Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 19:7

"They say unto him, Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorcement, and to put [her] away?" — Matthew 19:7 (ASV)

They say to him — The question apparently comes from the advocates of the laxer school. They fell back from what would seem to them a vague, abstract principle to the letter of the Law. Was Moses, the great lawgiver, sanctioning what God had forbidden? Would the Prophet of Nazareth commit Himself to anything so bold?