Divorce, Celibacy and Joseph (Matthew 1.18-25 and 19.1-12)
The story of Joseph seeking to divorce Mary (Mt. 1.18-25) illustrates the teaching in both Mt. 5.31-32 and 19.1-12. These last pericopes attach exception clauses to the prohibition of divorce (contrast Mark and Luke) and show sympathy for sexual abstinence (19.10-12). Without the exception clauses,...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
1993
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the New Testament
Year: 1993, Volume: 15, Issue: 49, Pages: 3-10 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | The story of Joseph seeking to divorce Mary (Mt. 1.18-25) illustrates the teaching in both Mt. 5.31-32 and 19.1-12. These last pericopes attach exception clauses to the prohibition of divorce (contrast Mark and Luke) and show sympathy for sexual abstinence (19.10-12). Without the exception clauses, however, and if πoρνεία is not equated with 'adultery', there would be a striking contradiction between the behavior of the 'just' Joseph and the teaching of Jesus. Perhaps, then, 1.18-25 partly explains the addition of the exception clauses and establishes that πoρνεία = 'adultery', the imagined crime of Mary. Furthermore, 1.18-25 relates that Joseph abstained from sexual intercourse during pregnancy, and maybe this circumstance should be related to the well-attested conviction that such intercourse is improper. |
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| ISSN: | 1745-5294 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the New Testament
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0142064X9301504901 |