Numbers 30:3-5
Context30:3 “If a young 1 woman who is still living 2 in her father’s house makes a vow to the Lord or places herself under an obligation, 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, 3 then all her vows will stand, 4 and every obligation to which she has pledged herself will stand. 30:5 But if her father overrules her when he hears 5 about it, then none 6 of her vows or her obligations which she has pledged for herself will stand. And the Lord will release 7 her from it, because her father overruled her.
1 tn The qualification comes at the end of the verse, and simply says “in her youth.”
2 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.
3 tn The intent of this expression is that he does not object to the vow.
4 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).
5 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.
6 tn The Hebrew “all will not stand” is best rendered “none will stand.”
7 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