Numbers 30

I. LAW ON WOMEN'S VOWS (Numbers 30)

TEXT

Numbers 30:1. And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded. 2. If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. 3. If a woman also vow a vow unto the Lord, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth; 4. And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her; then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. 5. But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth, not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, she shall stand; and the Lord shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. 6. And if she had at all a husband, when she vowed, or uttered aught out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul; 7. And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it; then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. 8. But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it, then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect; and the Lord shall forgive her. 9. But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her. 10. And if she vowed in her husband's house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath; 11. And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. 12. But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the Lord shall forgive her. 13. Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. 14. But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her; he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them. 15. But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity. 16. These are the statutes, which the Lord commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father's house.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 30:1. Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, This is the word which the Lord has commanded: 2. If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath, binding his soul with an obligation, he shall not break his word; he shall act according to everything that proceeds from his mouth. 3. If a woman also makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by a promise while she is young in her father's house, 4. and if her father hears her vow and the pledge by which she has bound herself, and her father says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every obligation by which she has obligated herself shall stand: 5. But if her father should dissuade her on the day he hears her vow, none of her vows nor her obligations to which she has pledged herself shall stand, and the Lord will forgive her because her father has not allowed her to make the vows. 6. However, if she should marry while under her vows, or if she has spoken impetuously, and so bound herself, 7. and if her husband hears of it but says nothing to her on the day he hears it, then her vows are binding, and the obligations to which she has bound herself shall stand. 8. But if on the day her husband hears of it he forbids her, then he shall nullify the vow she is under and the impetuous words of her lips, by which she has bound herself; and the Lord will forgive her. 9. But the vow of a widow, or of a divorceeeverything by which she has bound herselfshall stand against her. 10. However, if she vowed in her husband's house, or bound herself by a bond with an oath, 11. and her husband heard it and did not speak out or annulled her vow, then all her vows shall stand, and every obligation which she bound upon herself shall stand. 12. But if her husband annulled them on the day he heard them, then anything which has proceeded from her lips concerning her vows or concerning an obligation upon herself shall not stand: her husband has annulled them, and the Lord will forgive her. 13. Every vow and every binding oath which would humble her, her husband may confirm, or her husband may annul. 14. But if her husband indeed does not say anything from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her obligations, because he has held his peace on the day he heard them: 15. but if he annuls them after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt. 16. These are the laws which the Lord commanded Moses between a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter while she is still young in her father's house.

COMMENTARY

In summary, the laws in Numbers 30 treat with vows made by womenthe only portion in Scripture which does so exclusivelyunder varying circumstances of life. As with any man, the widowed or divorced woman is unconditionally bound by any vow her heart leads her to make (Numbers 30:10). If she is unmarried, and lives in her father's house, her vow is subject to his approval, (Numbers 30:4-6). The concurrence of her husband is required of any married woman (Numbers 30:7-9; Numbers 30:11-15).

Two types of vows are treated, the nedher and the issar. The latter is a vow of abstinence (Numbers 30:13); the former is a generic term covering a wide spectrum of vows. The nedher ordinarily pledges something given to God; the issar is typified by the Nazirite vow and its specific terms of abstinence. Men were bound unconditionally by any vow openly expressed, even as intentions. The seriousness of giving voice to a promise could not be overestimated. On the other hand, should an unmarried young lady or a wife so express herself, the consent or approval of the father or husband involved was necessary before her pledge became binding. If he refused, the words were invalid. The young lady in this instance is assumed to be without personal property and dependent upon her father, although the law does not say precisely this.

The regulation applying to the married woman bound the betrothed lady as well, since there was virtually no difference in the legal status of the two under Jewish law. Both she and all that she had belonged to the husband, and he had full rights to allow or disallow any vow she might wish to make. Should she make a vow before her betrothal which her father had not disallowed, her betrothed husband still had the power to renounce her vow rather than suffer any loss through the pledge.
In the instance of divorced or widowed women, any vow had full force, since no man was involved. No explanatory or qualifying terms are mentioned because there were none: and the point is not discussed at all.

The final situation involved the vow of a woman whose husband, upon learning of the vow, permits it to obtain, even if by his silence. Should he later change his mind, the guilt and punishment which should come upon her, if the vow is broken, become his instead. Under this circumstance, he was required to offer a sin-offering or accept the punishment for the sin (see Leviticus 5:4, ff., and Leviticus 5:1). As given, all the provisions are simple and unambiguous.

We should notice that nothing whatever is said about the vows-' contents themselves. A vow was not to be broken if it were foolish, or impractical, or even wrong; it simply was not to be made in the first place if such an eventuality were possible. The point at issue was elementary: nobody was to take a promise lightly, nor was any man to give his word to any solemn pledge without carefully considering the consequences as far as they could be foreseen. PC lists these conditions which any proper vow should meet: it must not contradict any commandment of God, nor infringe any right of other men. It must lie within the proper province of a man's own free will; it must concern such things as he can really control. This was what gave the vow its virtue and significance, (p. 396). The same source, when considering the essential evil of a broken vow, concludes properly that truth must exist for the sake of truth alone. It is sacred in God's eyes. The evil, the author concludes, has been in forcing the oath on all men irrespective of their disposition. No forced oath will make the liar really truthful; and no forced oath can make the truthful man anything more than truthful. Administering oaths to a man of veracity is like holding a candle to make the sun shine. As has been truly said, the compelled oath makes the ignorant and superstitious to think that there are two kinds of truth, and that it is harmless to say, free from an oath, what it would be very wicked to say under it, (p. 396).

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

547.

Distinguish between the terms nedher and issar, showing what is or is not included in each.

548.

What differences does the Scripture make between the circumstances under which a man or a woman might make binding vows.

549.

Give the circumstances under which a woman's vow was not binding.

550.

How does the law of vows relate to a betrothed woman?

551.

At what time might it be assumed that an unmarried woman might make a vow without the consent of her father?

552.

When was a married woman's vow valid, even if her husband did not speak his word of approval?

553.

What two kinds of women might make binding vows without consulting any men?

554.

Discuss fully the principle which underlies the law of vows. How does it establish a firm foundation for truth?

555.

What four conditions should every vow meet to be proper?

556.

What would cause a forced vow to lose its validity?

557.

Discuss why it would be superfluous to ask an honest man to take a vow.