Indissolubility of Marriage : An Exegetical Reading of Matt 5 :31-32 cum its Theological and Pastoral Implications

AUTEUR : Matthew BOMKI LAGHAI, SJ

ABSTRACT

Does Jesus Christ approve of divorce in Matt 5 :31-32 ? From a surface reading, a non-expert may say, “Yes”, but from an exegetical point of view, it is a radical “No” according to the author. Is πορνεία “adultery”, as the term is translated in many Bibles ? Not all according to the author who uses the latest and most updated Biblical findings as well as a rigorous exegetical analysis of Matt 5 :31-32 to show that πορνεία has to mean “illicit marital union”. In illicit marital unions, such as the “incestuous marriage” which was sometimes the case among the Gentiles (Acts 15 : 20), there is no marriage at all. “Divorce” is “possible”, then, only because a “marriage” has never existed. Hence, for the author, the indissolubility of marriage is therefore God’s original plan (Gen 2 :24; Mk 10 : 8).