http://wordie.org/people/chained_bear?wl=11997#comments Comments for the word list 'Christmas Words that Don't Sound Christmasy but Really Are' http://wordie.org http://wordie.org/people/chained_bear?wl=11997#comments The divorce passage is in Matthew 1:19. It might not sound familiar to some by exactly that term, as the KJV translates the line as saying Joseph "was minded to put her away privily", while the NAS says he "desired to put her away secretly", the NRS says he "planned to dismiss her", etc. The NIV reads that "he had in mind to divorce her quietly." The Greek text reads: ἐβουλήθη λάθρᾳ <b>ἀπολῦσαι</b> αὐτήν. "ἀπολῦσαι" there is the infinitive of ἀπολύω, which, in classical Greek, had several meanings, from formally acquitting a someone of a charge in a legal sense, to releasing a person for ransom or even the disbanding of an army, but in the NT, it is used to mean divorce specifically in a few places (Mark 10:2, 4 and 11, for instance), including, apparently, in this passage. Hope that helps. Sun, 10 Feb 2008 05:53:44 +0000 http://wordie.org/people/chained_bear?wl=11997#comments http://wordie.org/people/chained_bear?wl=11997#comments In the Bible. It was in the reading at midnight Mass. Joseph found out Mary was with child and sought to divorce her quietly. At least I think I'm remembering that right... Sun, 10 Feb 2008 05:06:51 +0000 http://wordie.org/people/chained_bear?wl=11997#comments http://wordie.org/people/chained_bear?wl=11997#comments <a href="/words/Divorce">Divorce</a>? Really? Where are you looking? Sat, 29 Dec 2007 15:56:11 +0000 http://wordie.org/people/chained_bear?wl=11997#comments