Romans 7:3 (KJV)

What does Romans 7:3 mean?

Romans 7:3 says that if a married woman joins herself to another man while her husband is still alive, she is considered an adulteress, but if her husband has died, she is no longer bound by that law and is free to marry another man without being called an adulteress. This verse uses marriage laws to illustrate when a person is or is not under a specific legal obligation.

Paul is writing to believers in Rome, using the example of marriage to explain how law works in everyday life. The point is to show that death changes a person’s relationship to the law, just as a widow is no longer bound to her husband by marriage law after his death. Paul is setting up an analogy to help his readers understand a deeper spiritual point about being released from the law.

The Greek behind Romans 7:3

• ἀδελφὴ (gynē, "woman" or "wife") and ἀνήρ (anēr, "man" or "husband") are both used here, showing that the law applies specifically to the marriage relationship, not just any relationship between a man and a woman.
• μοιχαλίς (moichalis, "adulteress") is the word for a woman who breaks the marriage bond by joining herself to another man while her husband is alive; this term is strong and socially loaded, emphasizing the seriousness of the offense in that culture.
• ἐλευθέρα (eleuthera, "free") means released or not bound, highlighting that the woman’s obligation to the law ends with her husband’s death, not by her own choice or action.

Why Romans 7:3 matters

• Romans 7:3 clarifies that the law’s authority is not permanent; it has limits, and those limits are set by life and death.
• This verse helps explain Paul’s larger argument that believers are released from the law through death (in the spiritual sense, through Christ), just as a widow is released from marriage law.
• Understanding this verse prevents confusion about whether Paul is teaching about marriage itself; he is using marriage as an example to make a point about law and freedom.