Unmarried or Divorced

But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I. But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. (1 Corinthians 7:8-9)

In these two verses, the Apostle Paul is clearly cautioning an unmarried person against marriage, while just as clearly stating that marriage is advisable over excessive lust or temptation. What is less clear (in the English translation) is exactly who is included in the term unmarried.

As used in modern English, the word unmarried has a broad definition of any adult who is not currently married, whether never married, divorced, or widowed.  However, it has a more specific connotation of usually referring to someone who has never married.  This connotation is largely a matter of convenience, as we have other specific words for divorced or widowed.

In reading verse 8, it is clear that Paul does not intend a broad usage of unmarried, because he adds “and to widows,” making it clear that his use of the term unmarried does not include widows.  Most modern English readers tend to then assume the narrower English connotation of unmarried as meaning those who have never married.

However, context clues within the rest of the chapter clearly indicate this is not Paul’s intent.

The word translated here as unmarried is the Greek word agamos, a simple construct of the negative particle ‘a’ used as a prefix acting on the word gamos (married).  Thus the English translators (NASB and KJV) have chosen a very literal translation, unmarried.

There is, however, no reason to expect the adjective agamos to have either the same broad definition or the same specific connotation in NT Greek as unmarried has in modern English.  A narrower definition would logically refer to someone who has divorced.  To become married one must marry.  To become unmarried one must unmarry…divorce.

Agamos is used a total of only four times in the Bible and in each instance is translated as unmarried.  All four occurrences of the word agamos are found in the seventh chapter of 1 Corinthians.  Paul is the only biblical author to use this term, and he only used it in this one passage…four times.

Below are the four specific verses in which the word agamos (unmarried) is used (emphasis added):

But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I. (1 Corinthians 7:8)

(but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not send his wife away. (1 Corinthians 7:11)

But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; (1 Corinthians 7:32)

The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. (1 Corinthians 7:34)

In this chapter, Paul is specifically discussing people of different marital statuses. For various situations, he discusses under what circumstances it is advisable (or inadvisable) to change marital status as well as under what circumstances it would be sinful.

With that in mind, we should expect Paul to be very specific in his word selection for the various marital statuses. In fact, he does make consistent use of specific words. For widow, he uses the word chara.  For married, he uses the word gameo.  For wife, he uses the word gyne.  For husband, he uses the word aner.  For those who have never married, he uses the word parthenos (translated as virgins).  In all of these instances, he makes very consistent use of specific words with clear meaning.

In his four uses of the word agamos, at least one occurrence is clearly referring specifically to a woman who has divorced.  In verse 11, Paul is speaking of a woman who was married, has left her husband, and is now unmarried.  There is no other way to read this than that the word agamos is used in verse 11 to specifically mean divorced.

(but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not send his wife away. (1 Corinthians 7:11)

In verse 34, Paul’s use of agamos clearly does not include those who have never married, as he adds “and the virgin.”

The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. (1 Corinthians 7:34)

In verse 8, as pointed out earlier, Paul’s use of agamos clearly does not include widows, as he adds “and to widows.”

But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I. (1 Corinthians 7:8)

In each of these instances, the simplest and clearest reading would be to translate the word agamos as divorced.  In verse 11, agamos can only be read as speaking of someone who has divorced.  In verses 8 and 34, agamos is referring to someone who has previously been married, is not now married, and is not widowed.  By process of elimination, that only leaves someone who is divorced.

This proposed translation of agamos as divorced is further supported by the fact that, in this same passage, Paul makes clear consistent use of other terms when referring to widows and to those who have never married.

This begs the question, though, if Paul meant divorced, why didn’t he clearly say divorced, rather than unmarried?

Perhaps he did.

There is no NT Greek adjective translated as divorced.  The two NASB instances of the word divorced are a translation of the verb apolyo, which means to release, to set free, or to divorce.

Since Paul used specific terms to refer to those who were widowed (chara) and those who had never been married (parthenos), it would make sense to use the word agamos to refer specifically to those who had divorced.  In all likelihood, Paul was using agamos as a very specific reference to those who had divorced and was understood by the Corinthian Christians to mean exactly that.

At a minimum, Paul may have used agamos as a broad term intended to include those who were divorced (verse 11).  More likely, he used agamos as a narrow term specifically meaning divorced.  Either way it would be appropriate to read these verses with the word unmarried replaced by the word divorced.  With this substitution, verses 9 and 10 read as follows:

But I say to the divorced and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I. But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

Not only does this reading make a lot more contextual sense, but it also completely agrees with what Paul says in verses 27-28, where he specifically states that a man who has divorced (released from a wife) does not sin by marrying.

…Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you marry, you have not sinned…

As I study this passage, I become increasingly convinced Paul intended the word agamos to be understood as divorced…and he intended to clearly state that it is not sinful for someone who has divorced to remarry.

What do you think?

 

[Linked to Messy Marriage, Wild Flowers, Wellspring, Redeemed Life ]