Mark 10:2

2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"

Mark 10:2 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 10:2

And the: Pharisees came unto him
As they every where did; not to be instructed by him, but to ensnare him;

and asked him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife?
that is, as Matthew adds, "for every cause", (See Gill on Matthew 19:3): for, a divorce might be lawfully made for a cause, or reason, namely, adultery, but not for any, or every cause; which is the sense of this question of the Pharisees; and, which they put, not for information, but

tempting him;
trying to entangle him by opposing the authority of Moses, should he deny the lawfulness of divorces, or by objecting his former doctrine, ( Matthew 5:32 ) , and so expose him as an inconsistent preacher, should he allow them to be lawful for every reason. This clause is placed in the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions before the question.

Mark 10:2 In-Context

1 And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again; and again, as his custom was, he taught them.

2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"

3 He answered them, "What did Moses command you?"

4 They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away."

5 But Jesus said to them, "For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.