Deuteronomy’s description of the circumstances of divorce is ambiguous. Thus, the Mishnah (m. Gittin 9:10) records three different opinions on when a man is allowed to divorce his wife. What can we infer from the biblical text?This essay gives a good historical overview of the subject. Two comments.
First, there is a printing glitch (at least when I accessed it) and the quotation of Jesus in Matthew 5:31-32 is left out. You can read it here.
Second, it may have "been the norm throughout the ancient Near East" for men to be able to divorce their wives, but not vice versa. But that norm was not without exception. Judean women at the garrison at Elephantine (Egypt) in the fifth century B.C.E. could and did divorce their husbands. See here and links.
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