Deuteronomy 24 2

Deuteronomy 24:2 kjv

And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife.

Deuteronomy 24:2 nkjv

when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man's wife,

Deuteronomy 24:2 niv

and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man,

Deuteronomy 24:2 esv

and if she goes and becomes another man's wife,

Deuteronomy 24:2 nlt

When she leaves his house, she is free to marry another man.

Deuteronomy 24 verses

Deuteronomy 24 2 Meaning

Deuteronomy 24:2 describes a scenario following the divorce permitted in the preceding verse. It details that if the woman, having received a bill of divorce from her first husband and departed from his house, then enters into a new marital union with a second man, a specific legal condition is established. This verse does not inherently condemn the act of remarriage after divorce; rather, it sets the stage for the subsequent prohibition against the first husband remarrying her if this second marriage also ends. It confirms the woman's legal freedom to remarry and establishes the parameters that lead to a "defiled" status in relation to her first husband, thereby reinforcing the gravity and finality of divorce within the Mosaic Law.

Deuteronomy 24 2 Context

Deuteronomy chapter 24 introduces a series of laws ranging from domestic relations to social welfare and judicial matters. The specific unit from verses 1-4 deals with the intricacies of divorce and subsequent remarriage. Verse 2 is the middle step in a conditional legal sequence: if a man divorces his wife (v. 1), and if she then marries another man (v. 2), and if that second marriage also ends (v. 3), then the first husband cannot remarry her (v. 4). This structure is crucial for understanding the limited scope and specific prohibition introduced by the law. Historically, this law was given to Israel before entering the Promised Land. It did not institute divorce but regulated a pre-existing practice to provide structure, define limits, and primarily protect the woman in a society where her economic and social status was often precarious without a male head of household. It ensured that divorce carried weighty implications and prevented potentially confusing or exploitative exchanges of spouses.

Deuteronomy 24 2 Word analysis

• וְיָצְאָה (v'yatza'ah): "And she departed/went out."
  • This is an active verb indicating a definitive and public action of leaving the husband's household. In the context of verse 1, this departure occurs after she receives a legal bill of divorce, formally severing the marriage bond and legalizing her ability to remarry.
• מִבֵּיתוֹ (mibbêytō): "from his house."
  • בַּיִת (bayith) refers to the entire household, encompassing the family, property, and economic unit. Her departure signifies a complete severance from her former husband's established domestic, familial, and economic ties, thereby ending her dependency on him.
• וְהָלְכָה (v'halkhah): "and she went."
  • Reinforces the action of physical departure and implies a progression towards a new situation or place. It denotes her freedom to move forward and establish a new life.
• וְהָיְתָה (v'hayta): "and she became."
  • From the Hebrew verb הָיָה (hayah), meaning "to be, to become." This word denotes a transformation in her status, indicating that she formally transitions from being divorced to becoming something new.
• לְאִשָּׁה (lĕ'ishshah): "to a wife."
  • אִשָּׁה (ishshah) means "woman" or "wife." The preposition לְ (le-) indicates "as" or "to." This phrase clearly establishes that her new status is that of a wife, meaning she enters into a new legal marriage.
• לְאַחֵר (lĕ'akhêr): "to another."
  • אַחֵר (akher) means "another, different one, stranger." This is a crucial specifying detail, indicating that she marries someone other than her first husband. This specific act of marrying a different man is the necessary condition that sets the stage for the absolute prohibition against the first husband remarrying her if the second marriage ends.

Words-group analysis

• "And she departed from his house": This phrase underlines the definitive legal and physical separation initiated by the bill of divorce in verse 1. Her physical exit from his household marked the official dissolution of their marriage bond, publicizing her availability for a new relationship and removing her from her previous husband's authority.
• "and goes and becomes another man's wife": This segment highlights the critical step that distinguishes this law from mere divorce regulation. It describes the remarriage to a second man, an act that was considered legal and permissible at the time under Mosaic law. This new marital union creates the "defilement" that makes it an "abomination" (Deut 24:4) for the first husband to remarry her if the second marriage terminates, emphasizing the finality of the divorce and the serious implications of forming subsequent marital bonds.

Deuteronomy 24 2 Bonus section

The concept of a woman being "defiled" for her first husband in Deuteronomy 24:4, stemming from the events of verse 2, is not a moral condemnation of the woman's character or her second marriage itself. Instead, it speaks to a ceremonial or relational impurity in relation to the first husband. Her subsequent marriage establishes a new covenant bond, and for the first husband to reclaim her would be to violate the sanctity and distinctness of these marital covenants, perhaps blurring familial lines or creating a perpetual cycle of remarriage. Some scholars suggest this prohibition also aimed to prevent a man from callously divorcing and then retrieving his wife, effectively treating her like property. This legal safeguard ensured a degree of dignity for the divorced woman, confirming the irrevocability of the divorce and her right to build a new, undisturbed life. It also reinforced the understanding that once a woman had been in "another" man's home as a wife, the unique bond with the first husband was permanently altered beyond repair in the eyes of the Mosaic law.

Deuteronomy 24 2 Commentary

Deuteronomy 24:2 is not a command for divorce or remarriage but rather describes a specific contingency within the legal framework of ancient Israelite marriage. After a woman is divorced and departs her first husband's household with the formal "certificate of divorce" (Deut 24:1), she is legally free to remarry. This verse articulates that subsequent step: she "becomes another man's wife." This second marriage is implicitly permissible according to the law presented here. The entire passage (Deut 24:1-4) primarily concerns the specific circumstance where the first husband might attempt to remarry his original wife after she has been married to and subsequently released from a second husband. The underlying principle of the law, elucidated by the prohibition in verse 4, is to prevent potential confusion regarding lineage, property rights, or, more broadly, to establish the integrity and non-reversibility of a dissolved marital union, especially once a subsequent bond has been formed. The law prevented a woman from being "tossed back and forth" between men, ensuring the finality of marital decisions and offering stability by confirming the end of one bond before a new one could truly exist in perpetuity with a second person, thereby protecting the woman's new familial and social identity. This also implicitly served to elevate the seriousness of the marriage covenant, even in a society where divorce was permitted due to human hardheartedness.