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Numbers Chapter
Five
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 5
This
chapter contains a repetition of some former laws, concerning putting unclean
persons out of the camp, Numbers 5:1; making
restitution in case of trespass against another, Numbers 5:5; and of
giving the offering of all holy things and all hallowed things to the priests, Numbers 5:9; and a
new law concerning jealousy, in a man, of his wife, Numbers 5:11; when
she was to be brought to the priest, and various rites and ceremonies to be
used, Numbers 5:15; who
was to give her bitter water as a trial of her chastity, which, if guilty,
would have a strange effect upon her, and make her accursed, but if not, would
not affect her, and she would be free and happy, Numbers 5:24.
Numbers 5:1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
YLT
1And Jehovah speaketh unto
Moses, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Jarchi says, what
follows was said on the day the tabernacle was erected, but it seems rather to
have been delivered after the several camps were formed, and the people
numbered, when those that were unclean were ordered to be cast out of them:
saying; as follows.
Numbers 5:2 2 “Command the children of Israel that they put out of
the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled
by a corpse.
YLT
2`Command the sons of
Israel, and they send out of the camp every leper, and every one with an issue,
and every one defiled by a body;
Command the children of Israel,.... Not as from himself,
but from the Lord; deliver out the following as a command of his, to which
obedience was required of all the children of Israel:
that they put out of the camp every leper; there were
three camps, Jarchi says, in the time of their encampment; between the curtains
was the camp of the Shechinah, or the divine Majesty; the encampment of the
Levites round about; and from thence to the end was the camp of the standards,
to the four winds, which was the camp of Israel; and the leper was to be put
out of them all; so Ben Gersom; see Leviticus 13:46,
and everyone that hath an issue; a gonorrhoea, man or
woman, see Leviticus 15:2;
according Jarchi, such an one might be in the camp of Israel, but was to be put
out of the other two camps:
and whosoever is defiled by the dead; by attending the
funerals of the dead, or touching them, see Leviticus 21:1;
such an one might go into the camp of the Levites, according to Jarchi and Ben
Gersom; and was to be put of none but the camp of the Shechinah, or the
tabernacle; but the camp of Israel seems to be meant of them all, out of which
they were to be put, as an emblem of the rejection of all impure persons out of
the church of God.
Numbers 5:3 3 You shall put out both male and female; you shall put
them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps in the midst of
which I dwell.”
YLT
3from male unto female ye do
send out; unto the outside of the camp ye do send them; and they defile not their
camps in the midst of which I do tabernacle.'
Both male and female shall ye put out,.... Whether
leprous, or profluvious, or defiled by touching a dead carcass: by this law,
Miriam, when leprous, was put out of the camp, Numbers 12:14,
without the camp shall ye put them; which is repeated that
it might be taken notice of, and punctually observed:
that they defile not their camps; of which there were
four, the camps of Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan:
in the midst whereof I dwell; for the tabernacle,
which was the dwelling place of the Lord, was in the midst of the camps of
Israel; they were pitched on the four quarters of it; and this is a reason why
impure persons were not suffered to be in the camp of Israel, because of the
presence of God in the tabernacle so near them, to whom all, impurity is
loathsome, and not to be permitted in his sight; and though this was
ceremonial, it was typical of the uncleanness of sin, which is abominable to
him, and renders persons unfit for communion with him, and with his people.
Numbers 5:4 4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside
the camp; as the Lord spoke to Moses, so the children
of Israel did.
YLT
4And the sons of Israel do
so, and they send them out unto the outside of the camp; as Jehovah hath spoken
unto Moses so have the sons of Israel done.
And the children of Israel did so, and put them without the camp,.... Aben Ezra
observes, that this was done immediately before they journeyed, and that those
that were defiled journeyed between the standard of Ephraim and the standard of
Dan; but this, he says, was by way of conjecture, since it is not expressed:
as the Lord spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel; they were
obedient in this particular.
Numbers 5:5 5 Then the Lord spoke to
Moses, saying,
YLT
5And Jehovah speaketh unto
Moses, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Or continued to
speak to him at the same time:
saying; as follows.
Numbers 5:6 6 “Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman
commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the Lord, and that person is guilty,
YLT
6`Speak unto the sons of
Israel, Man or woman, when they do any of the sins of man, by committing a
trespass against Jehovah, and that person [is] guilty,
Speak unto the children of Israel,.... Put them in mind of
the following law, that they observe it; and which is here repeated, because of
two new things in it, as Jarchi observes, the one relates to confession,
teaching that there is no fifth part nor trespass offering by witnesses, till a
man confesses the thing; and the other is, concerning taking anything away by
violence from a proselyte, which is to be given to the priests; see the
original law in Leviticus 6:1,
when a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit; or, "any
of the sins of men"F5מכל חטאת האדם "ex omnibus
peccatis hominis", Montanus. , which are commonly done by men, and men are
subject to through the infirmity of the flesh, and the temptations of Satan; or
"any sin against man"F6"Ex omnibus peccatis contra
hominem", Tigurine version; so Patrick. , so some, as this referred to is
expressly said to be, Numbers 5:7,
to do a trespass against the Lord; for every sin against
man is also against the Lord, being a breach of his command; as David's sin
against Uriah was a sin against the Lord, Psalm 51:4; though
the Jews understand it particularly of lying and swearing falsely, appealing to
God, and calling him to be a witness to a falsehood; and so the Targum of
Onkelos seems to interpret it:
and the person be guilty; and knows he is so, and
even knew it when he took an oath to the contrary; see Leviticus 6:3.
Numbers 5:7 7 then he shall confess the sin which he has committed.
He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one-fifth of it, and
give it to the one he has wronged.
YLT
7and they have confessed
their sin which they have done, then he hath restored his guilt in its
principal, and its fifth is adding to it, and hath given [it] to him in
reference to whom he hath been guilty.
Then they shall confess their sin which they have done,.... The form
of which confession, according to Fagius, was, O Lord, I am guilty of death, I
have deserved to be stoned for this sin, or to be strangled for this trespass,
or to be burnt for this crime, &c.
and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof,
and add unto it the fifth part thereof; paying the whole of
whatsoever he had in any manner defrauded his neighbour of, to which he was to
add a fifth part of that; that is, as Aben Ezra interprets it, it he confesses
of himself, but if there are witnesses of it he must add two fifths, and some
say a fifth of a fifth:
and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed; as a
satisfaction for the injury done him.
Numbers 5:8 8 But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may
be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which
atonement is made for him.
YLT
8`And if the man have no
redeemer to restore the guilt to, the guilt which is restored [is] Jehovah's,
the priest's, apart from the ram of the atonements, whereby he maketh atonement
for him.
But if a man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass to,.... This
supposes that if a man should die, against whom the trespass is, before the
restitution is made, then it shall be made to his heirs; and if he has none,
then it was to be given to the priest, as after directed: the JewsF7Maimon.
& Bartenora in Misn. Bava Kama, c. 9. sect. 11. Jarchi in loc. generally
understand this of a proselyte, that has no heirs, for they say, there is no
Israelite but has kinsmen, a brother or a son, or some one or other near of kin
to him, of his father's family, even up to Jacob:
let the trespass be recompensed unto the Lord, even to the
priest; that is, let the principal, with the fifth part, which is the
recompence for the trespass committed, be given to the priest of the Lord,
which is the same as if it was given to him, he being his minister:
beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be
made for him; which, in this case, was ordered to be offered for the
expiation, of the trespass, see Leviticus 6:6; the Jewish
canon is,"he that takes away anything by force from a proselyte, and
swears to him, and he (the proselyte) dies, lo, he shall pay the principal and
the fifth to the priests, and the trespass offering to the altar, as it is
said, "if a man has no kinsman", &c. when he brings the money and
the trespass offering, and he is dead, the money shall be given to his sons,
but the trespass offering (the ram) shall feed until it contracts some blemish,
and then it shall be sold, and the price of it shall fall to the freewill
offeringsF8Misn. Bava Kama, ib. .'
Numbers 5:9 9 Every offering of all the holy things of the children
of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his.
YLT
9`And every heave-offering
of all the holy things of the sons of Israel, which they bring near to the
priest, becometh his;
And every offering of all the holy things of the children of
Israel,.... Of the holy sacrifices brought by them to be offered up;
that part of them which is elevated, heaved, or waved, as the heave shoulder
and wave breast:
which they bring unto the priest, shall be his; what they
bring to him to offer for them shall be his who performs the service, even that
part of them which is his due.
Numbers 5:10 10 And every man’s holy things shall be his; whatever any
man gives the priest shall be his.’”
YLT
10and any man's hallowed
things become his; that which any man giveth to the priest becometh his.'
And every man's hallowed things shall be his,.... Which he,
by a vow or freewill offering, separates to holy uses; these are at his own
dispose, to give to what priest he will, or they are the priest's; for what a
man devotes to the Lord is to be given to them, or such things as God has
hallowed, sanctified, and set apart for sacred uses, as the firstfruits and
tithes, they were the priests'; the Jewish writersF9Targ. Jon.
Siphri & Midrash in Jarchi in loc. restrain it to tithes:
whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his; his
personally, who officiates, or to whom the gift is given, and is not to be
divided among the other priests in the course.
Numbers 5:11 11 And the Lord spoke to
Moses, saying,
YLT
11And Jehovah speaketh unto
Moses, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... At the same time,
and delivered to him a new law:
saying; as follows.
Numbers 5:12 12 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘If
any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him,
YLT
12`Speak unto the sons of
Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When any man's wife turneth aside, and
hath committed against him a trespass,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,.... It being
an affair which concerned them:
if any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him; the sin of
adultery, which is a going aside out of the way of virtue and chastity, and a
trespass against an husband, a breach of the marriage covenant with him, a
defiling his bed, doing an injury and dishonour to him, bringing confusion into
his family, and a spurious offspring to possess his substance: though this is
to be understood, not of certain adultery, of which there is plain and full
proof, for then there would be no occasion of such a trial, as is afterwards
directed to; besides, her husband, in such a case, might put her away, and
even, according to the law, she was to be put to death, Leviticus 20:10;
but of her having committed it in the opinion of her husband, he having some
ground of suspicion, though he could not be certain of it; and therefore, by
this law, was allowed to make trial, that he might find it out, it at present
only a suspected case, and a doubtful one; and the JewsF11Bemidbar
Rabba, sect. 9. fol. 195. 2. say,"they never gave the waters drink but in
a doubtful case:'and so this may interpreted of her declining and departing
from her husband's house, not keeping at home to mind the affairs of her
family, but gadding abroad, and keeping company with another man, or other men;
and that after she had been warned and charged by her husband to the contrary,
and so had disobeyed him, and acted contrary to his will; and in that sense had
committed a trespass, and so had given him suspicion of her unchastity, for
which he might have some reason; if, as it is said in the MisnahF12Sotah,
c. 1. sect. 1, 2. , he gave her an admonition before two witnesses, saying,
have no talk with such a man, and yet she talks with him; or, as the
commentators addF13Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Bava Kama, c. 9.
sect. 11. , be not secretly or in private with such an one, and yet goes into a
private place with him, and stays so long with him that she may be defiled;
this with them rendered her suspected.
Numbers 5:13 13 and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden
from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself,
and there was no witness against her, nor was she caught—
YLT
13and a man hath lain with
her [with] the seed of copulation, and it hath been hid from the eyes of her
husband, and concealed, and she hath been defiled, and there is no witness
against her, and she hath not been caught,
And a man lie with her carnally,.... That is, is
suspected that he has so done, not that it is a clear case, for it follows:
and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close; so that it is
not known by her husband, nor by any other; "she hath hid herself",
so Ainsworth, being in a private place with another man, though warned to the
contrary by her husband:
and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her; of her being
defiled, though there may be of her being in private with such a man:
neither she be taken with the manner; or in the act
of uncleanness.
Numbers 5:14 14 if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he
becomes jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of
jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has
not defiled herself—
YLT
14and a spirit of jealousy
hath passed over him, and he hath been jealous of his wife, and she hath been
defiled; -- or, a spirit of jealousy hath passed over him, and he hath been
jealous of his wife, and she hath not been defiled –
And the spirit of jealousy come upon him,.... A thought
rises up in his mind, a strong suspicion works in him, which he cannot resist
and throw off, but it remains with him, and makes him very uneasy, that his
wife has defiled his bed, as it follows:
and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled; that his wife
is defiled by a man; and which is the real case, as it afterwards appears,
though at present he is not certain, only has a suspicion of it:
or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of
his wife, and she be not defiled; it is mere jealousy and
suspicion, without any foundation for it; and his wife proved a chaste and
virtuous woman; yet be it which it would, he being jealous, the following law
was to take place, and the following rules to be observed.
Numbers 5:15 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He
shall bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley
meal; he shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, because it is
a grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, for bringing
iniquity to remembrance.
YLT 15`Then hath the man brought
in his wife unto the priest, and he hath brought in her offering for her, a
tenth of the ephah of barley meal, he doth not pour on it oil, nor doth he put
on it frankincense, for it [is] a present of jealousy, a present of memorial,
causing remembrance of iniquity.
Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest,.... Not to
the high priest but to a common priest, anyone then officiating in his course;
for there was a jealousy offering to be offered up before the Lord upon the
altar, which none but a priest might do; and besides, the whole process in this
affair was to be carried, on by him: according to the MisnahF14Ut
supra, (Misn. Bava Kama, c. 9.) sect. 3, 4. , the man brought his wife first to
the sanhedrim, or court of judicature in the place where he lived; before whom,
as MaimonidesF15Hilchot Sotah, c. 3. sect. 1. says, he proved by
witnesses that he had warned his wife of being in private with such a man, and
yet she had done it again; and whereas she insisted on her chastity, he desired
that the bitter waters might be given her, that the truth might appear; and
then they sent him with two disciples of the wise men, to the great sanhedrim
at Jerusalem, where the trial was made; who, in order to bring her too
confession, endeavoured to terrify her, as they do persons in capital cases,
and finding this wilt not do, then they used smooth words, saying, my daughter,
perhaps much wine was the occasion of it, or much laughter, &c.
and he shall bring her offering for her: not the
priest, but her husband, and that whether he is willing or not, as Aben Ezra;
who also observes, that it may be interpreted, with her, or for her sake, not
to make any expiation for any fault of his, that when he first observed her
immodesty, did not reprove her; for the offering, though brought by him, was
not his, but his wife's, and not to expiate her sin, but to bring it to
remembrance, as is after expressed:
the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; which was an
omer, Exodus 16:36, the
quantity of manna for one man every day, Exodus 16:16, and
the quantity of flour in the daily meat offering, Exodus 29:40; only
that was of fine wheaten flour; this of barley, the food of beasts, as the
Targum of Jonathan remarks; and R. Gamaliel in the MisnahF16Sotah,
c. 2. sect. 1. says, that as her deed was the deed of a beast, so her offering
was the food of a beast; and this is observed by Jarchi and Aben Ezra on the
text, as the reason of barley being used in this offering: some say it was a
symbol of her impudence, others of her being little at home, as the barley is
not long under groundF17Apud Muis. in loc. ; the true reason, it may
be, was for her humiliation, being vile, and mean, hence it follows:
he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; as used to be
oft meat offerings, denoting their acceptableness to God, Leviticus 2:1; the
reason seems to be, because these were tokens of joy and gladness, whereas this
was a mournful affair to the husband, that he should have any cause of
suspicion and jealousy, to the wife that she should be suspected, and to the
whole family on that account:
for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial,
bringing iniquity to remembrance; if guilty of it, and
therefore oil and frankincense were forbidden in this kind of offering as in a
sin offering, Leviticus 5:11.
Numbers 5:16 16 ‘And the priest shall bring her near, and set her
before the Lord.
YLT
16`And the priest hath
brought her near, and hath caused her to stand before Jehovah,
And the priest shall bring her near,.... Or "offer
it", as the Vulgate Latin version, that is, the offering of jealousy:
and set her before the Lord; or "it", the
offering; for which the Tigurine version is more express,"let the priest
offer that sacrifice, and set that before the Lord,'for the setting of the
woman before the Lord is spoken of in Numbers 5:18.
Numbers 5:17 17 The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel,
and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it
into the water.
YLT
17and the priest hath taken
holy water in an earthen vessel, and of the dust which is on the floor of the
tabernacle doth the priest take, and hath put [it] into the water,
And the priest shall take holy water,.... Out of
the laver, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra:
in an earthen vessel; which held half a log,
and that was but a quarter of a pint, or three egg shells; for no more was
assigned, to a suspected woman, according to the MisnahF18Sotah, c.
2. sect. 2. Menachot, c. 9. sect. 3. . Some say only a fourth part: an earthen
vessel was made use of, as everything vile and mean was in this affair:
and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest
shall take, and put it into the water; first the water was put
in, and then the dust, as Ben Gersom observes: there was a place a cubit
square, where was a marble table, and a ring fixed in it, and when he lifted it
up he took dust from under it, and put it so as it might be upon the top of the
waterF19Sotah, c. 2. sect. 2. ; which was used, either, as the
Targum of Jonathan suggests, because the end of all flesh is to come to dust,
and so to put her in mind of her original and her end; and in like manner the
earthen vessel might signify, that she would be broke to pieces as that vessel;
as also it might direct her thoughts to the tempter, by the influence of whose
temptation she had been drawn into this sin, dust being the serpent's food; and
this being taken off the floor of the tabernacle, might add to the veneration
of it, and make it more solemn and awful to drink of it.
Numbers 5:18 18 Then the priest shall stand the woman before the Lord, uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in
her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall
have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse.
YLT
18and the priest hath caused
the woman to stand before Jehovah, and hath uncovered the woman's head, and
hath given into her hands the present of the memorial, it [is] a present of
jealousy, and in the hand of the priest are the bitter waters which cause the
curse.
And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord,.... In the
east of the tabernacle, with her face to the west, where was the holy of
holies, so Ben Gersom; but not immediately for they had her from place to
place, as Jarchi says, till she was weary, and her mind disturbed, that she
might confess; and if she said, I am defiled, she rent the writing of her
dowry, and went out; but if she said, I am pure, they brought her to the
eastern gate, the gate of Nicanor, for there they made women suspected of
adultery to drink the watersF20Sotah, c. 1. sect. 5. :
and uncover the woman's head; as a token of her
immodesty and non-subjection to her husband, and that she might be seen by all,
to cause shame in her: according to the MisnahF21Sotah, c. 1. sect.
5, 6. , the priest took off her clothes, and loosed her hair--if she was
clothed with white garments, he clothed her with black; if she had on her
ornaments of gold, chains, earrings, or rings, he took them away from her, that
she might be unseemly, and whoever would might come and look at her:
and put the offering of memorial into her hands, which is the
jealousy offering; to weary her, as Jarchi says, that if perhaps her mind was
disturbed she would confess; and so in the MisnahF23Sotah, c. 2.
sect. 1. it is said, that her husband put this offering into her hands to weary
her; but the true reason here seems to be, that it might appear to be her own
offering:
and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that
causeth the curse; not that the water was bitter of itself, for it was the water
out of the laver, and had nothing in it but the dust of the floor of the
tabernacle; though some think some bitter thing was put into it, so Ben Gersom,
as wormwood; but it is so called from the effects of it on those that were
guilty; it produced sad effects in them, bitter and distressing, and made them
appear to be accursed ones, for it was not bitter till it entered, Numbers 5:24;
whereas it was not so to the innocent, nor attended with any such consequence
to them; so that there was nothing in the water itself, but its efficacy was
divine and supernatural.
Numbers 5:19 19 And the priest shall put her under oath, and say to
the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to
uncleanness while under your husband’s authority, be free from
this bitter water that brings a curse.
YLT
19`And the priest hath caused
her to swear, and hath said unto the woman, If no man hath lain with thee, and
if thou hast not turned aside [to] uncleanness under thy husband, be free from
these bitter waters which cause the curse;
And the priest shall charge her by an oath,.... Or give
her her oath:
and say unto the woman, if no man hath lain with thee: besides her
husband:
and thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another
instead of thy husband; which is but another phrase expressive of the same thing, the
sin of adultery:
be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse; if this is
the case, it shall produce no bitter effects, or bring any curse upon thee.
Numbers 5:20 20 But if you have gone astray while under your
husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself and some man other
than your husband has lain with you”—
YLT
20and thou, if thou hast
turned aside under thy husband, and if thou hast been defiled, and any man doth
give his copulation to thee besides thy husband –
But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband,.... Gone
aside from the paths of modesty and chastity, and betook herself to another
man's bed instead of her husband's:
and if thou be defiled, by committing adultery:
and some man hath lain with thee beside thy husband; these phrases
are all synonymous, and a heap of words are made use of to express the sin, and
that there might be no evasion of it, and that it might be clear what was
intended, this being said on oath.
Numbers 5:21 21 then the priest shall put the woman under the oath of
the curse, and he shall say to the woman—“the Lord make you a
curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your
thigh rot and your belly swell;
YLT
21(then the priest hath
caused the woman to swear with an oath of execration, and the priest hath said
to the woman) -- Jehovah doth give thee for an execration, and for a curse, in
the midst of thy people, in Jehovah's giving thy thigh to fall, and thy belly
to swell,
Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing,.... An oath
which has a curse annexed to it, if taken falsely, which was to be pronounced
upon the woman if guilty:
and the priest shall say unto the woman; pronouncing
the imprecation or curse upon her, she having taken the oath, should she be
guilty of the crime suspected of, and she had swore concerning:
the Lord make thee a curse, and an oath among the people; accursed
according to the oath taken; or let this be the form of an oath and imprecation
used by the people, saying, if I have done so and so, let me be accursed as
such a woman, or let not that happen to me, as did to such a woman, so Jarchi:
when the Lord doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell; upon drinking
the bitter waters; but though these things followed upon that, yet not as the
natural cause of them, for they are ascribed to the Lord, and to a supernatural
and miraculous power of his, which went along with the drinking of them.
Numbers 5:22 22 and may this water that causes the curse go into your
stomach, and make your belly swell and your thigh rot.” ‘Then the
woman shall say, “Amen, so be it.”
YLT
22and these waters which
cause the curse have gone into thy bowels, to cause the belly to swell, and the
thigh to fall; and the woman hath said, Amen, Amen.
And this water that causeth the curse,.... Upon the
drinking of which the curse follows, if guilty:
shall go into thy bowels; and there operate and
produce the above effects, which are repeated again to inject terror:
to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot; here ends the
form of the oath, which begins Numbers 5:19,
and the woman shall say, amen, amen; so be it; let it be as
pronounced, if I am guilty; which, as Aben Ezra observes, is repeated for the
sake of confirmation; though the Jewish writers commonly understand it as
respecting various things, the oath and the curse, the thing charged with, and
the persons suspected ofF24Misn. ib. sect. 5. Targum Jon. &
Jerus. & Jarchi in loc. .
Numbers 5:23 23 ‘Then the priest shall write these curses in a book,
and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water.
YLT
23`And the priest hath
written these execrations in a book, and hath blotted [them] out with the
bitter waters,
And the priest shall write these curses in a book,.... The above
curses imprecated on herself by an oath; the words and the letters of them were
written at length, in a scroll of parchment; and, as some say also, her name,
but not her double amen to themF25Misnah, ut supra, (Sotah, c. 2)
sect. 3. :
and he shall blot them out with the bitter water: wash them out
with it, and into it, or scrape them off of the parchment into it.
Numbers 5:24 24 And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water
that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her to
become bitter.
YLT
24and hath caused the woman
to drink the bitter waters which cause the curse, and the waters which cause
the curse have entered into her for bitter things.
And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that
causeth the curse,..... Having the curse imprecated upon herself, if guilty,
scraped into it; and this she was obliged to drink, whether she would or not;
so it is said, if the roll is blotted out, and she says I am defiled, the water
is poured out, and her offering is scattered in the place of ashes; if the roll
is blotted out, and she says I will not drink, then force her, and make her
drink whether she will or noF26Misnah, ut supra, (Sotah) c. 3. sect.
3. :
and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and
become bitter; produce the sad and bitter effects mentioned.
Numbers 5:25 25 Then the priest shall take the grain offering of
jealousy from the woman’s hand, shall wave the offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar;
YLT
25`And the priest hath taken
out of the hand of the woman the present of jealousy, and hath waved the
present before Jehovah, and hath brought it near unto the altar;
Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the
woman's hand,.... Which she was obliged to hold in her hand while the above
rites and ceremonies were performed; which was very heavy, being an omer of
barley flour, a measure about three quarts, which was put into an Egyptian
basket made of small palm tree twigs: and this was put into her hands to weary
her, as before observed, that, having her mind distressed, she might the sooner
confess her crime:
and shall wave the offering before the Lord: backwards and
forwards, upwards and downwards, as Jarchi; who also observes, that the woman
waved with him, for her hand was above the hand of the priest so the tradition
is,"he (her husband) took her offering out of the Egyptian basket, and put
it into a ministering vessel, and gave it into her hand, and the priest put his
hand under hers, and waved itF1Misnah, ut supra, (Sotah) c. 3. sect.
1. :"
and offer it upon the altar: this was the bringing of
it to the southwest corner of the altar, as Jarchi says, before he took a
handful out of it, as in other meat offerings.
Numbers 5:26 26 and the priest shall take a handful of the offering,
as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the
woman drink the water.
YLT
26and the priest hath taken a
handful of the present, its memorial, and hath made perfume on the altar, and
afterwards doth cause the woman to drink the water:
And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even
the memorial thereof,.... For good or evil, according as her works were, as Aben Ezra
observes; a memorial for good, if innocent, and a memorial for evil, if guilty:
and burn it upon the altar; as the handful of other
meat offerings used to be, Leviticus 1:2,
and afterwards shall cause the woman to drink the water; oblige her to
it; having proceeded thus far, and no confession made, namely, an oath taken,
the curses of it written in a scroll and scraped into the waters, and the
jealousy offering waved and offered.
Numbers 5:27 27 When he has made her drink the water, then it shall
be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband,
that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and
her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse
among her people.
YLT
27yea, he hath caused her to
drink the water, and it hath come to pass, if she hath been defiled, and doth
commit a trespass against her husband, that the waters which cause the curse
have gone into her for bitter things, and her belly hath swelled, and her thigh
hath fallen, and the woman hath become an execration in the midst of her
people.
And when he hath made her to drink the water,.... For, as
before observed, and here by Jarchi again, if she says I will not drink it,
after the roll is blotted out, they oblige her, and make her drink it whether
she will or not, unless she says I am defiled:
then it shall come to pass, that if she be defiled, and
have done trespass against her husband; or has committed
adultery:
that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and
become bitter; the water drank by her, and having the curses scraped into it,
shall enter into her, and operate and produce bitter and dreadful effects:
and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot; not through
any natural virtue in the water, or what is put into it, either the dust of the
floor of the tabernacle, or the scrapings of the parchment roll, these could
have no physical influence to produce such effects; but they must be ascribed
to a supernatural cause, the power and curse of God attending this draught. A
certain Jewish writerF2R. Samuel Tzartzah, Mekor Chayim, fol. 91. 3.
says, though very falsely, that the priest put poison into the water, which
produced such effects; but then, how could an innocent woman escape the effects
of it? that must be allowed to be miraculous and supernatural, was it so; but
there is no manner of reason to believe that anything of this kind was put into
it, The Jews sayF3Misn. Sotah, c. 3. sect. 4. , as soon, or before
she had made an end of drinking: the water, the effects appeared; her face
turned pale immediately, her eyes bolted out, and she was filled with veins,
her body swelled, and they called out, Cast her out, cast her out, that she may
not defile the court. And the text seems to intimate, as if the operation was
immediate; yea, moreover, they sayF4Ibid. c. 5. sect. 1. , that as
the waters searched her, so they searched him (the adulterer), because it is
said twice, "shall enter, shall enter"; and that the same effects
appeared in him as in her, but in neither, unless the husband was innocent; for
if he was not pure from the same sin himself, the waters would not search his
wifeF5T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 28. 1. Gersom in loc. hence they sayF6Misn.
Sotah, c. 2. sect. 9. , when adulterers increased (under the second temple) the
bitter waters ceased, according to Hosea 4:14; see Matthew 12:39. This
practice has been imitated by the Heathens; the river Rhine, according to
Julian the emperorF7Orat. 2. p. 151. Ep. 16. p. 131. , tried the
legitimacy of children; and so lakes have been used for the trial of perjury
and unchastity, as the Stygian lake for perjury, and another of the same name
near Ephesus for unchastity; into which, if persons suspected of adultery
descended, having the form of an oath hanging about their necks, if they were
pure, the waters stood unmoved, but if corrupt, they swelled up to their necks,
and covered the tablet on which the oath was writtenF8Vid. Salden.
Otia, l. 1. Exercitat. 6. sect. 24. . The priestesses of a certain deity being
obliged to live a single life, were tried by drinking bullocks' blood, upon
which, if false to their oath and corrupt, they immediately died, as PausaniasF9Achaica,
sive, l. 7. p. 450. relates; and MacrobiusF11Saturnal. l. 5. c. 19.
speaks of some lakes in Sicily, the inhabitants called the Cups, to which
recourse was had when persons were suspected of any ill, and where an oath was
taken of them; if the person swore truly, he departed unhurt, but if falsely,
he immediately lost his life in the lake. PhilostratusF12Vita
Apollonii, l. 1. c. 4. relates of a water near Tyana, a city in Cappadocia, sacred
to Jupiter, which the inhabitants call Asbamaea, which to those that kept their
oaths was placid and sweet, but to perjured persons the reverse; it affected
their eyes, hands, and feet, and seized them with dropsies and consumptions;
nor could they depart from the water, but remained by it, mourning their sad
case, and confessing their perjury: but what comes nearest to this usage of the
Jews is a custom at marriages among the savages at Cape BretonF13Genuine
Letters and Memoirs relating to the Isle of Cape Breton, &c. : at a
marriage feast, two dishes of meat are brought to the bridegroom and bride in
two "ouragans" (basins made of the bark of a tree), and the president
of the feast addresses himself to the bride thus,"and thou that art upon
the point of entering into a respectable state, know, that the nourishment thou
art going to take forebodes the greatest calamities to thee, if thy heart is
capable of harbouring any ill design against thy husband, or against thy
nation: shouldest thou ever be led astray by the caresses of a stranger; or
shouldest thou betray thy husband, and thy country, the victuals contained in
this "ouragan" will have the effects of a slow poison, with which
thou wilt be tainted from this very instant; but if, on the other hand, thou
remainest faithful to thy husband, and to thy country, if thou wilt never
insult the one for his defect, nor give a description of the other to the
enemy, thou wilt find this nourishment both agreeable and wholesome.'Now if
these relations can be credited, then much more this of the bitter waters, for
though there was something wonderful and supernatural in them, yet nothing
incredible:
and the woman shall be a curse among her people: the time she
lives; but then all this while she was looked upon as an accursed person, and
despised and shunned by all.
Numbers 5:28 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is
clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children.
YLT
28`And if the woman hath not
been defiled, and is clean, then she hath been acquitted, and hath been sown
[with] seed.
And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean,.... If she is
not guilty of adultery, but pure from that sin:
then she shall be free; from the effects of the
bitter water; they shall have no such influence upon her, but she shall be as
soured and healthful as ever; nay, the Jewish writers say more so, that if she
had any sickness or disease upon her she would now be freed from itF14Maimon.
Hilchot Sotah, c. 3. sect. 22. ; the Targum of Jonathan has it, her splendour
shall shine, the brightness and beauty of her countenance:
and shall conceive seed; a man child, as the same
Targum; and the Jewish writers say, if she was barren before, now she would be
fruitful; but no more is meant by it than that her husband should receive her
gladly, and she should live comfortably with him hereafter, and the blessing of
God would be upon her, which would still be a confirmation of her chastity.
Numbers 5:29 29 ‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, while
under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself,
YLT
29`This [is] the law of
jealousies, when a wife turneth aside under her husband, and hath been defiled,
This is the law of jealousies,.... Which was
appointed by God to deter wives from adultery, and preserve the people of
Israel, the worshippers of him, from having a spurious brood among them; and to
keep husbands from being cruel to their wives they might be jealous of, and to
protect virtue and innocence, and to detect lewdness committed in the most
secret manner; whereby God gave proof of his omniscience, that he had knowledge
of the most private acts of uncleanness, and was the avenger of all such. The
reasons why such a law was not made equally in favour of women, as of men, are
supposed to be these: because of the greater authority of the man over the
woman, which would seem to be lessened, if such a power was granted her;
because marriage was not so much hurt, or so much damage came to families by
the adultery of men, as of women; because women are more apt to be suspicious
than men, and in those times more prone to adultery, through their eager desire
of children, that they might not lie under reproachF15Vid. Salden.
ut supra, (Otia, l. 1. Exercitat. 6.) sect. 19. :
when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband,
and is defiled; is suspected of going aside to another man, and is supposed to
be defiled by him.
Numbers 5:30 30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, and
he becomes jealous of his wife; then he shall stand the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall execute all this law upon her.
YLT
30or when a spirit of
jealousy passeth over a man, and he hath been jealous of his wife, then he hath
caused the woman to stand before Jehovah, and the priest hath done to her all
this law,
Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous
over his wife,.... See Gill on Numbers 5:14,
and shall set the woman before the Lord; has carried
the matter so far as to bring his wife to the priest or civil magistrate, and
declare his suspicion, and the ground of it:
and the priest shall execute upon her all this law; he shall
proceed according to the law, and perform every rite and ceremony required; nor
could any stop be put to it, unless the woman owned she was defiled.
Numbers 5:31 31 Then the man shall be free from iniquity, but that
woman shall bear her guilt.’”
YLT
31and the man hath been
acquitted from iniquity, and that woman doth bear her iniquity.'
Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity,.... Which
otherwise he would not, by conniving at her loose way of living, and not
reproving her for it, and bringing her either to repentance or punishment; and
retaining and encouraging jealousy in his mind, without declaring it, and his
reasons for it: the sense of the passage seems to be, that when a man had any
ground for his suspicion and jealousy, and he proceeded according as this law
directs, whether his wife was guilty or not guilty, no sin was chargeable on
him, or blame to be laid to him, or punishment inflicted on him:
and the woman shall bear her iniquity; the
punishment of it, through the effects of the bitter waters upon her, if guilty;
nor was her husband chargeable with her death, she justly brought it on
herself: or if not guilty, yet as she had by some unbecoming behaviour raised
such a suspicion in him, nor would she be reclaimed, though warned to the
contrary, she for it justly bore the infamy of such a process; which was such,
as Maimonides saysF16Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 49. p. 499. , that
innocent women would give all that they had to escape it, and reckoned death
itself more agreeable than that, as to be served as such a woman was; See Gill
on Numbers 5:18.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》