21:2 So Israel made a vow 1 to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed deliver 2 this people into our 3 hand, then we will utterly destroy 4 their cities.”
30:3 “If a young 5 woman who is still living 6 in her father’s house makes a vow to the Lord or places herself under an obligation,
30:6 “And if she marries a husband while under a vow, 7 or she uttered 8 anything impulsively by which she has pledged herself,
1 tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative with the verb: They vowed a vow. The Israelites were therefore determined with God’s help to defeat Arad.
2 tn The Hebrew text has the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of נָתַן (natan) to stress the point – if you will surely/indeed give.”
3 tn Heb “my.”
4 tn On the surface this does not sound like much of a vow. But the key is in the use of the verb for “utterly destroy” – חָרַם (kharam). Whatever was put to this “ban” or “devotion” belonged to God, either for his use, or for destruction. The oath was in fact saying that they would take nothing from this for themselves. It would simply be the removal of what was alien to the faith, or to God’s program.
5 tn The qualification comes at the end of the verse, and simply says “in her youth.”
6 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.
7 tn Heb “and her vows are upon her.” It may be that the woman gets married while her vows are still unfulfilled.
8 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.”