Mal 2:11 | TNotes | STEP | 2:11 Judah has been unfaithful (or treacherous ), and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem: Men were divorcing their wives for the economic advantage of intermarriage with non-Israelite women who worshiped idols . Through these marriages, Jewish men gained access to the merchant guilds and trading cartels already in place when the Israelites returned from Babylonia. Malachi equates this adultery with idolatry. Israelite history had shown that intermarriage with foreign women went hand in hand with worship of foreign gods. Loyalty was to be the hallmark of Israel’s covenant relationships, whether with God or with a marriage partner. Divorce treats with contempt the oneness of the marriage covenant (2:15 ; see Gen 2:24 ).

cGen 2:24►

‏ Malachi 2:11

2:11 ^a Judah has been unfaithful (or treacherous), and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem: Men were divorcing their wives for the economic advantage of intermarriage with non-Israelite women who worshiped idols. Through these marriages, Jewish men gained access to the merchant guilds and trading cartels already in place when the Israelites returned from Babylonia. Malachi equates this adultery with idolatry. Israelite history had shown that intermarriage with foreign women went hand in hand with worship of foreign gods. Loyalty was to be the hallmark of Israel’s covenant relationships, whether with God or with a marriage partner. Divorce treats with contempt the oneness of the marriage covenant (2:15 ^b; see Gen 2:24 ^c).