Numbers 30:4-5

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, ¹  then all her vows will stand, ²  and every obligation to which she has pledged herself will stand. 30:5 But if her father overrules her when he hears ³  about it, then none ⁴  of her vows or her obligations which she has pledged for herself will stand. And the Lord will release ⁵  her from it, because her father overruled her.

Numbers 30:12

30:12 But if her husband clearly nullifies ⁶  them when he hears them, then whatever she says ⁷  by way of vows or obligations will not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the Lord will release her from them.

¹ tn The intent of this expression is that he does not object to the vow.

² 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).

³ 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.

⁴ tn The Hebrew “all will not stand” is best rendered “none will stand.”

⁵ 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.

⁵ 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.

⁶ tn Heb whatever proceeds from her lips.”