Matthew 5:31"It was also said, 'Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,'
The setting
Galilee, northern Israel, ~28 AD. Jesus sits on a hillside teaching thousands who've walked miles to hear Him redefine everything they thought they knew about righteousness...
The emotion here: building tension before revealing hard truth
The original word
apolyō (ἀπολύω) — to release, dismiss, or send away; used for freeing prisoners or divorcing wives
Why it matters
Jewish men could divorce wives for burning dinner or finding someone prettier
Read with care
What most readers miss in Matthew 5:31
Jesus is quoting what OTHERS said, not agreeing with it — verse 32 reveals His true position
Common misconceptionPeople think Jesus is endorsing easy divorce here, but He's actually setting up to dramatically restrict it in the next verse.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Matthew 5:31
Bible Genome reading
Matthew 5:31 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Matthew 5:31 comes from the book of Matthew, written during the gospel period. These words are attributed to Jesus. The dominant emotion in this verse is anxious, with a comfort power of 15% and a tone that is reflective. It belongs to the letter genre of biblical literature. Key themes include marriage, law. Notable phrases: put away his wife; writing of divorce.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same anxious
“And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.”
— 2 Corinthians 11:14
“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
— 2 Timothy 3:12
“The evil spirit answered, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?"”
— Acts 19:15
“I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'”
— Acts 22:7
“When we had all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is har…”
— Acts 26:14
Your reflection
What does Matthew 5:31 mean to you, today?
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