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"That She Find No Favor In His Eyes Because He Hath Found Some Uncleaness in Her"
Assertions/Conclusions of this article:
This article is to help discern those doctrines based on Deut 24:1-4 supposedly being about putting away a wife for sexual sin. These doctrines use this as their foundation to say that the rules were changed and that divorce, not death, was prescribed in the law for harlotry of a wife...Some believe that the pharisees misinterpreted 'some uncleaness' in Deut 24:1 and that Moses really only meant it for sexual sins. Some also believe that Jesus is supposedly doing away with the supposed allowance for divorce for sexual sin in Matthew 19:9 by corrrecting their "interpretation' of Deut 24:1.
We show in this writing that "some uncleaness" (ervah dabar) isnt refering to sexual sin or bodily nakedness (as ervah alone means) but is refering to a much broader range of 'uncleaness' instead.
Supporting evidence:
We will look at the phrase "ervah dabar" in this article.
Some try to assert that "some uncleaness" ("ervah dabar") in Deuteronomy 24:1 is refering to sexual sins of a wife because the word is used in that manner so often in the Old Testament.
Here is ervah dabar in Deut 24:1 :
H1697
dâbâr
BDB Definition:
1) speech, word, speaking, thing
1a) speech
1b) saying, utterance
1c) word, words
1d) business, occupation, acts, matter, case, something, manner
Hebrew and Greek are just alike in the aspect that a word can have a meaning that is modified by the wording and context around it.
So if we wanted to get technical, it says "he has found unclean speech" in her.
If we want to say it has to be sexually oriented, then what is actually said is "he has found sexual speech in her".
If we take the wording literally and precisely it shows that he has found some indecent (sexual?) speech in her or "has found her speaking indecently" as the case might be.
The phrase "some uncleaness" is "ervah debar" in Hebrew.
We see this very same use of "ervah debar" used just one chapter before in Deut:23 in the phrase "unclean thing" (ervah debar).
In that passage the phrase "ervah dabar" isn't restricted to the fornications as some assert that ervah always means, but is clearly being used blanketly against all uncleanness in the camp (the example given being human excrement).
In fact, it isn't until verse 23:17 that the harlots/whores and sexual sin are brought into the conversation. This is probably why the scholars don't believe that "ervah debar" is about sexual sins of the wife in Deut 24:1-4.
Seeing that those sins are covered already just two chapters previously and that there are terrible contractions caused by trying to assert that Deut 24:1-4 is about sexual sins, including Deut 22:23-24 that presents that the woman might still be put to death by anyone else other than the husband if caught sinning against her husband in this manner.
Given that the phrase is exactly the same, in Deut 24:1 as it is in 23:14, we can conclude, just as the translators did, that it isnt necessarily in reference to fornication but of a more broader understanding of 'uncleaness'...just as the Jews divorced for and just what they were asking Jesus about in Matthew 19.
If we were to use the meaning of the phrase "ervah dabar" in Deut 24:1 as it appears in Deut 23:12-14 then what this "uncleaness" he has found in her is.....well, Im sure you readers can connect the dots.
The main thing is that the phrase used in Deut 24:1 has nothing to do with her sexual sin but just a general uncleaness that has caused her to find no favor in his eyes...
"some uncleaness" in Deut 24:1 cannot be refering to sexual sins of the wife, betrothed or consummated for the following reasons.
1) These sins were covered just two chapters prior in Deut 22. It makes no sense that there would be a change in part of the law so quickly in Deut 24 without also changing the other laws that would still affect this situation (see #3 below).
2) If Deut 24:1-4 were actually an amendment to Deut 22:13-21, then this means that God put a law into place, then amended part of it within weeks. God and Moses both would have to be very absent minded for this to work.
3) Deut 22:23-24 would still be in effect. This means that while Deut 24:1-4 would be saying that the husband would put her away for sexual sins now instead of having her stoned at her fathers door, that ANY other Israelite could levy charges against her and have her put to death anyway. A terrible hole in this idea that Deut 24 is about sexual sins.
The fact is that all of the evidence is against "some uncleaness" being about sexual sin. The only thing that is any sort of 'evidence' for the view that it does mean sexual sins is that it 'sounds similar' to Deut 22:13-21....but in looking at the actual wording we see that its not that similar at all...
"That She Find No Favor In His Eyes Because He Hath Found Some Uncleaness in Her"
Assertions/Conclusions of this article:
This article is to help discern those doctrines based on Deut 24:1-4 supposedly being about putting away a wife for sexual sin. These doctrines use this as their foundation to say that the rules were changed and that divorce, not death, was prescribed in the law for harlotry of a wife...Some believe that the pharisees misinterpreted 'some uncleaness' in Deut 24:1 and that Moses really only meant it for sexual sins. Some also believe that Jesus is supposedly doing away with the supposed allowance for divorce for sexual sin in Matthew 19:9 by corrrecting their "interpretation' of Deut 24:1.
We show in this writing that "some uncleaness" (ervah dabar) isnt refering to sexual sin or bodily nakedness (as ervah alone means) but is refering to a much broader range of 'uncleaness' instead.
Supporting evidence:
We will look at the phrase "ervah dabar" in this article.
Some try to assert that "some uncleaness" ("ervah dabar") in Deuteronomy 24:1 is refering to sexual sins of a wife because the word is used in that manner so often in the Old Testament.
Here is ervah dabar in Deut 24:1 :
This is the word 'some' just before 'uncleaness'
H1697
dâbâr
BDB Definition:
1) speech, word, speaking, thing
1a) speech
1b) saying, utterance
1c) word, words
1d) business, occupation, acts, matter, case, something, manner
Hebrew and Greek are just alike in the aspect that a word can have a meaning that is modified by the wording and context around it.
So if we wanted to get technical, it says "he has found unclean speech" in her.
If we want to say it has to be sexually oriented, then what is actually said is "he has found sexual speech in her".
If we take the wording literally and precisely it shows that he has found some indecent (sexual?) speech in her or "has found her speaking indecently" as the case might be.
The phrase "some uncleaness" is "ervah debar" in Hebrew.
We see this very same use of "ervah debar" used just one chapter before in Deut:23 in the phrase "unclean thing" (ervah debar).
(in laymans terms, take a shovel with you, dig a hole and when you have relieved yourself, bury it)
In that passage the phrase "ervah dabar" isn't restricted to the fornications as some assert that ervah always means, but is clearly being used blanketly against all uncleanness in the camp (the example given being human excrement).
In fact, it isn't until verse 23:17 that the harlots/whores and sexual sin are brought into the conversation. This is probably why the scholars don't believe that "ervah debar" is about sexual sins of the wife in Deut 24:1-4.
Seeing that those sins are covered already just two chapters previously and that there are terrible contractions caused by trying to assert that Deut 24:1-4 is about sexual sins, including Deut 22:23-24 that presents that the woman might still be put to death by anyone else other than the husband if caught sinning against her husband in this manner.
Given that the phrase is exactly the same, in Deut 24:1 as it is in 23:14, we can conclude, just as the translators did, that it isnt necessarily in reference to fornication but of a more broader understanding of 'uncleaness'...just as the Jews divorced for and just what they were asking Jesus about in Matthew 19.
If we were to use the meaning of the phrase "ervah dabar" in Deut 24:1 as it appears in Deut 23:12-14 then what this "uncleaness" he has found in her is.....well, Im sure you readers can connect the dots.
The main thing is that the phrase used in Deut 24:1 has nothing to do with her sexual sin but just a general uncleaness that has caused her to find no favor in his eyes...
"some uncleaness" in Deut 24:1 cannot be refering to sexual sins of the wife, betrothed or consummated for the following reasons.
1) These sins were covered just two chapters prior in Deut 22. It makes no sense that there would be a change in part of the law so quickly in Deut 24 without also changing the other laws that would still affect this situation (see #3 below).
2) If Deut 24:1-4 were actually an amendment to Deut 22:13-21, then this means that God put a law into place, then amended part of it within weeks. God and Moses both would have to be very absent minded for this to work.
3) Deut 22:23-24 would still be in effect. This means that while Deut 24:1-4 would be saying that the husband would put her away for sexual sins now instead of having her stoned at her fathers door, that ANY other Israelite could levy charges against her and have her put to death anyway. A terrible hole in this idea that Deut 24 is about sexual sins.
The fact is that all of the evidence is against "some uncleaness" being about sexual sin. The only thing that is any sort of 'evidence' for the view that it does mean sexual sins is that it 'sounds similar' to Deut 22:13-21....but in looking at the actual wording we see that its not that similar at all...