Text: Malachi 2:16
OT Text Referred to: Deuteronomy 24:1
Subject: Divorce: God hates what Deuteronomy permitted
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: Malachi 2:16 declares "I hate divorce" (שָׂנֵא שַׁלַּח, sane shallach), creating a deliberate tension with Deuteronomy 24:1, which regulated divorce by allowing a husband to "send her away" (וְשִׁלְּחָהּ, veshillechah) with a certificate of divorce if he found "something indecent" in her. The Deuteronomic legislation did not command divorce but regulated an existing practice to protect the dismissed wife. Malachi's declaration reveals God's disposition toward the practice itself: while Deuteronomy tolerated divorce as a concession, Malachi exposes it as fundamentally contrary to God's character. The prophet connects divorce to covenant-breaking and violence -- "he who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence" -- elevating marital faithfulness to a covenant obligation.