With regards to Joseph accepting Mary as his bride and wife, he writes of divorce:
“[In
the context of a Mediterranean culture,] divorce is not just the separation of
two partners
but rather the separation of two families. In a society driven by the values of
honor and shame, the family of the bride will be shamed. The bride's male
relatives in particular will have to bear the shame as well as the
responsibility to remedy it. Feuding will result and undoubtedly escalate to
bloodshed. This must be avoided at all cost, hence the cultural rule is no
divorce.”
Thank you for this insight. I am aware of the honour shame culture and should have made this connection but, alas I didn't. That explains so much and reminds us that we always have to read Scripture with one eye on the culture. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteWe can't separate culture from faith. They are intimately tied together.
ReplyDelete