Numbers 30

Nu 30:1-16.

VOWS

ARE

NOT TO

BE

BROKEN.

1. This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded--The subject of

this chapter relates to vowing, which seems to have been an ancient

usage, allowed by the law to remain, and by which some people declared

their intention of offering some gift on the altar or abstaining from

particular articles of meat or drink, of observing a private fast, or

doing something to the honor or in the service of God, over and above

what was authoritatively required. In

Nu 29:39,

mention was made of "vows and freewill offerings," and it is probable,

from the explanatory nature of the rules laid down in this chapter,

that these were given for the removal of doubts and difficulties which

conscientious persons had felt about their obligation to perform their

vows in certain circumstances that had arisen.

2. If a man vow a vow unto the Lord--A mere secret purpose of the mind

was not enough to constitute a vow; it had to be actually expressed in

words; and though a purely voluntary act, yet when once the vow was

made, the performance of it, like that of every other promise, became

an indispensable duty--all the more because, referring to a sacred

thing, it could not be neglected without the guilt of prevarication and

unfaithfulness to God.

he shall not break his word--literally, "profane his word"--render it

vain and contemptible

(Ps 55:20; 89:34).

But as it would frequently happen that parties would vow to do things

which were neither good in themselves nor in their power to perform,

the law ordained that their natural superiors should have the right of

judging as to the propriety of those vows, with discretionary power to

sanction or interdict their fulfilment. Parents were to determine in

the case of their children, and husbands in that of their wives--being,

however, allowed only a day for deliberation after the matter became

known to them; and their judgment, if unfavorable, released the devotee

from all obligation

[Nu 30:3-8].

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--Girls only are

specified; but minors of the other sex, who resided under the parental

roof, were included, according to Jewish writers, who also consider the

name "father" as comprehending all guardians of youth. We are also told

that the age at which young people were deemed capable of vowing was

thirteen for boys and twelve for girls. The judgment of a father or

guardian on the vow of any under his charge might be given either by an

expressed approval or by silence, which was to be construed as

approval. But in the case of a husband who, after silence from day to

day, should ultimately disapprove or hinder his wife's vow, the sin of

non-performance was to be imputed to him and not to her

[Nu 30:15].

9. every vow of a widow--In the case of a married woman, who, in the

event of a separation from her husband, or of his death, returned, as

was not uncommon, to her father's house, a doubt might have been

entertained whether she was not, as before, subject to paternal

jurisdiction and obliged to act with the paternal consent. The law

ordained that the vow was binding if it had been made in her husband's

lifetime, and he, on being made aware of it, had not interposed his

veto

[Nu 30:10, 11];

as, for instance, she might have vowed, when not a widow, that she

would assign a portion of her income to pious and charitable uses, of

which she might repent when actually a widow; but by this statute she

was required to fulfil the obligation, provided her circumstances

enabled her to redeem the pledge. The rules laid down must have been

exceedingly useful for the prevention or cancelling of rash vows, as

well as for giving a proper sanction to such as were legitimate in

their nature, and made in a devout, reflecting spirit.