“For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.”
For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. — The marital analogy illustrates: a wife is bound (δέω, deō, "bound") to her husband during his life; his death dissolves the obligation and frees her for another union. Paul adapts Jewish halakha; the logic is straightforward—death terminates legal ties.
Church Fathers on Romans 7:2
“For the woman which has an husband is bound by the Law to her husband, so long as he lives: but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the Law of her husband. So then, if while her husband lives, she be married to another man, she is called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.” He keeps continually upon this point, and that with great exactness, since he feels quite sure…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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