Vows Made by Men
30 [a] Moses told the leaders[b] of the tribes concerning the Israelites, “This is what[c] the Lord has commanded: 2 If a man[d] makes a vow[e] to the Lord or takes an oath[f] of binding obligation on himself,[g] he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised.[h]
Vows Made by Single Women
3 “If a young[i] woman who is still living[j] in her father’s house makes a vow to the Lord or places herself under an obligation, 4 and her father hears of her vow or the obligation to which she has pledged herself, and her father remains silent about her,[k] then all her vows will stand,[l] and every obligation to which she has pledged herself will stand. 5 But if her father overrules her when he hears[m] about it, then none[n] of her vows or her obligations that she has pledged for herself will stand. And the Lord will release[o] her from it, because her father overruled her.
Vows Made by Married Women
6 “And if she marries a husband while under a vow,[p] or she uttered anything impulsively[q] by which she has pledged herself, 7 and her husband hears about it but remains silent about her when he hears about it, then her vows will stand and her obligations that she has pledged for herself will stand. 8 But if when her husband hears it he overrules her, then he will nullify[r] the vow she has taken,[s] and whatever she uttered impulsively that she has pledged for herself. And the Lord will release her from it.
Vows Made by Widows
9 “But every vow of a widow or of a divorced woman which she has pledged for herself will remain intact.[t] 10 If she made the vow in her husband’s house or put herself under obligation with an oath, 11 and her husband heard about it, but remained silent about her, and did not overrule her, then all her vows will stand, and every obligation which she pledged for herself will stand. 12 But if her husband clearly nullifies[u] them when he hears them, then whatever she says[v] by way of vows or obligations will not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the Lord will release her from them.
13 “Any vow or sworn obligation that would bring affliction to her,[w] her husband can confirm or nullify.[x] 14 But if her husband remains completely silent[y] about her from day to day, he thus confirms all her vows or all her obligations which she is under; he confirms them because he remained silent about her when he heard them. 15 But if he should nullify them after he has heard them, then he will bear her iniquity.”[z]
16 These are the statutes that the Lord commanded Moses, relating to[aa] a man and his wife, and a father and his young daughter who is still living in her father’s house.
Footnotes
- Numbers 30:1 sn Num 30 deals with vows that are different than the vows discussed in Lev 27 and Num 6. The material is placed here after all the rulings of the offerings, but it could have been revealed to Moses at any time, such as the Nazirite vows, or the question of the daughters’ inheritance. The logic of placing it here may be that a festival was the ideal place for discharging a vow. For additional material on vows, see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 465-66.
- Numbers 30:1 tn Heb “heads.”
- Numbers 30:1 tn Heb “This is the word which.”
- Numbers 30:2 tn The legal construction states the class to which the law applies, and then lays down the condition: “men [man]—if….”
- Numbers 30:2 tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative construction to express this: “a man if he vows a vow.”
- Numbers 30:2 tn The expression is “swear an oath” (הִשָּׁבַע שְׁבֻעָה, hishavaʿ shevuʿah). The vow (נֵדֶר, neder) was a promise to donate something of oneself or one’s substance to the Lord. The solemn oath seals the vow before the Lord, perhaps with sacrifice. The vocabulary recalls Abraham’s treaty with Abimelech and the naming of Beer Sheba with the word (see Gen 21).
- Numbers 30:2 tn The Hebrew text hasלֶאְסֹר אִסָּר (leʾsor ʾissar), meaning “to take a binding obligation.” This is usually interpreted to mean a negative vow, i.e., the person attempts to abstain from something that is otherwise permissible. It might involve fasting, or abstaining from marital sex, but it might also involve some goal to be achieved, and the abstaining from distractions until the vow is fulfilled (see Ps 132). The נֶדֶר (neder) may have been more for religious matters, and the אִסָּר more for social concerns, but this cannot be documented with certainty.
- Numbers 30:2 tn Heb “according to all that goes out of his mouth.”
- Numbers 30:3 tn The qualification comes at the end of the verse, and simply says “in her youth.”
- Numbers 30:3 tn The Hebrew text just has “in her father’s house” and not “who is still living,” but that is the meaning of the line.
- Numbers 30:4 tn The intent of this expression is that he does not object to the vow.
- Numbers 30:4 tn The verb קוּם (qum) is best translated “stand” here, but the idea with it is that what she vows is established as a genuine oath with the father’s approval (or acquiescence).
- Numbers 30:5 tn The idiom is “in the day of,” but it is used in place of a preposition before the infinitive construct with its suffixed subjective genitive. The clause is temporal.
- Numbers 30:5 tn The Hebrew “all will not stand” is best rendered “none will stand.”
- Numbers 30:5 tn The verb has often been translated “forgive” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV, NLT), but that would suggest a sin that needed forgiving. The idea of “release from obligation” is better; the idea is like that of having a debt “forgiven” or “retired.” In other words, she is free from the vow she had made. The Lord will not hold the woman responsible to do what she vowed.
- Numbers 30:6 tn Heb “and her vows are upon her.” It may be that the woman gets married while her vows are still unfulfilled.
- Numbers 30:6 tn The Hebrew text indicates that this would be some impetuous vow that she uttered with her lips, a vow that her husband, whether new or existing, would not approve of. Several translate it “a binding obligation rashly uttered.”
- Numbers 30:8 tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive from the verb פָּרַר (parar, “to annul”). The verb functions here as the equivalent of an imperfect tense; here it is the apodosis following the conditional clause—if this is the case, then this is what will happen.
- Numbers 30:8 tn Heb “which [she is] under it.”
- Numbers 30:9 tn The Hebrew text says her vow “shall stand against her.” In other words, she must fulfill, or bear the consequences of, whatever she vowed.
- Numbers 30:12 tn The verb is the imperfect tense in the conditional clause. It is intensified with the infinitive absolute, which would have the force of saying that he nullified them unequivocally, or he made them null and void.
- Numbers 30:12 tn Heb whatever proceeds from her lips.”
- Numbers 30:13 tn The sentence uses the infinitive construct לְעַנֹּת (leʿannot, “to afflict”), which is the same word used in the instructions for the day of atonement in which people are to afflict themselves (their souls). The case here may be that the woman would take a religious vow on such an occasion to humble herself, to mortify her flesh, to abstain from certain things, perhaps even sexual relations within marriage.
- Numbers 30:13 tn Heb “or her husband can nullify.”
- Numbers 30:14 tn The sentence uses the infinitive absolute to strengthen the idea.
- Numbers 30:15 sn In other words, he will pay the penalty for making her break her vows if he makes her stop what she vowed. It will not be her responsibility.
- Numbers 30:16 tn Heb “between.”