Discovery BoxNumbers 5:21 
Context5:21 Then the priest will put the woman under the oath of the curse 1 and will say 2 to the her, “The Lord make you an attested curse 3 among your people, 4 if the Lord makes 5 your thigh fall away 6 and your abdomen swell; 7
Numbers 6:21
Context6:21 “This is the law 8 of the Nazirite who vows to the Lord his offering according to his separation, as well as whatever else he can provide. 9 Thus he must fulfill 10 his vow that he makes, according to the law of his separation.”
1 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.
2 tn Heb “the priest will say.”
3 tn This interpretation takes the two nouns as a hendiadys. The literal wording is “the
4 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 tn The construction uses the infinitive construct with the preposition to form an adverbial clause: “in the giving of the
6 tn TEV takes the expression “your thigh” as a euphemism for the genitals: “cause your genital organs to shrink.”
7 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.”
8 tn Actually, “law” here means a whole set of laws, the basic rulings on this topic.
9 tn Heb “whatever else his hand is able to provide.” The imperfect tense has the nuance of potential imperfect – “whatever he can provide.”
10 tn Heb “according to the vow that he vows, so he must do.”
