Friday Greenhouse: The Exits of Mercy
One of the most misunderstood parts of the biblical narrative on divorce is the “Certificate of Divorce.” In many modern religious circles, we look at the legalities of the Old Testament as cold, rigid, or even patriarchal. But when we look at the Certificate of Divorce through the eyes of a woman in the ancient world, we see something entirely different: It was a legal shield of mercy.
The Law of the “Sandwich”
In the ancient world, as we discussed on Tuesday, women were economically and socially dependent on men. A man could “put a woman away” (the Hebrew term shalach) simply by kicking her out of the house. Without a legal document proving her status, she was in a terrifying limbo.
She wasn’t “married,” so she had no support.
But she wasn’t “single,” so she couldn’t remarry or find a new protector without being accused of adultery—a crime often punishable by death.
She was effectively trapped in the “sandwich” of being abandoned but not free.
