Mark 10 - In Depth Bible Commentaries

give up your enemies before you. And your camp shall be set apart; and he will not see anyrb' êD" tw: år>[,, (erwath dabhar, ‘matter of nakedness' among you, and turn away from behindyou.It is obvious from this passage that the "matter of nakedness" or "indecency" has to dowith physical uncleanliness, with unsanitary conditions, that simply are unsuitable for peopleseeking to put forward their best appearance, and be the kind of people in whose midstYHWH God can be present (taken in a very literal, crude way, of YHWH walking in theircamp). In the light of this last passage (Deuteronomy 23:9-14), it seems apparent that the"matter of nakedness" has to do with physical uncleanliness, with personal habits and traits ofconduct that are so "unclean" that nausea and disgust are felt by the husband, leading him to"put his wife away."Even so, holds this Deuteronomic legislation, the woman must still have her rightsprotected!S. R. Driver notes that "The grounds mentioned in the Mishnah as justifying divorceare, violation of the law of Moses, or of Jewish customs, the former being said to consist in awoman's causing her husband to eat food, on which tithe has not been paid; in causing him tooffend against the law of Leviticus 18:19 [that is, having sexual intercourse during hermenstrual period], in not setting apart the first of the dough (Numbers 15:20-21), and in failingto perform any vow which she has made; and the latter in appearing in public with dishevelledhair, spinning (and exposing her arms) in the streets, and conversing indiscriminately withmen, to which others added, speaking disrespectfully of her husband's parents in hispresence, or brawling in his house (Kethuboth 7:6)...“The Karaite Jews limited the grounds of divorce more exclusively to offenses againstmodesty or good taste, a change of religion, serious bodily defects, and repulsive complaints.“ ...That the phrase rb'êD" tw:år>[, (erwath dabar denotes something short of actualunchastity, may be inferred from the fact that for this a different penalty is enacted, that is,death (22:22); in 23:14, also, the same expression is used, not of what is immoral, but only ofwhat is unbecoming. It is most natural to understand it of immodest or indecent behavior."(Deuteronomy, pp. 270-71)In Deuteronomy 24:1, the words translated "and he will write," can also be translated"and he shall write..." Jewish students commonly took this as an imperative, commanding thewriting of a divorce for the woman. However, it may well be that this is a matter of case-law,in which each of the verbs are used simply to describe what is happening in the situation--andthat the only imperative verb should be found in verse 4, "he will not be able..." Peter C.Craigie, in his commentary The Book of Deuteronomy, states that "In precise terms, there isonly one piece of legislation in this passage, that contained in verse 4a...The verses do notinstitute divorce, but treat it as a practice already known, which may be either a matter ofcustom or of other legislation no longer known." (Pp. 304-305) Both S. R. Driver and A. D. H.Mayes agree with this.907