Numbers 30:15
in Numbers 30But if he nullifies them after he hears of them, then he will bear her iniquity.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But if he shall make them null and void after that he hath heard them, then he shall bear her iniquity.
KJV
But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity.
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This verse in Numbers 30
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
any sworn pledge to deny herself
on Numbers 30:13-16
A pledge "to deny herself" is the self-humbling that Leviticus 16:29 and 23:27 command on the day of atonement, so these vows include fasting. Verse 14 makes silence an act, since a husband who says nothing from day to day confirms her vows, and if he annuls them late "he will bear her iniquity". The closing verse holds the statute to two relationships, husband and wife, father and young daughter.
This site's exposition
then he will bear her iniquity
Matthew Henry has in mind a vow that was good for God's honour and her own soul, overturned by a husband out of greed, whim or a wish to show his authority. She is released, yet he has much to answer for. John Wesley adds that the husband ought not to hinder a vow he has already allowed by his silence.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But if he shall any ways make them void, after that he hath heard them,....
Now here it is very observable how carefully the divine law consults the good order of families, and preserves the power of superior relations, and the duty and reverence of inferiors.
How the passage was read
On Numbers 30:1-16On 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
On the verses either side of this one
EVERY VOW, AND EVERY BINDING OATH TO AFFLICT THE SOUL, [HER HUSBAND MAY ESTABLISH IT, AND HER HUSBAND MAY MAKE IT VOID]. “Since He had said [in the preceding verses] that a husband may annul [his wife’s vows], I might think that this includes all her vows!
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
[BUT IF HE SHALL MAKE THEM NULL AFTER THAT HE HATH HEARD THEM], THEN HE SHALL BEAR HER INIQUITY — “he [the husband] takes her place.
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
9 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| הָפֵ֥ר | hafer | actually <break> | H6565 → | 50 times |
| יָפֵ֛ר | yafer | he will break | H6565 → | 50 times |
| אֹתָ֖ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֣י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| שָׁמְע֑וֹ | shameo | has heard he | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| וְנָשָׂ֖א | venasa' | and he will bear | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֲוֹנָֽהּ׃ | ʾavonah | guilt her | H5771 → | 233 times |
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
הָפֵ֥רactually <break>
haferH6565 →50 times
יָפֵ֛רhe will break
yaferH6565 →50 times
אֹתָ֖ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
אַחֲרֵ֣יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
שָׁמְע֑וֹhas heard he
shameoH8085 →1159 times
וְנָשָׂ֖אand he will bear
venasa'H5375 →656 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֲוֹנָֽהּ׃guilt her
ʾavonahH5771 →233 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Galatians 3:28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 12:12–13
The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ.
- Colossians 3:11
Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
- Romans 3:29–30
Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,
- Galatians 5:6
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. All that matters is faith, expressed through love.
- Romans 10:12–15
For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him,
- 1 Corinthians 12:12–13
Through
Leviticus 5:1“If someone sins by failing to testify when he hears a public charge about something he has witnessed, whether he has seen it or learned of it, he shall bear the iniquity.
it leads to
- Leviticus 5:17
If someone sins and violates any of the LORD’s commandments even though he was unaware, he is guilty and shall bear his punishment.
- Proverbs 29:24
A partner to a thief hates his own soul; he receives the oath, but does not testify.
- Matthew 26:63
But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
- Leviticus 5:17
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.