If you’ve read the New Testament and are now reading through the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 22:30 should sound familiar.
In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul talks about a specific situation going on in the city of Corinth where a man “has his father’s wife.” The sin is so unique that Paul says it’s not even common among the Gentiles, which is ironic, considering the very next section in Deuteronomy (23:1-9) talks about pagans coming into the assembly of the Lord.
Whatever age you first read 1 Corinthians 5, though, you probably had the same thought I did: “Does this mean that a guy is having relations with his own mom?’
Fortunately, I can all but guarantee you that this is most certainly not the case. Incest would be a totally beast entirely, and one that would most likely evoke a sharper response from Paul.
Instead, what’s happening there—and what Moses addresses here—is someone who marries their dad’s ex-wife, whether that’s the result of the death of the father or the father simply divorced them. Regardless, that woman, because she once was married to your father, is permanently off limits.
Which begs this question—was this a common thing?
Remarkably, it probably was. If you think about the younger age that many women were most likely married at in that world, it would stand to reason that if their husband either died or divorced them, they could still be a relatively young person.
And if that father had multiple wives or concubines, you could be looking at a situation where a son from an earlier wife decides to marry a younger wife of his father. They could even possibly be the same age.
So why would anyone do this? Let’s put aside any kind of romantic notions for the time being and focus purely on the practical. If a man had designs on his father’s inheritance or position of power, marrying your father’s wife would legally allow you more of a claim over those items.
And you don’t have to look very far for an example of this. Absalom did this himself in 2 Samuel 16 during his coup of David’s kingdom, taking all of David’s wives up to the roof of the palace and sleeping with them in broad daylight.
While lust may have been involved, the real purpose of this act was more devious: He was staking his claim over David’s kingdom.
Is that what’s at stake in 1 Corinthians 5? Probably not, but it at least gives a glimpse into possible motives for a scenario like this. Whether you have feelings or not, this relationship is off limits, with no exceptions.