Many exegetes state here that Jesus himself cannot have said this because the Jewish wife was not allowed to give a certificate of divorce.1 The situation is different, however: the Jewish wife was allowed to give a certificate of divorce but this became valid only when her husband also signed it. Should he refuse to cooperate, the law court could in certain cases force him to sign.2,3
12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”