Abstract
This article examined Mal 2:16 in relation to the prohibition of divorce today in some churches in Nigeria. The text is perhaps the most commonly quoted passage by preachers to support prohibition of divorce, possibly because many of the English versions make it a direct condemnation from God and preachers rarely consider other English versions that read differently. It was found out that the passage relates to certain Jewish men who divorced their native wives and married women of foreign faiths. It was also discovered that in view of Deut 24:1-4, among other OT texts, Mal 2:16 could not have prohibited divorce. Rather, what it condemns is the purpose of the divorce, namely to marry women of foreign faiths. Hence, Mal 2:16 is relevant in contemporary Nigeria, not as a prohibition of divorce, but in the context of marriage abandonment. https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2019/v32n3a5
Highlights
This article examined Mal 2:16 in relation to the prohibition of divorce today in some churches in Nigeria
Mal 2:16 is relevant in contemporary Nigeria, not as a prohibition of divorce, but in the context of marriage abandonment
The subject of divorce is an existential problem everywhere but this article studies it in the Nigerian context as it relates to Christians
Summary
The subject of divorce is an existential problem everywhere but this article studies it in the Nigerian context as it relates to Christians. “For I Hate Divorce,” OTE 32/3 (2019): 846-868 847 examines the intent of Mal 2:16 in relation to the prohibition of divorce by these churches and some Nigerian preachers. The article first examines the use of Mal 2:16 in the prohibition of divorce by some Nigerian churches and preachers; it does a brief introduction to the book of Malachi. It discusses the figurative and literal interpretations of Mal 2:10-16, and subsequently Mal 2:16 as it relates to divorce. The article brings out the relevance of Mal 2:16 in the Nigerian context
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