Bilangan 19:15

19:15 And every open container that has no covering fastened on it is unclean.

Bilangan 30:6

Vows Made by Married Women

30:6 “And if she marries a husband while under a vow, ¹  or she uttered ²  anything impulsively by which she has pledged herself,

Bilangan 30:10

30:10 If she made the vow in her husband’s house or put herself under obligation with an oath,

Bilangan 30:4

30:4 and her father hears of her vow or the obligation to which she has pledged herself, and her father remains silent about her, ³  then all her vows will stand, ⁴  and every obligation to which she has pledged herself will stand.

Bilangan 30:9

Vows Made by Widows

30:9 “But every vow of a widow or of a divorced woman which she has pledged for herself will remain intact. ⁵ 

Bilangan 30:3

Vows Made by Single Women

30:3 “If a young ⁶  woman who is still living ⁷  in her father’s house makes a vow to the Lord or places herself under an obligation,

Bilangan 30:8

30:8 But if when her husband hears it he overrules her, then he will nullify ⁸  the vow she has taken, ⁹  and whatever she uttered impulsively which she has pledged for herself. And the Lord will release her from it.

Bilangan 30:7

30:7 and her husband hears about it, but remains silent about her when he hears about it, then her vows will stand and her obligations which she has pledged for herself will stand.

Bilangan 30:11

30:11 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.

Bilangan 30:2

30:2 If a man ¹⁰  makes a vow ¹¹  to the Lord or takes an oath ¹²  of binding obligation on himself, ¹³  he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised. ¹⁴ 

Bilangan 30:5

30:5 But if her father overrules her when he hears ¹⁵  about it, then none ¹⁶  of her vows or her obligations which she has pledged for herself will stand. And the Lord will release ¹⁷  her from it, because her father overruled her.

Bilangan 15:37-38

Rules for Tassels

15:37 The Lord spoke to Moses: 15:38 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make ¹⁸  tassels ¹⁹  for themselves on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and put a blue thread ²⁰  on the tassel of the corners.

Bilangan 6:5

6:5 “‘All the days of the vow ²¹  of his separation no razor may be used on his head ²²  until the time ²³  is fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord. He will be holy, ²⁴  and he must let ²⁵  the locks of hair on his head grow long.

Bilangan 25:8

25:8 and went after the Israelite man into the tent ²⁶  and thrust through the Israelite man and into the woman’s abdomen. ²⁷  So the plague was stopped from the Israelites. ²⁸ 

Bilangan 30:12

30:12 But if her husband clearly nullifies ²⁹  them when he hears them, then whatever she says ³⁰  by way of vows or obligations will not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the Lord will release her from them.

Bilangan 30:14

30:14 But if her husband remains completely silent ³¹  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 when he heard them.

Bilangan 36:7

36:7 In this way the inheritance of the Israelites will not be transferred ³²  from tribe to tribe. But every one of the Israelites must retain the ancestral heritage.

Bilangan 3:25

3:25 And ³³  the responsibilities of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting included the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the curtain at the entrance of the tent of meeting,

Bilangan 18:19

18:19 All the raised offerings of the holy things that the Israelites offer to the Lord, I have given to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual ordinance. It is a covenant of salt ³⁴  forever before the Lord for you and for your descendants with you.”

[30:6]  ¹ tn Heb “and her vows are upon her.” It may be that the woman gets married while her vows are still unfulfilled.

[30:6]  ² 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.”

[30:4]  ³ tn The intent of this expression is that he does not object to the vow.

[30:4]  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).

[30:9]  ⁵ 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.

[30:3]  ⁶ tn The qualification comes at the end of the verse, and simply says “in her youth.”

[30:3]  ⁷ 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.

[30:8]  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.

[30:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “which [she is] under it.”

[30:2]  ¹⁰ tn The legal construction states the class to which the law applies, and then lays down the condition: “men [man] – if….”

[30:2]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative construction to express this: “a man if he vows a vow.”

[30:2]  ¹² tn The expression is “swear an oath” (הִשָּׁבַע שְׁבֻעָה, hishava’ shÿvu’ah). 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).

[30:2]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew text hasלֶאְסֹר אִסָּר (le’sor ’issar), 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.

[30:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “according to all that goes out of his mouth.”

[30:5]  ¹⁵ 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.

[30:5]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew “all will not stand” is best rendered “none will stand.”

[30:5]  ¹⁷ 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.

[15:38]  ¹⁸ tn The construction uses the imperative followed by perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutives. The first perfect tense may be translated as the imperative, but the second, being a third common plural form, has to be subordinated as a purpose clause, or as the object of the preceding verb: “speak…and say…that they make.”

[15:38]  ¹⁹ sn This is a reference to the צִיצִת (tsitsit), the fringes on the borders of the robes. They were meant to hang from the corners of the upper garment (Deut 22:12), which was worn on top of the clothing. The tassel was probably made by twisting the overhanging threads of the garment into a knot that would hang down. This was a reminder of the covenant. The tassels were retained down through history, and today more elaborate prayer shawls with tassels are worn during prayer. For more information, see F. J. Stephens, “The Ancient Significance of Sisith,” JBL 50 (1931): 59-70; and S. Bertman, “Tasselled Garments in the Ancient East Mediterranean,” BA 24 (1961): 119-28.

[15:38]  ²⁰ sn The blue color may represent the heavenly origin of the Law, or perhaps, since it is a royal color, the majesty of the Lord.

[6:5]  ²¹ tc The parallel expression in v. 8 (“all the days of his separation”) lacks the word “vow.” This word is also absent in v. 5 in a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts. The presence of the word in v. 5 may be due to dittography.

[6:5]  ²² sn There is an interesting parallel between this prohibition and the planting of trees. They could not be pruned or trimmed for three years, but allowed to grow free (Lev 20:23). Only then could the tree be cut and the fruit eaten. The natural condition was to be a sign that it was the Lord’s. It was to be undisturbed by humans. Since the Nazirite was to be consecrated to the Lord, that meant his whole person, hair included. In the pagan world the trimming of the beard and the cutting of the hair was often a sign of devotion to some deity.

[6:5]  ²³ tn Heb “days.”

[6:5]  ²⁴ tn The word “holy” here has the sense of distinct, different, set apart.

[6:5]  ²⁵ tn The Piel infinitive absolute functions as a verb in this passage; the Piel carries the sense of “grow lengthy” or “let grow long.”

[25:8]  ²⁶ tn The word קֻבָּה (qubbah) seems to refer to the innermost part of the family tent. Some suggest it was in the tabernacle area, but that is unlikely. S. C. Reif argues for a private tent shrine (“What Enraged Phinehas? A Study of Numbers 25:8,” JBL 90 [1971]: 200-206).

[25:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and he thrust the two of them the Israelite man and the woman to her belly [lower abdomen].” Reif notes the similarity of the word with the previous “inner tent,” and suggests that it means Phinehas stabbed her in her shrine tent, where she was being set up as some sort of priestess or cult leader. Phinehas put a quick end to their sexual immorality while they were in the act.

[25:8]  ²⁸ sn Phinehas saw all this as part of the pagan sexual ritual that was defiling the camp. He had seen that the Lord himself had had the guilty put to death. And there was already some plague breaking out in the camp that had to be stopped. And so in his zeal he dramatically put an end to this incident, that served to stop the rest and end the plague.

[30:12]  ²⁹ 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.

[30:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb whatever proceeds from her lips.”

[30:14]  ³¹ tn The sentence uses the infinitive absolute to strengthen the idea.

[36:7]  ³² tn Heb “turned aside.”

[3:25]  ³³ tn The disjunctive vav (ו) here introduces a new section, listing the various duties of the clan in the sanctuary. The Gershonites had a long tradition of service here. In the days of David Asaph and his family were prominent as musicians. Others in the clan controlled the Temple treasuries. But in the wilderness they had specific oversight concerning the tent structure, which included the holy place and the holy of holies.

[18:19]  ³⁴ sn Salt was used in all the offerings; its importance as a preservative made it a natural symbol for the covenant which was established by sacrifice. Even general agreements were attested by sacrifice, and the phrase “covenant of salt” speaks of such agreements as binding and irrevocable. Note the expression in Ezra 4:14, “we have been salted with the salt of the palace.” See further J. F. Ross, IDB 4:167.