Numbers 5:1-31
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead:
3 Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell.
4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the LORD spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.
5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
6 Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty;
7 Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.
8 But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the LORD, even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him.
9 And every offeringa of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his.
10 And every man's hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his.
11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
12 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,
13 And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;
14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:
15 Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
16 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD:
17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water:
18 And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:
19 And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:
20 But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband:
21 Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot,b and thy belly to swell;
22 And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.
23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water:
24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.
25 Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar:
26 And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.
27 And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.
28 And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
29 This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;
30 Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.
31 Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.
The Old Testament Book of Numbers
In the Desert
Numbers
Marion Adams
Chapter 5
*Unclean people – Numbers 5:1-4
v1 The *LORD spoke to Moses. v2-3 He told Moses to speak to the *Israelites. He said, ‘Give these commands to them. Tell them to send away anyone who has an infectious disease of the skin, or a *bodily discharge. (‘Infectious’ means the disease can spread from one person to another.) Those people must leave the camp. Tell the *Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has touched a dead body. Deal in this manner with both males and females. I live among my people now. So their camp must be *clean.’ v4 The *Israelites obeyed the instructions that the *LORD had given to Moses. They sent these *unclean people away from the camp.
Verses 1-4 In *Old Testament times, it was not proper for an *unclean person to enter a holy place. It was not proper for an *unclean person to mix with other people. In the camp, people might be unkind to a person with an infectious disease of the skin. ‘Infectious’ means the disease can spread from one person to another. So people with infectious diseases of the skin lived together outside the camp, where they would be safe. Also, the people inside the camp would be safe, because the disease would not spread. ‘Outside’ meant at the edge of the camp. They lived in caves or in tents there.
Everyone was *unclean sometimes. There were many reasons why a person was *unclean. It did not mean just that the person needed to wash their hands or body. Leviticus chapter 15 and Numbers chapter 19 describe the laws about this. For example:
A person became *unclean if they had a disease of the skin. They might give this disease to another person.
- A person became *unclean if blood or other liquid came out of the sex parts of their bodies. A disease might have caused this. Also, women were *unclean during the time of the month when they were bleeding.
- A person who touched a dead human body was *unclean for a week.
God was living among the *Israelites in a special way, in *God’s Tent. Anyone who came near to *God’s Tent had to be *clean. God is not like a man. He is *holy completely.
There were different ways that people became *unclean. So there were different rules about this. Some people who were *unclean had to separate themselves from the rest of the camp. Other people had to wash in a special way.
Today, people do not need to follow these rules in order for God to accept them. Everything changed when Jesus came. He touched people who had diseases of the skin. He cured them. He touched dead people and they became alive again (for example, Luke 17:12-19; Luke 8:40-56).
However, people who do not *believe in Jesus are *unclean because of their *sins. They cannot come near to God. The only way to come near to God is by means of Jesus. We must believe that Jesus died as a *sacrifice for us. If we *repent, his blood cleans us from all our *sins (1 John 1:7). Only Jesus can make us *clean, so that God will accept us.
People who hurt other people – Numbers 5:5-10
v5 The *LORD said to Moses, v6 ‘Give these commands to the *Israelites. A person might do a wrong act against another person. If they do, then they have done a wrong act against me. v7 The guilty person must agree that they have done a wrong act. They must pay the other person completely for the damage that they have done. Also, they must pay an extra one fifth of the total amount. v8 But the other person may have died. The other person may not have a relative who can accept the money. If so, the money belongs to me. The priest must accept the money on my behalf. In addition to this money, the guilty person must buy a male sheep. He must bring the sheep to the priest. The priest must *sacrifice it. Then I shall forgive the guilty person. v9 When the *Israelites give money to a priest as a *sacred payment, the money belongs to that priest. v10 Each priest must keep the money that people give to him.’
Verses 5-6 ‘Do a wrong act’ probably refers to Leviticus 6:1-5; Leviticus 6:1-5 describes the rules about a person who takes something for himself. And then he is not honest about the matter. All *sins against other people are *sins against God, too. In this passage, God reminds Moses of this fact.
Verse 7 The laws of *Israel were much more strict than the laws of other nations. A person had to confess that they had done a wrong act. But this was not enough. Also, they had to pay money to the person against whom they had done the wrong act. This amount of money paid for any loss or damage. Then, the guilty person had to add an extra one fifth to the amount. They had to give that, too.
So, God taught the *Israelites that it costs a lot to *sin! If a person was really sorry, they would be glad to pay more. This showed that they were sincere. Also, when a person paid this money, the other person had to forgive him or her. The other person must not try to do another wrong act against the guilty person.
Verses 8-10 The guilty person had to pay money, even if the other person had died. The dead person’s relatives received the money instead. If the relatives were all dead, the guilty person had to pay the priest. The priest was God’s representative (a person who acts on behalf of someone else). Also, the priest had to *sacrifice a male sheep that the guilty person had bought.
This law was very important. The *Israelites were preparing to march together to the *Promised Land. There had to be no quarrels between them. They had to respect God and other people. This law helped to prevent crimes. It helped people whom other people had hurt in any way. Also, it helped people who had hurt other people. They could show God that they were sorry. Then he could forgive them.
Husbands who suspect that their wives have been *unfaithful – Numbers 5:11-31
v11 Then the *LORD said to Moses, v12-14 ‘Speak to the *Israelites. Tell them to follow these instructions if a husband suspects his wife. Perhaps she has been *unfaithful to him, or perhaps she has not been *unfaithful. Perhaps she has had sex with another man. But her husband cannot be certain. He does not have any evidence.
v15 The husband must take his wife to the priest. He must bring one *kilogram of barley flour with him. (Barley was a type of cheap grain – see note below). This is an *offering to discover if his wife is guilty. He must not put oil or *incense on the *offering. v16 The priest must make the woman stand in front of the *altar. v17 He must pour some holy water into a bowl. He must take some dust from the floor of *God’s Tent. He must put this dust into the bowl with the water. This makes the water become bitter.
v18 Then the priest must untie the woman’s hair. He must put into her hands the *offering of flour. The priest must hold the bowl that contains the bitter water. The bitter water brings a *curse. v19 Then the priest must make the woman agree to the special promise that he speaks. He must say, “This water brings a *curse. If you have not been *unfaithful, it will not hurt you. v20 But if you have been *unfaithful, v21-22 it will bring the *LORD’s *curse on you. You will not be able to have babies that live. Your people will *curse you.” The woman must reply, “I agree. Let this happen.”
v23 The priest must write this *curse on special paper. Then he must wash off the words into the bitter water. v24 He must make the woman drink the bitter water. This water that brings a *curse will enter her body. It may cause her to suffer. v25 But first, the priest must take the *offering of flour from her hands. He must lift it up in front of the *LORD. Then he must put it on the *altar. v26 He must burn a part of it as a *sacrifice. After that, the woman must drink the bitter water.
v27 If the woman has been *unfaithful, the water will cause her to suffer. She will not be able to have babies. People will *curse her. v28 However, if she is innocent, the water will not hurt her. She will be able to have babies.
v29-30 When a husband suspects his wife, you must do this. This is the law. The priest must make the woman stand in front of my *altar. He must follow these instructions. v31 If the woman is innocent, you must not punish her husband. But if the woman is guilty, you must punish her.’
Verses 11-14 Families were very important to the *Israelites. They kept records of their *ancestors. If a man’s wife had sex with another man, this was a serious crime. Her husband could not be certain that he was the father of her children. God’s *Law warns husbands and wives that they must never be *unfaithful to each other (Exodus 20:14).
The punishment for this crime was death. But there had to be evidence. The husband had to prove that his wife was guilty. If the husband had no evidence, he could follow the instructions in this passage. And then God would act as the judge.
It is likely that many innocent women carried out this *ritual. Because they were innocent, they would not be afraid to follow the *ritual. God would protect them. But if a woman was guilty, she would be very afraid of God’s judgement. So probably she would tell her husband that she was guilty first. And she would hope that he would forgive her. Or she might run away.
However, if a woman was not guilty of *adultery, this *ritual proved this fact to her husband and everyone else. Her husband would not be able to punish her. He had to take her back to live with him as his wife again. So, this *ritual provided God’s protection for innocent women.
The passage includes many details about this ancient *ritual. It records the words that the people had to say. The husband and wife went to the priest with an *offering. Barley was a type of cheap grain. The man did not add oil or *incense to the *offering. So it was like a poor man’s *offering, for when someone was *unclean (Leviticus 5:11-13).
‘Holy water’ (verse 17) was water that the priests kept in *God’s Tent. The priest mixed it with dust. Also, he mixed it with the ink that he had used to write the *curses. This was not magic. The water and the dust were *symbols. Perhaps the dust reminded people that the *unclean snake ate dust (Genesis 3:14). Perhaps it reminded them also that God had made people from dust (Genesis 2:7). However, we cannot be certain, because the passage does not explain the meaning.
‘Then the priest must untie the woman’s hair’ (verse 18). This showed that the woman was *unclean. People who had diseases of the skin had to untie their hair.
‘The bitter water brings a *curse’ (verse 18). The water was not just bitter because it tasted bad. It was bitter because it could cause bad things to happen. If the woman was guilty, she would not be able have babies. In the *Israelites’ society, this was a bad thing to happen to a woman. A woman who was not able to have babies felt very sad.
But if the woman were not guilty, the water would not hurt her. It proved that she was innocent.
This passage reminds us that *adultery is a serious *sin. God does not want husbands or wives to be *unfaithful. *Adultery hurts people and destroys families. But also we need to remember that God forgives *sins if people are sorry. Jesus forgave a woman who had been *unfaithful (John 8:2-11). He did not punish her. However, he told her that she must not *sin again.
Also, Paul warned people that they must not continue to *sin in this way. If they did continue, they could not belong to the *church (1 Corinthians 5:11-13).
God’s people must not be *unfaithful to their husbands or wives. Also, it is bad for a husband to suspect his wife without evidence. It can destroy his love for her. It can destroy her love for him. Husbands must be able to trust their wives. Wives must be able to trust their husbands.
By means of this *ritual, God showed everyone whether a woman was guilty or innocent.
unclean ~ in the Jewish religion, an unclean person could not go near to *God’s Tent or into the Israelites’ camp, depending on the type of uncleanness. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.
clean ~ in the Jewish religion, this means something or someone that God accepts. People had to be clean in order to approach *God’s Tent. People had to be clean to be in the Israelites’ camp. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh. This name means something like ‘I am’ or ‘always alive’.
Lord ~ one who rules. God is the Lord who rules everyone.
Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.'bodily discharge ~ liquid that comes out of the body.
clean ~ in the Jewish religion, this means something or someone that God accepts. People had to be clean in order to approach *God’s Tent. People had to be clean to be in the Israelites’ camp. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
unclean ~ in the Jewish religion, an unclean person could not go near to *God’s Tent or into the Israelites’ camp, depending on the type of uncleanness. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.
unclean ~ in the Jewish religion, an unclean person could not go near to *God’s Tent or into the Israelites’ camp, depending on the type of uncleanness. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.
clean ~ in the Jewish religion, this means something or someone that God accepts. People had to be clean in order to approach *God’s Tent. People had to be clean to be in the Israelites’ camp. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible; the *Jews’ holy book. The writers wrote this before the life of Jesus.holy ~ what God is like. God’s character: perfect, completely good with nothing bad in it. Separate from sin.
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
repent ~ to decide not to do bad things that you did before. To decide to do what God wants.
sacred ~ special for God. ‘Sacred’ means that something is separate from other things, for God’s purposes only.'Promised Land ~ the country that God promised to give to Abraham and his *descendants.
unfaithful ~ a person is unfaithful if you cannot trust them. A wife or husband is unfaithful if they have sex with another person.
kilogram ~ 1000 grams.
gram ~ a measurement of weight today. 28 grams make one ounce. 1000 grams make one kilogram.
incense ~ a substance that people make from plants. It has a good smell when people burn it.
altar ~ a special table where the priests burned animals or other gifts as a *sacrifice to God (or, to a false god).
curse ~ a declaration that something bad will happen. In the early books of the Bible, a curse was a type of prophecy from God. This prophecy described something bad that would happen in the future. To curse means to speak this prophecy.
prophecy/prophecies ~ words and messages from God.
ancestor ~ a previous member of a family, especially someone who was important during a past century.
Law ~ the rules that God gave to Moses for the *Jews.
ritual ~ when people follow particular instructions in a particular order, this is called a ‘ritual’.
adultery ~ when a man or a woman has sex with someone who is not their wife or husband.
adultery ~ when a man or a woman has sex with someone who is not their wife or husband.