The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
All Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 7:39 Go To 1 Corinthians 7
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
The death referred to here is clearly the death of the body, not of the soul. Forgiveness and attempts at reconciliation of the offending person are offered as better solutions than divorce. .