John the Baptist's Rebuke of Herod and Its Implications for the Divorce and Remarriage Debate

One of the passages pertinent to the marriage and divorce debate is that describing Herod's marriage to Herodias.

In Luke 3:19, he states, "But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil deeds that he had done . . ."

The variation in Mark 6:17-18 states more fully:

For Herod himself had sent men, arrested John, and bound him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had repeatedly told Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

Again, in Matthew 14:3-4:

For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 because John had repeatedly told him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

Two observations become important here: (1) Herod is married to Herodias, and (2) Every Gospel writer and John the Baptist himself calls her "his brother's wife" or "his brother Philip's wife."

This becomes important because she is still considered by John and the Gospel writers to be Philip's wife even though she is married to Herod now.

The reason why this is significant is that if adultery breaks the marriage union, then she should no longer be Philip's wife. Likewise, if abandonment breaks the marital union, she should no longer be Philip's wife. 

Herodias has divorced Philip (abandonment) and has sexually joined herself to another in marriage, consummating a marriage with Herod (adultery). Yet, neither one of these has caused the Gospel writers or John to think that she is no longer in a marital union with Philip. 

The only reason I can think of for this is that neither adultery nor abandonment break the union, and therefore, she is still in a marital union with Philip. 

But wait. There's more.

Because by calling her Philip's wife, and arguing that it is unlawful for him to have her, we know that they are referring to the incest laws. But these laws only function on the idea that someone like Herodias is only one with Philip in the marriage union so that if while she is one with Philip she is joined with his brother, she and Herod are committing incest. Hence, it is unlawful. There is no law against divorce and remarriage in the law before Jesus, so it is not referring to that. This means she must still be bound to Philip, as Philip's wife (as they all call her) in order to be commiting incest which is unlawful. 

Hence, neither adultery nor abandonment (which is what divorce is) breaks the marital union, and the one who is joined to another is committing adultery (and in this case, incest) with whomever else he or she is married.