Ephesians 5:28

28 Men ought to love their wives just as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself

Ephesians 5:28 Meaning and Commentary

Ephesians 5:28

So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies
It is a common saying with the Jews, that a man's wife is (wpwgk) , "as his own body" ^F18; and it is one of the precepts of their wise men, that a man should honour his wife more than his body, (wpwgk hbhaw) , and "love her as his body" ^F19; for as they also say, they are but one body ^F20; the apostle seems to speak in the language of his countrymen; however, his doctrine and theirs agree in this point: wherefore

he that loveth his wife loveth himself;
because she is one body and flesh with him.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F18 T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 24. 1. & Becorot, fol. 35. 2. Maimon. Hilchot Becorot, c. 2. sect. 17. Tzeror Hammor, fol. 18. 2.
F19 T. Bab. Yebamot, fol. 62. 2. & Sanhedrin, fol. 76. 2. Derech Eretz, fol. 17. 4. Maimon Hilchot Ishot, c. 15. sect. 19.
F20 Tzeror Hammor, fol. 6. 3.

Ephesians 5:28 In-Context

26 He did this to dedicate the church to God by his word, after making it clean by washing it in water,

27 in order to present the church to himself in all its beauty - pure and faultless, without spot or wrinkle or any other imperfection.

28 Men ought to love their wives just as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself

29 (None of us ever hate our own bodies. Instead, we feed them, and take care of them, just as Christ does the church;

30 for we are members of his body.)