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Numbers 30:1

in Numbers 30

Then Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel, “This is what the LORD has commanded:

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded.

KJV

And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded.

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This verse in Numbers 30

Commentary

4 notes on this verse
The regulations respecting vows appropriately follow those given respecting sacrifices, since a large proportion of vows would always relate to the presentation of such offerings. Rules had already been given Lev. 27 for the estimation of things vowed to God. It is probable that this fresh legislation dealing especially with vows made by persons in a state of tutelage, was occasioned by some case of practical difficulty that had recently arisen; and it is addressed by Moses to “the heads of the tribes” Num 30:1, who would in their judicial capacity have to determine questions on these subjects.

This site's exposition

Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes

on Numbers 30:1-2

The law on vows is spoken to the heads of the tribes rather than to the whole congregation, and those men would be the ones judging such cases when they came up. Verse 2 gives the rule for a man in a single line with no qualification on it, and the verb rendered break is the word used elsewhere of profaning what is holy. Deuteronomy 23:21-23 and Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 press the same point, and Matthew 5:33 states it as shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. The chapter also keeps two things apart, a vow that promises something to God and an oath that binds the soul to go without.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes,.... Or the princes of them, who could more easily be convened, and who used to meet on certain occasions, and on whom it lay to see various laws put in execution: concerning the children of Israel; how they ought to conduct and behave in the following case, it being an affair which concerned them all: saying, this is the thing which the Lord hath commanded; relating to vows.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

In Nu 29:39, mention was made of "vows and freewill offerings," and it is probable, from the explanatory nature of the rules laid down in this chapter, that these were given for the removal of doubts and difficulties which conscientious persons had felt about their obligation to perform their vows in certain circumstances that had arisen.

How the passage was read

On Numbers 30:1-16

On Numbers 30:1-16

Vows, oaths, and the words that bind

This chapter is the Torah's law of vows: “he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” The tradition distinguished the neder, a vow that makes a thing forbidden or dedicated (“this property is korban,” that is, an offering, barred from ordinary use as if given to God), from the shevuah, an oath that binds the person to do or not do something. Around both grew a careful case law: the Mishnah records the substitute formulas people used for korban (konam, konach, konas, Nedarim 1:2), and the tradition itself admitted how far this law outran its text: the rules for releasing vows “fly in the air and have nothing to support them” (Chagigah 1:8).

Two Gospel collisions stand on this chapter. The korban vow that could lock a son's goods away from his own parents is what Jesus confronts in Mark 7:11. And the oath casuistry He attacks in Matthew 5:33-37 and 23:16-22 grew from the practice of swearing by substitutes (heaven, earth, Jerusalem, the Temple) to avoid God's name; the Mishnah itself records that one who administers an oath “in the name of heaven and in the name of earth” leaves the swearer exempt (Shevuot 4:13), exactly the graded-honesty loophole Jesus abolishes with “let your yes be yes.”

What the Jewish commentators add

AND MOSES TOLD THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL [ACCORDING TO ALL THAT THE ETERNAL COMMANDED MOSES]. “‘This is [stated] in order to separate the subject [of the offerings from that of the following chapter, dealing with vows and oaths].’ These are the words of Rabbi Yishmael.
Ramban: Spain, 1194–1270 · Ramban on Numbers 30:1:1, via Sefaria, Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Moshe spoke to Bnei Yisroel all that Adonoy had commanded him.
Targum · Onkelos Numbers 30:1, via Sefaria, Metsudah Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009 [with Onkelos translation]

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Sources: Mishnah Nedarim 1:2 (the korban substitute formulas) · Mishnah Shevuot 4:13 (an oath by heaven and earth does not bind) · Mishnah Chagigah 1:8 (vow-release “flies in the air”)

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

13 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיְדַבֵּ֤רand he spoke

    vaydaberH1696 →1141 times

  • מֹשֶׁה֙Moses

    moshehH4872 →765 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • רָאשֵׁ֣י[the] leaders of

    rasheiH7218 →599 times

  • הַמַּטּ֔וֹתthe tribes

    hamatotH4294 →252 times

  • לִבְנֵ֥יof [the] people of

    livneiH1121 →4930 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • זֶ֣הthis

    zehH2088 →1180 times

  • הַדָּבָ֔ר[is] the word

    hadavarH1697 →1440 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • צִוָּ֥הhe has commanded

    tzivahH6680 →494 times

  • יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

5 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Numbers 7:2And the leaders of Israel, the heads of their families, presented an offering. These men were the tribal leaders who had supervised the registration.4 worksNumbers 34:17–28“These are the names of the men who are to assign the land as an inheritance for you: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun.2 worksDeuteronomy 1:13–17Choose for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.”2 worksExodus 18:25So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.2 worksNumbers 1:4–16And one man from each tribe, the head of each family, must be there with you.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Exodus 18:25

    So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 1:15

      So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them as leaders over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and as officers for your…

    • Exodus 18:21

      Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

    • Acts 6:5

      This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, as well as Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to…

  • Through

    Numbers 7:2

    And the leaders of Israel, the heads of their families, presented an offering. These men were the tribal leaders who had supervised the registration.

    it leads to

    • Numbers 1:4–16

      And one man from each tribe, the head of each family, must be there with you.

    • Numbers 2:1–34

      Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron:

    • Ezra 2:68–69

      When they arrived at the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings to rebuild the house of God on its original site.

    • Exodus 35:27

      The leaders brought onyx stones and gemstones to mount on the ephod and breastpiece,

    • 1 Chronicles 29:6–8

      Then the leaders of the households, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly.

About Numbers

The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Numbers: the study guide →Read Numbers 30 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).

Read on in Numbers 30 →