sense: beginning, origin.
δὲ  however 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
γέγονεν  was  [it] 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.
οὕτως  this  way 
Parse: Adverb
Root: οὕτως  
Sense: in this manner, thus, so.