Matthew 5:31,Matthew 5:32

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:31

Here only. It hath been said ( ἐῤῥέθη δέ ). This is the only one of the six examples to which our Lord does not prefix "ye have heard," and inserts δέ . Hence Lightfoot ('Hor. Hebr.') writes, "This particle hath this emphasis in this place, that it whispers a silent objection, which is answered in the following verse," i.e. Christ had said even a sinful look is too much; the lawyers said, "But the Law allows divorce, and therefore a married man can after all obtain the woman he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:31-32

Divorce. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 5:31-32

It hath been said ... - That is, by Moses, Deuteronomy 24:1-2. The husband was directed, if he put his wife away, to give her a bill of divorce, that is a certificate of the fact she had been his wife, and that he had dissolved the marriage. There was considerable difference of opinion among the Jews for what causes the husband was permitted to do this. One of their famous schools maintained that it might be done for any cause, however trivial. The other maintained that adultery only could... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Matthew 5:31-32

Matthew 5:31-32. Let him give her a writing of divorcement “The doctors of the school of Sammai affirmed, that, in the law concerning divorce, Deuteronomy 24:1, the words some uncleanness, were to be understood of adultery only; whereas, they of the school of Hillel interpreted them of any matter of dislike whatever. Hence the Pharisees asked Jesus, Matthew 19:3, if it was lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? The opinion of Hillel was generally espoused by the Jews, as... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:21-48

40. Legal obedience is not enough (Matthew 5:21-48; Luke 6:27-36; Luke 12:57-59)After his explanation concerning right and wrong attitudes to the law, Jesus gives a number of examples. He introduces these examples with statements such as ‘You have heard that it was said in the past’. This is not the same as ‘It is written’. Jesus is not quoting from the Old Testament but from the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees. He is not contradicting the law but the interpretations of the law that the... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Matthew 5:31

It hath been said. It was said. See Deuteronomy 24:1 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 5:31

It was said also, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: but I say unto you that everyone that putteth away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, maketh her an adulteress: and whosoever shall marry her when she is put away committeth adultery.Thus Christ, improving on the Decalogue, attached guilt to lustful thoughts, and in this place makes marriages to divorced persons sinful, except in the case of the innocent party of a divorce for adultery... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Matthew 5:31-32

Matthew 5:31-32. It hath been said, &c.— The doctors of the school of Sammai affirmed, that in the law concerning divorce, Deu 24:1 the words some uncleanness were to be understood of adultery only; whereas they of the school of Hillel interpreted them of any manner of dislike whatever. Hence the Pharisees asked Jesus, ch. Mat 19:3 if it was lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? The opinion of Hillel was generally espoused by the Jews, as appears both from their practice... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Matthew 5:31

31. It hath been said—This shortened form was perhaps intentional, to mark a transition from the commandments of the Decalogue to a civil enactment on the subject of divorce, quoted from Deuteronomy 24:1. The law of divorce—according to its strictness or laxity—has so intimate a bearing upon purity in the married life, that nothing could be more natural than to pass from the seventh commandment to the loose views on that subject then current. Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 5:17-48

Righteousness and the Scriptures 5:17-48In His discussion of righteousness (character and conduct that conforms to the will of God), Jesus went back to the revelation of God’s will, namely, God’s Word, the Old Testament. read more