Matthew 1:19 NASB
And Joseph her husband,
being a righteous man
and not wanting to disgrace her,
planned to send her away secretly.
Study
When Joseph noticed that Mary was pregnant, he must have thought that Mary had been unfaithful. That’s why he didn’t want to marry her.
But because he was a righteous and virtuous person (dikaios in a general sense) he also did not want to disgrace her by denouncing her publicly and officially (cf. Deuteronomy 22:23,24).
Although this infidelity was legally punishable by death, Joseph preferred to settle the divorce privately in silence.
He chose mercy over justice.
He was even prepared to take on the appearance of the guilt, because in the vicinity of Mary, one would of course have looked to Joseph for the fact that Mary gave birth to a child.
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