כְּרִיתוּת

From the study of Isaiah 50:1

Range of meaning

Kerîtût comes from kārat, "to cut (off)". It occurs only four times in the Hebrew Bible, always in the phrase sēfer kerîtût, "document of cutting-off" (Deut 24:1, 3; Isa 50:1; Jer 3:8). It is a technical legal term for the written document a husband gave his wife to end the marriage.

Against the English

"Certificate of divorce" (BSB, NIV, ESV, NASB) and "bill of divorcement" (KJV) are accurate. What English loses is how the document worked. It was not a court decree. The husband wrote it, put it into the woman's hand, and sent her out (Deut 24:1). For her it was proof that she was free to remarry. Under Deut 24:4 it also made the break final once she married someone else.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 24:1–4 sets out the procedure and bans a first husband from taking his wife back after she has married another man. Jer 3:1 quotes that ban, and Jer 3:8 says YHWH gave "faithless Israel" (the northern kingdom) such a document. Divorce documents from the ancient Near East include Jewish marriage papyri from Elephantine in Egypt (5th century BC), which set out divorce terms. There are also later Aramaic divorce documents from the Judean Desert (e.g. Murabbaʿat 19, 1st–2nd century AD). The Greek Septuagint calls it biblion apostasiou, the phrase that appears in Matt 19:7 and Mark 10:4.

From the study of Jeremiah 3:8

Range of meaning

Sefer keritut means a "document of cutting-off": a divorce deed. Shillach (the intensive form of shalach, "send") means to send a wife away, that is, to divorce her. Both are technical terms from the divorce law in Deut 24:1–4. Elsewhere only in Isa 50:1.

Against the English

"Bill of divorce" (KJV), "certificate of divorce" (BSB, WEB), "writ of divorce" (NASB), "decree of divorce" (ESV). All are accurate. Only the Hebrew keeps the "cutting" picture.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 24:1–4 is the law Jeremiah quotes in 3:1. Isa 50:1 asks, "Where is your mother's certificate of divorce?", which suggests Judah never received one. Aramaic marriage contracts from the Jewish colony at Elephantine in Egypt (5th century BC) include divorce clauses. The Septuagint's biblion apostasiou is the same phrase Greek-speaking Jews later used (Matt 19:7; Mark 10:4).