Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Malachi 2:16
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
For the Lord the God of Israel saith, that he hateth putting away, etc.] The divorcing of wives; for though this was suffered because of the hardness of their hearts, it was not approved of by the Lord; nor was it from the beginning; and it was disagreeable, and even hateful to him, (<401908>Matthew 19:8) in the margin of some Bibles the words are rendered, “if he hate her, put her away”; and so the Targum, “but if thou hatest her, put her away;” to which agree the Vulgate Latin, Septuagint, and Arabic versions; and this sense made mention of in both Talmuds, and is thought to be agreeable to the law in (<052403>Deuteronomy 24:3) though the law there speaks of a fact that might be, and not of what ought to be; wherefore the former sense is best; and this other seems to have been at first calculated to favour the practice of the Jews, who put away their wives through hatred to them. The Jews were very much inclined to divorce their wives upon very trivial occasions; if they did not dress their food well, were not of good behaviour, or not so modest as became the daughters of Israel; if they did not find favour with their husbands; and, especially, if they had entertained a hatred of them: so says R. Judahf57, “if he hate her, let him put her away:” but this is by some of them restrained to a second wife; for of the first they say, “it is not proper to be hasty to put away a first wife; but a second, if he hates her, let him put her awayf58” and R. Eleazer saysf59, whoever divorces his first wife, even the altar sheds tears for him, referring to the words in (<390213>Malachi 2:13) and divorces of this kind they only reckon lawful among the Israelites, and found it upon this passage; for so they make God to speak after this mannerf60, “in Israel I have granted divorces; among the nations of the world I have not granted divorces. R. Chananiah, in the name of R. Phinehas, observes, that in every other section it is written, “the Lord of hosts”; but here it is written, “the God of Israel”, to teach thee that the holy blessed God does not put his name to divorces (or allow them) but in Israel only. R. Chayah Rabba says, the Gentiles have no divorces.” But some of them have better understanding of these words, and more truly give the sense of them thus, as R. Jochanan does, who interprets them, “the putting away of the wife is hatefulf61;” it is so to God, and ought not to be done by men but in case of adultery, as our Lord has taught, (<400532>Matthew 5:32 19:9) and which was the doctrine of the school of Shammai in Christ’s time, who taught, “that no man should divorce his wife, unless he found in her filthiness;” i.e. that she was guilty of adultery; though this Maimonides restrains to the first wife, as before: but the house of Hillell, who lived in the same time, was of a different mind, and taught that “if she burnt his food;” either over dressed or over salted it, according to (<052401>Deuteronomy 24:1). R. Akiba says, if he found another more beautiful than her, according to (<052401>Deuteronomy 24:1), he might divorce herf62; of the form of a divorce, (see Gill on “<400531>Matthew 5:31”). Those interpreters among Christians that go this way do not look upon this as an approbation of divorce, on account of hatred; but that so to do is better than to retain them with hatred of them, seeing it was connived at, or than to take other wives with them. For [one] covereth violence with his garment, or “on his garment”, saith the Lord of hos…
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