Numbers 5:19

5:19 Then the priest will put the woman under oath and say to the her, “If no other ¹  man has had sexual relations with you, and if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be free from this bitter water that brings a curse. ² 

Numbers 5:21

5:21 Then the priest will put the woman under the oath of the curse ³  and will say ⁴  to the her, “The Lord make you an attested curse ⁵  among your people, ⁶  if the Lord makes ⁷  your thigh fall away ⁸  and your abdomen swell; ⁹ 

Numbers 11:12

11:12 Did I conceive this entire people? ¹⁰  Did I give birth to ¹¹  them, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your arms, as a foster father ¹²  bears a nursing child,’ to the land which you swore to their fathers?

Numbers 30:2

30:2 If a man ¹³  makes a vow ¹⁴  to the Lord or takes an oath ¹⁵  of binding obligation on himself, ¹⁶  he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised. ¹⁷ 

Numbers 32:11

32:11 ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, ¹⁸  not ¹⁹  one of the men twenty years old and upward ²⁰  who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give ²¹  to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

[5:19]  ¹ tn The word “other” is implied, since the woman would not be guilty of having sexual relations with her own husband.

[5:19]  ² sn Although there would be stress involved, a woman who was innocent would have nothing to hide, and would be confident. The wording of the priest’s oath is actually designed to enable the potion to keep her from harm and not produce the physical effects it was designed to do.

[5:21]  ³ sn For information on such curses, see M. R. Lehmann, “Biblical Oaths,” ZAW 81 (1969): 74-92; A. C. Thiselton, “The Supposed Power of Words in the Biblical Writings,” JTS 25 (1974): 283-99; and F. C. Fensham, “Malediction and Benediction in Ancient Vassal Treaties and the Old Testament,” ZAW 74 (1962): 1-9.

[5:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “the priest will say.”

[5:21]  ⁵ tn This interpretation takes the two nouns as a hendiadys. The literal wording is “the Lord make you a curse and an oath among the people.” In what sense would she be an oath? The point of the whole passage is that the priest is making her take an oath to see if she has been sinful and will be cursed.

[5:21]  ⁶ sn The outcome of this would be that she would be quoted by people in such forms of expression as an oath or a curse (see Jer 29:22).

[5:21]  ⁷ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct with the preposition to form an adverbial clause: “in the giving of the Lord…,” meaning, “if and when the Lord makes such and such to happen.”

[5:21]  ⁸ tn TEV takes the expression “your thigh” as a euphemism for the genitals: “cause your genital organs to shrink.”

[5:21]  ⁹ sn Most commentators take the expressions to be euphemisms of miscarriage or stillbirth, meaning that there would be no fruit from an illegitimate union. The idea of the abdomen swelling has been reinterpreted by NEB to mean “fall away.” If this interpretation stands, then the idea is that the woman has become pregnant, and that has aroused the suspicion of the husband for some reason. R. K. Harrison (Numbers [WEC], 111-13) discusses a variety of other explanations for diseases and conditions that might be described by these terms. He translates it with “miscarriage,” but leaves open what the description might actually be. Cf. NRSV “makes your uterus drop, your womb discharge.”

[11:12]  ⁵ sn The questions Moses asks are rhetorical. He is actually affirming that they are not his people, that he did not produce them, but now is to support them. His point is that God produced this nation, but has put the burden of caring for their needs on him.

[11:12]  ⁶ tn The verb means “to beget, give birth to.” The figurative image from procreation completes the parallel question, first the conceiving and second the giving birth to the nation.

[11:12]  ⁷ tn The word אֹמֵן (’omen) is often translated “nurse,” but the form is a masculine form and would better be rendered as a “foster parent.” This does not work as well, though, with the יֹנֵק (yoneq), the “sucking child.” The two metaphors are simply designed to portray the duty of a parent to a child as a picture of Moses’ duty for the nation. The idea that it portrays God as a mother pushes it too far (see M. Noth, Numbers [OTL], 86-87).

[30:2]  ⁷ tn The legal construction states the class to which the law applies, and then lays down the condition: “men [man] – if….”

[30:2]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative construction to express this: “a man if he vows a vow.”

[30:2]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “according to all that goes out of his mouth.”

[32:11]  ⁹ tn The clause is difficult; it means essentially that “they have not made full [their coming] after” the Lord.

[32:11]  ¹⁰ tn The sentence begins with “if they see….” This is the normal way for Hebrew to express a negative oath – “they will by no means see….” The sentence is elliptical; it is saying something like “[May God do so to me] if they see,” meaning they won’t see. Of course here God is taking the oath, which is an anthropomorphic act. He does not need to take an oath, and certainly could not swear by anyone greater, but it communicates to people his resolve.

[32:11]  ¹¹ tc The LXX adds “those knowing bad and good.”

[32:11]  ¹² tn The words “to give” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.