Extra-biblical corroboration: Mark 10 — why Jesus taught about divorce in that context

Mark 10:2-12 — Pharisees ask Jesus about divorce, and Jesus addresses a woman initiating divorce. Critics object that Jewish law didn't allow women to initiate divorce; Mark either betrays ignorance or is adapting for a Roman audience. But Josephus records that Herodias divorced her first husband to marry Herod Antipas — and Herod Antipas was Tetrarch of Galilee, precisely where Jesus is teaching. The marriage/divorce controversy involving Herodias and Antipas is the context John the Baptist died for addressing. Mark's text fits perfectly into the specific historical and geographic context of Galilee under Herod Antipas, even though the Gospel never explains the connection.