Verses 1–4
DEUTERONOMY - CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Verses 1:4:
This statute does not sanction nor condone divorce. It regulates it, and prescribes means for the protection of those involved, particularly the divorced wife.
In later years, Jewish thought was divided on the matter of divorce into two general interpretations:
(1) That of the rabbi Hillel, which held that a man could divorce his wife for any unbecoming reason, or for any cause, as in the Pharisees’ conversation with Jesus, Matthew 19:3.
(2) That of the rabbi Shammai, which held that only for a disgraceful thing, such as adultery, could a man divorce his wife, cf. Matthew 5:31. This was a much more strict interpretation.
The matter of divorce because of adultery was not under consideration in this text, because adultery was punishable by death, and not by divorce.
"Uncleanness," ervah, "a thing offensive," also translated "nakedness, disgracefulness." This could include a variety of serious offenses, but it does not include trivial matters.
"Bill of divorcement," sepher kerithuth, "book or writing of a cutting off." This was a legal document, which must be couched in explicit terms, and ratified in the presence of at least two witnesses.
The text makes no provision for a wife seeking a divorce from her husband. However, Jewish legal procedure allowed a wife to seek a divorce if her husband were a leper, or diseased with polypus, or engaged in a disagreeable trade, such as a tanner.
Divorce was obligatory if one of the parties renounced Judaism.
A divorced woman was free to marry another. If she be divorced by the second husband, or if the second husband died, she was forbidden to marry her first husband again. To do so would be an abomination before the Lord, and a defilement of the land.