Jesus answered,
Λέγει (Legei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's Greek 3004: (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.

“[It was] because of
πρὸς (pros)
Preposition
Strong's Greek 4314: To, towards, with. A strengthened form of pro; a preposition of direction; forward to, i.e. Toward.

your
ὑμῶν (hymōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Strong's Greek 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

hardness of heart
σκληροκαρδίαν (sklērokardian)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's Greek 4641: Feminine of a compound of skleros and kardia; hard-heartedness, i.e., destitution of perception.

[that] Moses
Μωϋσῆς (Mōusēs)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's Greek 3475: Or Moses, or Mouses of Hebrew origin; Moseus, Moses, or Mouses, the Hebrew lawgiver.

permitted
ἐπέτρεψεν (epetrepsen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's Greek 2010: To turn to, commit, entrust; I allow, yield, permit. From epi and the base of trope; to turn over, i.e. Allow.

you
ὑμῖν (hymin)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's Greek 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

to divorce
ἀπολῦσαι (apolysai)
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active
Strong's Greek 630: From apo and luo; to free fully, i.e. relieve, release, dismiss, or let die, pardon or divorce.

your
ὑμῶν (hymōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Strong's Greek 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

wives;
γυναῖκας (gynaikas)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's Greek 1135: A woman, wife, my lady. Probably from the base of ginomai; a woman; specially, a wife.

but
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's Greek 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

[it] was
γέγονεν (gegonen)
Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's Greek 1096: A prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be, i.e. to become, used with great latitude.

not
οὐ (ou)
Adverb
Strong's Greek 3756: No, not. Also ouk, and ouch a primary word; the absolute negative adverb; no or not.

this way
οὕτως (houtōs)
Adverb
Strong's Greek 3779: Thus, so, in this manner. Or (referring to what precedes or follows).

from
ἀπ’ (ap’)
Preposition
Strong's Greek 575: From, away from. A primary particle; 'off, ' i.e. Away, in various senses.

[the] beginning.
ἀρχῆς (archēs)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's Greek 746: From archomai; a commencement, or chief.
(8) Moses because of the hardness of your hearts.--The force of the answer lies (1) in emphasized substitution of "suffered" for "commanded." The scribes of the school of Hillel had almost turned divorce into a duty, even when there was no ground for it but incompatibility of temper or other lesser fault, as if Deuteronomy 24:1 had enjoined the writing of divorcement in such cases. (2) In the grounds assigned for the permission. Our Lord's position in the controversy between the two schools was analogous to that in which those who are true at once to principles and facts not seldom find themselves. He agreed, as we have seen, with the ideal of marriage maintained by the followers of Shammai. He accepted as a legitimate interpretation of the Law that of the followers of Hillel. But He proclaimed, with an authority greater than that of Moses, that his legislation on this point was a step backwards when compared with the primary law of nature, which had been "from the beginning," and only so far a step forward because the people had fallen into a yet lower state, in which the observance of the higher law was practically impossible. But for the possibility of divorce the wife would have been the victim of the husband's tyranny; and law, which has to deal with facts, was compelled to choose the least of two evils. Two important consequences, it will be obvious, flow from the reasoning thus enforced: (1) that the "hardness of heart" which made this concession necessary may be admitted as at least a partial explanation of whatever else in the Law of Moses strikes us as deviating from the standard of eternal righteousness embodied in the law of Christ--as, e.g., the tolerance of polygamy and slavery, and the severity of punishment for seeming trivial faults; (2) that the principle is one of wider application than the particular instance, and that where a nation calling itself Christian has sunk so low as to exhibit the "hardness of heart" of Jews or heathens, there also a concessive legislation may be forced upon the State even while the churches assert their witness of the higher truth.

Verse 8. - Moses because of (πρὸς, with a view to, to meet) the hardness of your hearts; your obstinacy, perverseness. You were not honest and pure enough to obey the primitive law. There was danger that you would ill treat your wives in order to get rid of them, or even murder them. The lesser evil was regular divorce. But the enactment is really a shame and reproach to you, and was occasioned by grave defects in your character and conduct. And it is not true to say that Moses commanded; he only suffered you to put away your wives. This was a temporary permission to meet your then circumstances. Divorce had been practised commonly and long; it was traditional; it was seen among all other Oriental peoples. Moses could not hope at once to eradicate the inveterate evil; he could only modify, mitigate, and regulate its practice. The rules which he introduced were intended, not to facilitate divorce, but to lead men better to realize the proper idea of marriage. And Christ was introducing a better law, a higher morality, for which Mosaic legislation paved the way (comp. Romans 5:20; Romans 8:3; Hebrews 9:10). From the beginning. The original institution of marriage contained no idea of divorce; it was no mere civil contract, made by man and dissoluble by man, but a union of God's own formation, with which no human power could interfere. However novel this view might seem, it was God's own design from the first. The first instance of polygamy occurs in Genesis 4:19, and is connected with murder and revenge. 19:3-12 The Pharisees were desirous of drawing something from Jesus which they might represent as contrary to the law of Moses. Cases about marriage have been numerous, and sometimes perplexed; made so, not by the law of God, but by the lusts and follies of men; and often people fix what they will do, before they ask for advice. Jesus replied by asking whether they had not read the account of the creation, and the first example of marriage; thus pointing out that every departure therefrom was wrong. That condition is best for us, and to be chosen and kept to accordingly, which is best for our souls, and tends most to prepare us for, and preserve us to, the kingdom of heaven. When the gospel is really embraced, it makes men kind relatives and faithful friends; it teaches them to bear the burdens, and to bear with the infirmities of those with whom they are connected, to consider their peace and happiness more than their own. As to ungodly persons, it is proper that they should be restrained by laws, from breaking the peace of society. And we learn that the married state should be entered upon with great seriousness and earnest prayer.Allowed Beginning Consideration Divorce First Hard Hardness Heart Hearts Jesus Moses Nature Permitted Stiffness Suffer Suffered View Way WivesAllowed Beginning Consideration Divorce First Hard Hardness Heart Hearts Jesus Moses Nature Permitted Stiffness Suffer Suffered View Way WivesMatthew 19:8 NIV
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Alphabetical: because been beginning But divorce from hard hardness has He heart hearts it Jesus Moses not of permitted replied said the them this to was way were wives you your

NT Gospels: Matthew 19:8 He said to them Moses because (Matt. Mat Mt) Christian Bible Study Resources, Dictionary, Concordance and Search Tools