Numbers 30 B’midbar Outline: This section is preparing Israel to enter the land. (v1) Moshe speaks the leaders only (v2) man taking vows & oaths (vv 3-5) A woman’s vow in her father’s house (vv 6-8) A married woman’s vow (v9) widower or divorced woman’s vow (vv 10-15) Husband’s responsibility to wife’s vow. (v 16) G-d’s concluding statutes about vows & oaths.
1 And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the Lord commanded Moses.
Numbers 30 B’midbar:
Parshah Mattos 3 Begins
2 If a man vow a vow 4 unto the Lord, or swear an oath 5 to bind his soul with a bond 6; he shall not break 7 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, shall stand: and the Lord shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her.
6 And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought 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 the 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.
¶ 2And Moses spoke unto the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying:
¶ This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded. 3 When a man voweth a vow unto the Lord, or sweareth 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. 4 Also when a woman voweth a vow unto the Lord, and bindeth herself by a bond, being in her father’s house, in her youth, 5 and her father heareth her vow, or her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father holdeth his peace at her, then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. 6 But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth, none of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand; and the Lord will forgive her, because her father
disallowed her. 7 And if she be married to a husband, while her vows are upon her, or the clear utterance of her lips, wherewith she hath bound her soul; 8and her husband hear it, whatsoever day it be that he heareth it, and hold his peace at her; then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. 9 But if her husband disallow her in the day that he heareth it, then he shall make void her vow which is upon her, and the clear utterance of her lips, wherewith she hath bound her soul; and the Lord will forgive her. 10 But the vow of a widow, or of her that is divorced, even every thing wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand against her. 11 And if a woman vowed in her husband’s house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath, 12and 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. 13 But if her husband make them null and void in the day that he heareth them, then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips, whether it were her vows, or the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the Lord will forgive her. 14 Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may let it stand, or her husband may make it void. 15 But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day, then he causeth all her vows to stand, or all her bonds, which are upon her; he hath let them stand, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them. 16 But if he shall make them null and void after that he hath heard them, then he shall bear her iniquity. 17 These are the statutes, which the Lord commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter, being in her youth, in her father’s house.
Notes:
- Numbers 30:1 B’midbar 29:40 – In the Tanakh this verse would be B’midbar 29:40. Having it here changes the context of the next verse. ↩
- Numbers 30:1 B’midbar … the heads of the tribes – We have normally seen the whole congregation spoken to by Moses. Only the leadership is spoken to and this proves the importance of this section on Vows! ↩
- Mattos – is translated “tribes”. It is interesting that this Parshah begins in Numbers 30:2 but takes it name from Numbers 30:1! In the Hebrew Text it is the fifth word. It derives from “natah” which means “a staff”, “rod”, “shaft”, “branch” or “a tribe”. Strong’s H4294, appears 252 x. ↩
- Numbers 30:2 B’midbar – vow Hebrew “nadar” נָדַר Strong’s H5088, appears 60x: denotes a solemn promise to G-d. Solemn promises deals with “raising a vow” which means that the person would raise their right hand and evoke the name of G-d (yod hey vav hey). Breaking this type of vow is “taking the L-rd thy G-d’s name in vain!” Usually it means to consecrate something to G-d e.g Jacob at Bethel Gen. 28:20, 31:13, Hannah giving Samuel 1 Sam. 1:11. It can include foolish promises Jephthah’s daughter Jud. 11:30. Vows are a means to asceticism (Ethics of the Fathers 3:13) Ascetism leads to purity, purity leads to holiness, holiness leads to humity, humility leads to fear of si, fear of sin leads to saintliness, saintliness leads to to the [possession of] the holy spirit, and the holy spirit leads to eternal life (Talmud, Avodah Zaarah 20b) ↩
- Numbers 30:2 B’midbar – oath Hebrew “shebuah” שְׁבוּעָה Strong’s H7621 appear only 30x means “curse” from prime root “sheba” שֶׁ֫בַע Strongs H7651 appear 394x. ↩
- Numbers 30:2 B’midbar – bond Hebrew “issar” אּסָּר Strongs H632, appears 11x. “In contrast to “neder” this may be called a negative vow: a self-imposed pledge to abstain from doing or enjoying something that is perfectly allowable.” (Hertz, J. Pentateuch & Haftorahs. 1972. P702) ↩
- Numbers 30:2 B’midbar – break Hebrew “chalal” חָלַל Strongs H2490, appears 143x. means “defile, pollute” Hiph`il (Imperfect ?) לֹא יַחֵל דְּבָרוֺ Can also be translated as “violate” Lit. “desecrate” or “profane” “The violation of a vow or ‘bond’ is at once an offense before G-d, and act of profanation of man’s personally.” (Ibib) Ecc. 5:4 Better that you do not vow, than that you should vow and not fulfill. ↩