BIBLE DIGEST -
Number 39
(Revised) March 1994
WHAT
IS “PORNEIA”?
A HEBREW AND GREEK WORD STUDY – IN ENGLISH
By Allon
Maxwell
|
In this paper
we shall study the Greek word "porneia". In Matthew's
Gospel this is the word used by Jesus to define the sexual sin which He says
is the only valid ground for divorce and freedom to remarry with a new
partner. This is a very
important question. It is not simply an isolated theoretical discussion about
the meaning of a Greek word. It is about our
understanding of the Gospel. It is about whether or not our hearts are hard.
It is about Jesus' definition of the sin of adultery. It is about whether
people who divorce and then remarry, can inherit the Kingdom of God. It affects the
nature of our dealings with people we know who, depending on what Jesus
really meant, may be living in adultery. In our time
many modern Greek scholars tell us that according to the Greek lexicons,
“porneia” is a broad word defining sexual sin of all kinds. This broad
meaning is then applied to the specific case of divorce, using it to justify
divorce AND REMARRIAGE on the ground of ADULTERY. However, the
same scholars also tell us that “porneia”, does have other more restrictive
meanings. This does leave the possibility open that, from amongst the several
meanings available to them, they may have chosen the wrong one
to apply to the "exceptive clause". In fact there
are other scholars who do argue that “porneia” is a much more specific word
which does not include adultery. The
"experts" disagree amongst themselves! How shall we
who are not "experts" or scholars, decide between them? THE BASIS OF
THE STUDY In this paper we
shall use Greek and Hebrew words often. However at the
very beginning I confess that, like most of you, I can't read Hebrew. I do
have a Hebrew lexicon, but it is no help. I don't even know the Hebrew
alphabet. Greek is not
much better. I can read the alphabet and, with some effort, recognise a few
words. I know a small
amount of Greek grammar ..... just enough to be dangerous! Those of you
who share these limitations with me, will understand the need to find a way
to conduct this study of Greek and Hebrew words without credentials in either
Greek or Hebrew! Because this
paper is written for laymen, I will attempt to write it in such a way that
any layman can duplicate the study for himself by using the same methods. I will use only
tools and sources readily available to other laymen. I will not
quote from Lexicons which most of us cannot read. Nor will I quote from the
writings of the many conflicting "experts". It would not
help if I did. Most of what I think are the best books, are now out of print
and not available for you, either to verify the sources for yourself, or make
a rational assessment of their contents. In any case
both the Lexicons and the writings of the "experts" suffer from a
common deficiency. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceeds from the mouth of God".
(Matthew 4:4) Neither the
Lexicons nor the many contradictory opinions found in the writings of the
"experts" are words from the mouth of God! They are not
always wrong, but neither are they inspired or infallible. They are as
much open to theological bias and HARDNESS OF HEART about this subject as
they are about others! If we want to
base our study on words which are certainly from the mouth of God, we have
only one source. We will have to
read our Bibles! ...... And we will have to pray! Peter warns us (2 Peter 1:20-21), that understanding an inspired
writing requires the same help from the Holy Spirit, as was given to the
writers. It is open for
all of us to say our own prayers and read the Bible for ourselves. God
invites us to believe that when we pray for wisdom, with hearts open to Him,
we will NOT BE LEFT ALONE. Any of us who
know that we are amongst those foolish people described in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, may ask God for wisdom. (James 1:5-8). We do not need to be scholars of
ancient languages, for God to hear and answer our prayer generously, and
without reproach. To follow this
method will prove to be time consuming. There are no short cuts. If we want
to hear God's words on this subject, we will have to read them all. To do this, I
have used my Young's Analytical Concordance, which spells out the Greek and
Hebrew words in English letters, to find and PRAYERFULLY read EVERY passage
where the Concordance tells me the relevant words appear. I have sought
the promised work of the Holy Spirit to lead me into the truth and open my
eyes to see clearly, in context, HOW GOD USES THE WORDS. The conclusions
I have reached are no better or worse than the degree to which my prayer has
been heard and answered. PLEASE DO NOT
MERELY READ MY PAPER! There
is no such thing as "second hand" faith. For your own conclusions
to become a matter of personal faith, you will need to read ALL those
Scriptures yourself. You will need to say your own prayers in total honesty
of heart, for God to open YOUR spiritual eyes and then write His truth, in
your heart and mind. And
if you too discover what I have found, you may need to be prepared for
unpopularity! USING THE
CONCORDANCE The
concordances, like the Lexicons, will offer several meanings for the words.
We must be careful what we do with those several meanings. We must avoid
the pitfalls of searching out alternative meanings from the concordance and
then simply changing the translation, just because it advances our cause. We all know
that we don't do that with an English dictionary when reading other books in
our own language! Why should it be acceptable to do it with the Bible, in
Greek or Hebrew? What we are
trying to do, first of all, is understand HOW God uses the words, in a book
GIVEN TO US BY GOD. Then we must
find, prayerfully, the "mind of Christ", (1 Corinthians 2:11-16), to decide which of the several
possible meanings is appropriate in the NARROW CONTEXT of the teaching of
Jesus about divorce and remarriage. DECIDING
BETWEEN THE "EXPERTS" Only a
generation ago, there was little argument amongst laymen (at least in my acquaintance),
about the meaning of “porneia”. Indeed, most of us didn't even know the word
existed! Nor did we expect that we would one day need to become amateur Greek
scholars, to understand what Jesus was saying to us. We didn't need
to know! We all had our King James Bible with its English translation of the
word as "fornication". And we ALL knew what that meant. The average
man in the street still does know what that word means. However, in the
Church that has all changed now. We have even changed the word in some modern
translations of the Bible, making it a little easier to justify the finding
of new marriage partners. That is not a
small change at all ..... and it presents us with a serious problem. We are
confronted with a difference between "experts". The earlier
translators did their work against the background of centuries of history in
which the Church stood firmly against divorce and remarriage. The modern translators
of those few versions in which the change appears, have done their work in an
atmosphere infected by the bias of hard hearted churchmen who justify divorce
and remarriage, not only for adultery, but also on all of the other grounds
rejected by Jesus. However it is
not simply a matter of choosing between the ancient and the new. Nor is it a
matter of counting "expert" heads to settle the issue by a
"democratic vote" and follow the majority opinion. We must all
hear from God for ourselves, what JESUS means by “porneia” in those two
places where He uses it in the context of divorce. For many the
difference between those old and new "experts" will prove to be the
difference between eternal life and eternal death. At the
Judgement each divorced and remarried individual will have to answer for his
own personal choice of "experts". Unrepentant
adulterers of all kinds, and every meaning of the word, will be rejected from
the Kingdom of God. And some of the
"experts" will also have to answer to God for their part in causing
others to stumble into sin. Is it just
possible that a whole generation of the Church has been BEGUILED by the
subtle logic of the Serpent, explaining away both what Jesus said about
adultery, and the dreadful consequences of the sin? The Serpent does still
say, "you will not surely die"!
(Genesis 3:4) THE WORD STUDY
- IN ENGLISH Our word study
begins with the English words "fornication" and
"unchastity". For good
measure, we shall also add the words, "adultery",
"harlot", "whore", and "prostitute". "Fornication"
is the word chosen by the translators of the King James Version and The
Jerusalem Bible, as the most suitable rendition of the meaning of “porneia”,
in the two places where Jesus uses it to define the sole possible ground for
divorce. (Matthew 5:32 & Matthew 19:9) The Concise
Oxford Dictionary defines "fornication" as ..... "Voluntary
sexual intercourse between a man (occasionally restricted to unmarried men)
and an unmarried woman." Note carefully
that the marital status of the man is not the point at issue here. The
important point is that the woman is ALWAYS unmarried. "Unchastity"
is the replacement word for "fornication", used in some newer
versions of the Bible. These include the Revised Standard Version, New
English Bible and New American Standard Bible. Other less known versions
which use "unchastity" include Moffatt and Weymouth. The Concise
Oxford Dictionary gives the meaning of "unchastity" as the opposite
of "chastity". i.e. the opposite of ..... "continence,
virginity, celibacy". Following the
dictionary a little further, a virgin is "a person, especially a woman,
who has had no sexual intercourse". A celibate is
"a person not married, or of unmarried life and habits". "Harlot"
and "whore" both mean "prostitute". "Prostitute"
means ..... "a woman who offers her body to indiscriminate sexual
intercourse, especially for hire". "Adultery"
translates the Greek “moichea”. According to the
Concise Oxford Dictionary this English word means ..... "Voluntary
sexual intercourse of a married person with one of the opposite sex other
than his or her spouse". These
dictionary meanings leave us in no doubt at all, about what the translators
meant us to understand by “porneia” as the sole ground of divorce allowed by
Jesus. In the language
that we all speak, they DID NOT chose other English words with a wider
meaning including "all sorts of sexual sin", or more specifically,
"adultery". Instead they chose words which clearly set “porneia”
apart from "adultery", especially in the context of divorce. They chose
either "fornication" or "unchastity". When used about a
woman, as they are in Matthew 5:32
& Matthew 19:9, these English
words mean "sexual sin by an unmarried woman". When
used about a married woman as a ground for divorce, as is also the case in
these verses, they can only refer to sin committed BEFORE marriage. It is only in
recent times, as the Church has radically altered its position on divorce, that
major new translations have accommodated this change by moving away from
"fornication" and "unchastity" to "sexual
immorality", (New King James), or as the New International Version has
it, "marital unfaithfulness". THE WORD STUDY
- IN HEBREW When I set out
to study the meaning of “porneia” I quickly came to the conclusion that I was
studying the wrong word! (and in the wrong language!) Jesus did not speak
the original words about divorce in Greek! Instead, He spoke in Hebrew or
Aramaic. Jesus did not
say "except for porneia". Rather, He most likely said
"except for taznuth". To arrive at
His meaning we will do well to study this Old Testament Hebrew noun which
Jesus must have used. We will also need to study the parallel verb "zanah" and two other associated words, "zenuth" and "zenunim". I found that
these words have ONLY ONE BASIC MEANING but are used in THREE SEPARATE WAYS.
They are not all inclusive words defining sexual sin in general. They define
one specific sexual sin in three different settings. It is the context which
defines which way the word is to be understood. In virtually
every place where these words occur, their fundamental meaning
is to do with "prostitution", "harlotry",
"whoredom". They NEVER mean
anything else. The three
settings in which they are used are discussed below. 1. PROSTITUTION In this setting
the words are used with their fundamental meaning. They describe the sin of a
woman who prostitutes herself by selling her body to a man who is not her
husband. Examples of their use this way are found in Leviticus 21:13-14 and Deuteronomy 23:18. 2. FORNICATION In English we
have separate words to distinguish between fornication and harlotry. Unlike English,
there does not appear to be a separate Hebrew word to distinguish between
these two sins. In Hebrew they are the same thing. In God's view of the
matter, a man who seduces a girl is treating her like a harlot. An unmarried
girl who allows herself to be seduced has earned the name and reputation of a
harlot. "Zanah"
is used this way, describing the sin of an unmarried woman, in Deuteronomy 22:21. 3. IDOLATRY By far the
major use of these words is in reference to the sin of idolatry. In many places
the spiritual condition of idolatrous Israel and Judah is described as
whoredom. Examples of
their use in this way occur in Exodus 34:15-16
& Leviticus 20:5. Harlotry is
certainly a fitting description of particular forms of idolatry, which
appears, in many cases, to include temple prostitution. However, the
words, in themselves, DO NOT MEAN IDOLATRY. When they
appear in this setting, they are used to describe the defilement of the
SPIRITUAL relationship between God and His people. This results,
not from idolatry alone, but from the many different sins
tolerated and practised amongst an apostate people, who have turned away to
the worship of other gods. DOES WHOREDOM
IN THE HEBREW, INCLUDE ADULTERY? In a few places
(principally in the writings of Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Hosea) an adulteress is
called a harlot. Sometimes both
words are used together. In these cases harlotry is also used in the context
of divorce. When a married
woman becomes a harlot, it is inescapable that she also commits adultery
..... two sins, with TWO DIFFERENT NAMES, in the one act. These passages
are not teaching us that the Hebrew words for harlotry, adultery and
idolatry, mean the same thing, or are interchangeable in every place where
they appear. In fact, in Hosea 4:13-14, Hosea uses both harlotry and
adultery together, in a way that clearly shows the NORMAL difference between
these two words : *
Harlotry is the ONLY name for the
sexual sin of (unmarried) daughters. *
Adultery is the NORMAL name for
the sexual sin of married women. *
Idolatry is not necessarily about
sexual sin at all. It ought to be clear that, the prophets are not really
speaking about divorce and certainly not about remarriage after divorce!
Rather, they are conveying a SPIRITUAL lesson about the consequences of backslidden
Israel's NATIONAL sin of IDOLATRY. And, as we
shall see below, it is not appropriate at all to transfer that spiritual
lesson to the realm of human marriage, in order to take licence to find a new
marriage partner. The spiritual
lesson is about the magnitude of the sin and the consequences
of the sin. This is a NATIONAL sin with NATIONAL consequences. Israel's
"adultery" is no ordinary adultery. It needs a bigger word than
"adultery" to describe God's view of her spiritual condition. Israel is
likened to a woman who has deserted her husband to become a harlot. The woman
used to describe Israel's condition, knows no shame. She is insatiable. She
is a harlot who has given herself to many lovers, without payment. Rather
than seeking payment, she has actually paid some of the many lovers she has
taken. The SPIRITUAL
LESSON behind the graphic word pictures of harlotry, is that Israel is
DEFILED AND SEPARATED FROM GOD by idolatry, in exactly the same way that a
woman who wilfully plays the harlot, without repentance , is
defiled and separated from an angry husband. The prophets
have described a "worst possible case". The situation between God
and Israel is so bad that, in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, GOD HAS DIVORCED HIS
HARLOT WIFE! The NATION has been sent into exile for its persistent
unrepentant IDOLATRY. It is certainly
true that, even for Christians, unrepented harlotry of this magnitude would
lead to estrangement and separation. However, as we shall see below, even in
this worst possible case, the prophets are not uniform about whether God has
issued an actual bill of divorce. And it would be
HARDNESS OF HEART, in the extreme, to use this spiritual lesson to grant a
LICENCE FOR REMARRIAGE on the grounds of either idolatry or adultery. It is quite
obvious from the context of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, that God still regards
Himself as bound by His "marriage covenant" with Israel. God is not
using His "divorce" as an occasion to seek a new wife. Rather, He
is inviting the harlot to repent and return to Him. The door is open for that
and will never close, while life grants opportunity. In Isaiah, it
is not even certain that the bill of divorce exists. However it is not
important that we resolve the question of whether or not there has been a
formal "divorce". Either way the lesson is the same. The
"wife" who has been sent away for her iniquities is neither
forgotten nor forsaken. Zion will be restored to favour. Hosea goes even
further with the lesson of God's faithfulness. When faced with his own
decision about what to do with a wife who has become a harlot, Hosea DOES NOT
DIVORCE HER. Rather, at considerable personal cost, he actually buys her back
from the brothel where she has become a slave. This, Hosea
says, is how God also will deal with His faithless "wife". With one united
voice, the prophets are saying what the Apostle Paul also said, centuries
later: GOD WILL REMAIN
UNMARRIED OR ELSE BE RECONCILED! How is it
possible that men would dare to distort or misuse these beautiful lessons to
encourage or condone a lesser standard for human marriage? If there is any
lesson at all to be learned from the prophets about human divorce and
remarriage, it is that, even for the worst sort of hurt, even in the worst
possible case of ADULTERY, God expects US also to keep covenant with the same
unchangeable and sacrificial love which He extends to His "wife". That is the
nature of the covenant keeping which is one of the qualifications for life
with God on the holy mountain. (Psalm 15:4 ..... "he who
swears to his own hurt and does not change".) When we say our
marriage vows before God, we make a sacred promise, "for better, for
worse, until death do us part". Those words contain no exceptions and
leave no room for change. Let those whose
hearts have been hard about this, turn towards God, listen and learn! THE WORD STUDY
- IN GREEK “porneia” is
the Greek translation of the Hebrew words discussed above. It appears to be
used in all the same ways as its Hebrew equivalent, including "spiritual
fornication". 1. PROSTITUTION Like its Hebrew
equivalent, this is the fundamental meaning of the word. It describes the
sin of a woman who prostitutes herself by giving her body to a man who is not
her husband, in return for money. It also defines the sin of the man who buys
her favours. An example of
this use of the word is found in 1 Corinthians 6:13-20. 2. FORNICATION Greek, like
Hebrew, does not appear to have separate words to distinguish between
fornication and prostitution. This lack of distinction between the two does
fit well with the Hebrew view. An unmarried
girl who commits fornication is behaving like a harlot, and the man who
seduces her is using her as a harlot. “Porneia” is
used in this way, describing the sin of unmarried persons, in 1 Corinthians 7:2 & John
8:41 & 1 Thessalonians 4:3. 3. SPIRITUAL
FORNICATION In Revelation chapters 17 & 18 the Apostle
John uses the word in the same way as the Old testament prophets, to describe
an apostate church. However in
John's prophecy, the word is not quite so much about idolatry, (although that
is certainly ONE of the problems of apostate Catholicism). Instead, John
concentrates more on the apostate church's faithless political alliances with
the kings of the earth, which he says will earn the same certain judgement as
REAL harlotry. Another
difference in John's word picture, compared with the Old Testament, is that
he nowhere describes the harlot church of Revelation
chapters 17 & 18, as a DIVORCED WIFE. DOES “porneia”
INCLUDE ADULTERY? In Greek
"adultery" is the word "moicheia".
It has the same NORMAL distinction from “porneia” as our English word
"adultery" does from "fornication" or
"prostitution". It is
frequently claimed that in several places in the New Testament, “porneia” is
used in a way that includes "sexual sin in general", and
"adultery in particular". There are
certainly a number of verses where “porneia” occurs, where it plainly does
NOT include adultery. These references include: *
The words of Jesus Himself, in Matthew 15:19 and Mark 7:21, where BOTH
"fornication" and "adultery" are used in the same
sentence, showing exactly the difference between the two sins that we
normally understand. *
The words of Paul, in 1 Corinthians 6:9 & Hebrews 13:4, where the Apostle makes the same
distinction. These verses
are very positive in defining the NORMAL distinction between the two words.
This should, at the very least, make us ask whether “porneia” is ever used in
any other way which loses that distinction. One of the
verses regularly used to claim a wider general meaning for the word is Galatians 5:19-21, where Paul lists the works of
the flesh which will prevent inheritance of the Kingdom of God. At the top of
the list is “porneia”. It is often
claimed that the meaning of “porneia” in this passage extends to include all
the other sexual sins not specifically listed. It is then claimed that this
justifies the conclusion that “porneia” means "sexual sin in general”
and includes "adultery". However, it
worth noting that the King James version does list adultery and fornication
separately in this passage. (and the concordance tells me that in fact, both
words are included in the older version of the Greek text from which this
translation is made). This certainly
implies that the compilers of that older Greek text and the translators of
the KJV did NOT understand “porneia” to include adultery, at least in this
passage. The conclusion
that the meaning of “porneia” must include all the other sexual sins omitted
from the list, is really a rather short sighted and hard hearted ABUSE OF THE
GREEK (AND ENGLISH) LANGUAGE! That
list is clearly incomplete with respect to many other NON SEXUAL sins. It
is just as clear that none of these are included in the literal meaning of
the Greek words for ANY OF THE OTHER SINS NAMED. However, there
is one phrase in the verse which does include ALL of those other unlisted
sins. They appear under the general term, "AND SUCH LIKE"! That phrase
means ET CETERA! It is much more
reasonable and correct to include all the other sexual sins under that
"et cetera", than to bend the Greek in a desperate attempt to
annexe them under "fornication"! This is how we
must also view the meaning of “porneia” when it appears in other lists, such
as in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
& Colossians 3:5. These are NOT
lists which name every possible sin! They are incomplete
lists in which “porneia” is TYPICAL of a range of other sexual sins. The use of
“porneia” does not mean that those sins are included in the specific meaning
of the word itself. We are meant to understand that "ET CETERA" is
IMPLIED, just as certainly as it is actually written in Galatians 5:21. There remains
one other New Testament reference, where “porneia” is often treated with
similar carelessness to claim that it includes "adultery", or
perhaps "incest", in its meaning. That is the case in Corinth, of
the man who was living with his father's wife. (1
Corinthians 5:1) However on
closer inspection we find that there are several unanswered speculative
questions about this case. Firstly, Paul
says, this is a unique and rare kind of “porneia” seldom found even amongst
pagans. This certainly suggests caution about using this case to determine
the NORMAL meaning of the word. Secondly,
Paul's careful identification of the woman as "his father's wife"
implies that she is, almost certainly, not the man's own mother, but his
step-mother. In view of Paul's emphasis of the other repugnant aspects of
this case it hardly seems likely that he would not also clearly say
"mother", if this was true. Thirdly, we
should consider the possibility that perhaps the man's father was dead. All three of
these factors might affect Paul's usually careful choice of words. If the
man's father was dead, and if it was the man's stepmother, then
"adultery" would NOT be the appropriate word, (as it would seem to
be if the father was still alive). Rather, the use of "fornication"
(between unmarried persons), might be a much more accurate choice. However, there
is simply not enough information for us to speculate further on Paul's choice
of words. We merely raise sufficient doubt about the situation, to discount
its reliability in determining that the NORMAL meaning of “porneia” might
include "adultery" or "incest", ESPECIALLY AS A GROUND
FOR DIVORCE. ARE THERE ANY
BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF A REAL DIVORCE FOR HARLOTRY? 1.
IN
THE OLD TESTAMENT - FOR "TAZNUTH" or "ZANAH"
In the whole of
the Old Testament, while there are a number of references which acknowledge
the fact of divorce, there are only two clear cases of REAL divorce. These
are the cases described in Ezra chapter 10
and Nehemiah chapter 13.
These cases are also referred to by the prophet Malachi. There were
three problems with the marriages concerned: *
the wives were certainly guilty of
"spiritual porneia" .... idolatry. Malachi tells us
that they were "the daughters of a foreign god".
(Malachi 2:11). Perhaps these
husbands were also involved in idolatry. This would not be the first case of
husbands being drawn into this sin by foreign wives. e.g. Solomon. *
The marriages were illegal
according to the law of Moses. The wives were not Jews. God's name for such
unions between previously unmarried parties would be "fornication".
(or " taznuth " or “porneia”!) *
At least some of the marriages
were adulterous. Some of the men
involved had broken covenant with their first wives and divorced them, to
enter these marriages. (Malachi 2:14- 16).
God did not recognise these divorces any more than He did the second
marriages! These
"marriages" were not marriages at all. Since they were illegal and
involved either harlotry or adultery, they could never be said to have been
JOINED BY GOD. Malachi calls
the marriages an abomination which profaned the sanctuary of the Lord. (Malachi 2:11) On all counts,
they needed to be undone, in repentance. There is one
other Old Testament case where an INVALID DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE was undone! That is the
case of David and Michal. Saul had taken
David's wife and given her to Palti. When David came to the throne, one of
His first actions was to have her taken from her second husband and returned
to him. Thus did he rescue her from adultery. Her second marriage was invalid
because her divorce was also invalid in God's sight. 2. IN THE NEW
TESTAMENT - FOR “porneia” In the New
Testament, there is no example of a completed divorce at all. However, there
is one which NEARLY happened. It should be no surprise to discover that in
this case, the ground was (or would have been) “porneia”. Dare we suggest
that in the only Gospel to contain the "exceptive clause", the Holy
Spirit has also given us the only example of divorce which would allow us to
understand what the exception means? The example is,
of course, the case of Joseph and Mary. At the time
where Joseph mistakenly thought Mary to be guilty of “porneia” their marriage
had NOT BEEN JOINED BY GOD. They were betrothed, but not yet married.
According to Jewish custom a betrothal required the same bill of divorcement
to undo it, as did a marriage. This case is
the only clear New Testament EXAMPLE of what Jesus might have meant by
“porneia” as a valid ground for divorce, ..... and, if Joseph had not been
mistaken, then on two counts, it would have been a separation of a couple who
God HAD NOT JOINED! *
Firstly, the marriage had not yet
been finalised or consummated. *
Secondly, had it been true that
Mary had committed fornication, then in God's sight, she would already have
belonged to another man. Even if we
conclude that “porneia” does have a wider meaning, there is certainly no case
history at all, anywhere in Scripture, which would justify that wider meaning
as an all-inclusive ground for REMARRIAGE after a divorce. To go beyond the
boundaries of the examples quoted, to extend the meaning of “porneia” to
adultery, in the context of divorce, is to argue from silence. THE EFFECT OF
THE TEACHING OF JESUS ABOUT MARRIAGE, ON THE MEANING OF “porneia” To reach a
satisfactory conclusion about the meaning of “porneia” we must do more than
study English, Greek and Hebrew words. We must lay our foundation, not in the
subject of divorce, but in what Jesus said about marriage. Divorce is
about breaking marriage contracts. “porneia” is the one valid ground for
breaking a marriage contract. When we reach a
clear understanding of what Jesus taught about MARRIAGE, it will limit our
understanding of “porneia” in the specific context of His teaching about
divorce. Jesus was
direct and simple about this subject. If we will hear this clearly, it will
answer ALL our other questions! "What God has joined together, let not man
separate". (Matthew
19:6) This is exactly
what our marriage vows said, "..... for better, for worse, ..... until
death do us part". This is THE
FOUNDATION which conditions our ultimate understanding of the meaning of
“porneia”. Once a marriage
has been joined by God, the two are no longer two, but ONE, until separated
by death, (which is a separation remaining as much in God's hands as the
joining.) What is it then
that men may separate? Is there a marriage that God HAS NOT JOINED? The answer is
certainly yes. Just as certainly as there are manmade divorces which God does
not recognise, there are also marriages joined by men, which God has not
joined. This concept is
preserved in wording of the traditional Marriage Services still used by many
churches. "Be
assured that those who are joined other than God's word allows, are not
joined together by God. Neither is their matrimony lawful " Properly
understood, this will limit our definition of “porneia”. “Porneia” is
about the separation of what God has NOT JOINED. Since adultery
takes place AFTER GOD HAS JOINED A MARRIAGE, it is excluded as a cause for a
divorce which grants licence for a second marriage. Men MAY NOT
SEPARATE WHAT GOD HAS JOINED. God
has a far different and much more sacrificial answer for those who have taken
vows, "until death do us part". AWKWARD
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MEANING OF “porneia” For those who
do want to insist that “porneia” means "adultery", in the context of
divorce, there are some awkward questions to be answered. Why is it that
most people say that it has a broader meaning, and then take only one narrow
part of that meaning, namely "adultery", as THE GROUND for divorce? Why do we not
include all of the other ways in which the word is used, as valid grounds for
divorce and remarriage? For instance,
in the New Testament, “porneia” is also used to describe the same sort of
SPIRITUAL fornication for which the prophets say God divorced His
"wife". If we use the
word as the prophets do, and as the Apostle John does, why should we not
include idolatry, or mixing politics with Christianity, (committing
fornication with the Kings of the earth), as a ground for divorce? (We might
even use Malachi to support our cause!) If we do
include idolatry, what sort of idol do we mean? Is it to be
restricted to the religious idolatry of paganism or Catholicism? Or should we
also allow it to include covetousness? (Colossians 3:5) Further, if in
the context of divorce “porneia” does mean "adultery", what is our
definition of adultery? Shall we confine our definition to the deed itself? Or, since it is
Jesus who is using the word, must we not also include the secret lustful
fantasies of the mind, which he includes in HIS definition of adultery? How
many marriages would survive if we did open THAT door to the hard hearted? If we do reject
idolatry and covetousness and sexual fantasy, why should we not also reject
other meanings of the word? The answer to
all of those awkward questions is twofold. Firstly, the
NORMAL meaning of “porneia” does not include "adultery". The Greeks
had a separate word for that. Secondly there
is ONLY ONE of the several possible meanings of "porneia'
which would meet the PRIMARY REQUIREMENT OF NOT SEPARATING WHAT GOD HAS
JOINED. CONCLUSION The Hebrew
"taznuth" and the Greek “porneia”
do have several meanings. However, not
ALL of them apply in every place where the word appears! That is especially
true in the context of the teaching of Jesus about divorce. In that context
the meaning of “porneia”, must be limited by our understanding of what Jesus
says about MARRIAGE. From the several meanings offered as possibilities, we
must choose a meaning that addresses the following issues: *
What did Jesus mean when he said, "what God
has joined, let not man separate"? *
Are there any possible grounds to
break the sacred promise, MADE TO GOD, when we made our marriage vows,
"for better, for worse, ...... until death do us part"? *
Can there be a marriage which GOD
HAS NOT JOINED, which men may separate? *
If there is such a marriage, what
sexual sin allows it to be undone? Regardless of
what “porneia” MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT MEAN in other contexts, its meaning in this
narrow context of divorce, must refer to a case WHICH DOES NOT SEPARATE WHAT
GOD HAS JOINED. That brings us
back to the case of Joseph and Mary, as the sole New Testament example of
what Jesus meant, when He said, "except for porneia". In the NARROW CONTEXT
OF DIVORCE, sexual sin by an unmarried girl, is the ONLY meaning for “porneia”
which is acceptable. POSTSCRIPT Amongst those whose
hearts are not hard, that conclusion is meant to be treated with great
discretion. In our western
culture, the circumstances in which a divorce might be valid on the ground of
"fornication" are extremely rare. The
"exceptive clause" DOES NOT automatically open the door, either to
cancel a betrothal, or to insist on the "right" to divorce, in
EVERY case where fornication is discovered during the betrothal period, or in
the early days of a marriage. Nor does it
seem at all reasonable to suggest that it could ever justify divorce several
years and several children later! Especially in a
Christian setting, the possibility of past sinful relationships should be
canvassed during pre-marriage counselling, long BEFORE the marriage vows are
said. In a situation where there is something to confess, this is the time to
encourage any necessary honesty, forgiveness, and reconciliation. When the
past has been forgiven, "from the heart", (Matthew 18:35) it can never again become a
ground for divorce. In cases where
there has been dishonesty, and fornication has not been discovered until
after the marriage has been entered, the Christian goal is not separation,
but reconciliation |