Romans 7 2

Romans 7:2 kjv

For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

Romans 7:2 nkjv

For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.

Romans 7:2 niv

For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him.

Romans 7:2 esv

For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.

Romans 7:2 nlt

For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her.

Romans 7 verses

Romans 7 2 Meaning

The verse elucidates a foundational legal principle regarding marriage: a wife is legally bound to her husband exclusively for the duration of his life. Upon his death, this legal bond is definitively broken, and she is consequently released from the marital law that previously connected her to him. This statement serves as a clear and universally understood analogy, which the Apostle Paul employs to introduce his theological argument about the believer's relationship to the Mosaic Law in the subsequent verses.

Romans 7 2 Context

Romans chapter 7 initiates a discussion about the believer's new relationship with the Mosaic Law, following Paul's detailed exposition on justification by faith and freedom from sin's dominion in previous chapters. Having established that believers are no longer "under the law but under grace" (Rom 6:14), Paul addresses a potential Jewish objection or misunderstanding regarding this radical statement. He starts Romans 7 by declaring that the Law holds authority over a person only "as long as he lives" (Rom 7:1). Verse 7:2 then serves as a common legal illustration to substantiate this opening statement, providing an analogy from the institution of marriage—a bond universally understood to be sacred and legally binding. This example lays the groundwork for Paul to demonstrate how believers have "died" to the Law through Christ, making them free from its obligations and able to be united with Him.

Romans 7 2 Word analysis

• γὰρ (gar) - For: This conjunction serves to introduce an explanation or a clarifying example for the statement made in the preceding verse (Rom 7:1). Paul is presenting a legal premise as a foundation for his analogy.
• ἡ ὕπανδρος γυνή (hē hupandros gynē) - a married woman (lit. "the woman under a husband"): The definite article "ἡ" (the) points to the principle governing any such woman. "Hupandros" specifically denotes a woman "under a man" or "under a husband," emphasizing her legal and relational subjection within marriage.
• δέσμευται (desmeuetai) - is bound: This verb is in the present passive voice, from "desmeuō" (to bind, tie, make fast). It conveys an ongoing, legally enforced state of being tied, much like being in shackles, signifying the compelling and authoritative nature of the marital covenant.
• νόμῳ (nomō) - by law: The dative case indicates that "law" is the agent or instrument by which she is bound. This underscores that the obligation is a legally sanctioned reality, appealing to divine, civil, or natural legal principles concerning marriage.
• ζῶντι ἀνδρί (zōnti andri) - to her living husband: "Zōnti" is the present participle, emphasizing the husband's living state as the specific condition for the marital bond's validity. The bond is strictly to a husband who is alive.
• ἐφ’ ὅσον χρόνον ζῇ (eph’ hoson chronon zē) - as long as he lives: This phrase precisely defines the temporal limitation of the legal bond. It explicitly states that the husband's life is the singular determinant of the marriage's legal duration, reinforcing the conditional nature of the bond.
• ἐὰν δὲ ἀποθάνῃ ὁ ἀνήρ (ean de apothanē ho anēr) - but if the husband dies: "Ean" introduces a real conditional clause. "De" serves as a contrast, introducing the pivotal event. "Apothanē" (aorist subjunctive) describes a definite, completed act—the husband's death—as the event that fundamentally alters her legal status.
• κατήργηται (katērgētai) - she is released (lit. "she has been rendered inactive/nullified"): This is a very strong verb (perfect passive of "katargeō"), meaning to render ineffective, abolish, bring to nothing, or set at naught. The perfect tense signifies a completed action with enduring consequences; she is now definitively loosed and free. The passive voice indicates an external force (death) rather than her own action initiates the release.
• ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τοῦ ἀνδρός (apo tou nomou tou andros) - from the law of the husband (or the law of marriage): "Apo" signifies separation from something. "Nomou tou andros" refers not to a law given by the husband, but the legal bond or marital law pertaining to her relationship with her husband, or simply the law that governed the marriage itself. This clarifies what she is entirely freed from.

• (Words-group analysis)
• "For a married woman is bound by law": This phrase immediately establishes the analogy's foundation: a universally acknowledged legal truth concerning marital obligation. It grounds the subsequent theological point in common human experience and law.
• "to her husband while he lives": This clarifies both the object and the duration of the legal bond. Her commitment is specifically to her living spouse, delineating the crucial temporal boundary that Paul needs for his analogy.
• "but if her husband dies, she is released": This conditional statement introduces the singular, definitive event that nullifies the bond. Death is presented as the absolute dissolvent, creating a dramatic and unequivocal change in legal status.
• "from the law of marriage": This phrase clearly specifies the domain from which she gains freedom. Her release is total and legal, removing her from all former marital obligations and restrictions related to her deceased spouse.

Romans 7 2 Bonus section

• Paul often utilized robust legal and social illustrations familiar to his audiences, such as slavery and adoption, to make complex theological arguments understandable. The marriage analogy here is a particularly powerful example due to its clarity and universally understood implications for legal obligation and release.
• The phrase "the law of marriage" encapsulates the entire body of legal requirements and principles that define and govern a marital union in both Jewish tradition (Torah) and wider Roman legal systems. This isn't a vague social custom but a clearly articulated legal framework.
• This verse strictly focuses on the legal release via death. It avoids moral endorsements for remarriage directly, instead functioning purely as a legal premise. Its primary goal is to illustrate a legal "death" and subsequent freedom for another bond, in the spiritual realm of Christ and the believer.
• The rhetorical strategy here prepares the audience for the surprising, yet logically sound, assertion that believers have died to the Law itself. This helps bridge the conceptual gap between their old identity under the Law and their new identity in Christ.

Romans 7 2 Commentary

Romans 7:2 serves as a pivotal analogy, demonstrating through an undeniable legal principle how a profound change of status (death) results in absolute liberation from a binding law. Paul is not primarily discussing marriage or remarriage here, but leveraging a self-evident truth familiar to both Jewish and Roman audiences. The wife is irrevocably bound to her husband by the Law only for his lifetime; his death utterly dissolves this bond, rendering the previous law regarding that marriage null for her. The emphasis lies on the completeness and finality of this release through death. This sets up the critical theological argument in verse 4: just as the widow is legally free to enter a new relationship, believers, having "died" to the Law through Christ, are similarly freed from its dominion to be united with Christ. The passage clarifies that true liberation comes through an act equivalent to death, not through mere effort or negotiation.