Numbers 5:6

5:6 “Tell the Israelites, ‘When ¹  a man or a woman commits any sin that people commit, ²  thereby breaking faith ³  with the Lord, and that person is found guilty, ⁴ 

Numbers 5:22

5:22 and this water that causes the curse will go ⁵  into your stomach, and make your abdomen swell and your thigh rot.” ⁶  Then the woman must say, “Amen, amen.” ⁷ 

Numbers 5:24-26

5:24 He will make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings a curse will enter her to produce bitterness. 5:25 The priest will take the grain offering of suspicion from the woman’s hand, wave the grain offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar. 5:26 Then the priest will take a handful of the grain offering as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water.

Numbers 5:28

5:28 But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she will be free of ill effects ⁸  and will be able to bear children.

Numbers 25:15

25:15 The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi daughter of Zur. He was a leader ⁹  over the people of a clan of Midian. ¹⁰ 

Numbers 30:3

Vows Made by Single Women

30:3 “If a young ¹¹  woman who is still living ¹²  in her father’s house makes a vow to the Lord or places herself under an obligation,

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¹ sn This type of law is known as casuistic. The law is introduced with “when/if” and then the procedure to be adopted follows it. The type of law was common in the Law Code of Hammurabi.

² tn The verse simply says “any sin of a man,” but the genitive could mean that it is any sin that a man would commit (subjective genitive), or one committed against a man (objective genitive). Because of the similarity with Lev 5:22, the subjective is better. The sin is essentially “missing the mark” which is the standard of the Law of the Lord. The sin is not in this case accidental or inadvertent. It means here simply failing to live up to the standard of the Lord. Since both men and women are mentioned in the preceding clause, the translation uses “people” here.

³ tn The verb is מַעַל (ma’al), which means to “defraud, violate, trespass against,” or “to deal treacherously, do an act of treachery.” In doing any sin that people do, the guilty have been unfaithful to the Lord, and therefore must bring him a sacrifice.

⁴ tn The word used here for this violation is אָשָׁם (’asham). It can be translated “guilt, to be guilty”; it can also be used for the reparation offering. The basic assumption here is that the individual is in a state of sin – is guilty. In that state he or she feels remorse for the sin and seeks forgiveness through repentance. See further P. P. Saydon, “Sin Offering and Trespass Offering,” CBQ 8 (1946): 393-98; H. C. Thompson, “The Significance of the Term ’Asham in the Old Testament,” TGUOS 14 (1953): 20-26.

⁵ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. It could be taken as a jussive following the words of the priest in the previous section, but it is more likely to be a simple future.

⁶ tn Heb “fall away.”

⁷ tn The word “amen” carries the idea of “so be it,” or “truly.” The woman who submits to this test is willing to have the test demonstrate the examination of God.

⁸ tn Heb “will be free”; the words “of ill effects” have been supplied as a clarification.

⁹ tn Heb “head.”

¹⁰ sn The passage makes it clear that this individual was a leader, one who was supposed to be preventing this thing from happening. The judgment was swift and severe, because the crime was so great, and the danger of it spreading was certain. Paul refers to this horrible incident when he reminds Christians not to do similar things (1 Cor 10:6-8).

¹¹ tn The qualification comes at the end of the verse, and simply says “in her youth.”

¹² 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.