¹sn Num 30 deals with vows that are different than the vows discussed in Lev 27 and Num 6. The material is placed here after all the rulings of the offerings, but it could have been revealed to Moses at any time, such as the Nazirite vows, or the question of the daughters’ inheritance. The logic of placing it here may be that a festival was the ideal place for discharging a vow. For additional material on vows, see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, Its Life and Institutions (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1961), 39-40, 465-66.
²tn Heb “heads.”
³tn Heb “This is the word which.”
⁴tn The legal construction states the class to which the law applies, and then lays down the condition: “men [man]—if….”
⁵tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative construction to express this: “a man if he vows a vow.”
⁶tn The expression is “swear an oath,” hissaba‘ s^ebu‘ah (hu*b%v= ub^V*h!). The vow (neder [rd\n}]) was a promise to donate something of oneself or one’s substance to the Lord. The solemn oath seals the vow before the Lord, perhaps with sacrifice. The vocabulary recalls Abraham’s treaty with Abimelech and the naming of Beer Sheba with the word (see Gen 21).
⁷tn The Hebrew text has le’sor ‘issar (rS*a! rs)a=l#), meaning “to take a binding obligation.” This is usually interpreted to mean a negative vow, i.e., the person attempts to abstain from something that is otherwise permissible. It might involve fasting, or abstaining from marital sex, but it might also involve some goal to be achieved, and the abstaining from distractions until the vow is fulfilled (see Ps 132). The neder may have been more for religious matters, and the ’issar more for social concerns, but this cannot be documented with certainty.
⁸tn Heb “according to all that goes out of his mouth.”
⁹tn The qualification comes at the end of the verse, and simply says “in her youth.”
¹⁰tn The Hebrew text just has “in her father’s house” and not “who is still living,” but that is the meaning of the line.
¹¹tn The intent of this expression is that he does not object to the vow.
¹²tn The verb qum (<Wq) 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).
¹³tn 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.
¹⁴tn The Hebrew “all will not stand” is best rendered “none will stand.”
¹⁵tn The verb has often been translated “forgive,” but that would suggest a sin that needed forgiving. The idea of “absolve” 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 Lord will not hold the woman responsible to do what she vowed.
¹⁶tn Heb “and her vows are upon her.” It may be that the woman gets married while her vows are still unfulfilled.
¹⁷tn The Hebrew text indicates that this would be some impetuous vow that she uttered with her lips, a vow that her husband, whether new or existing, would not approve of. Several translate it “a binding obligation rashly uttered.”
¹⁸tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav consecutive from the verb parar (rrP), “to annul.” The verb functions here as the equivalent of an imperfect tense; here it is the apodosis following the conditional clause—if this is the case, then this is what will happen.
¹⁹tn Heb “which [she is] under it.”
²⁰tn The Hebrew text says her vow “shall stand against her.” In other words, she must fulfill, or bear the consequences of, whatever she vowed.
²¹tn The verb is the imperfect tense in the conditional clause. It is intensified with the infinitive absolute, which would have the force of saying that he nullified them unequivocally, or he made them null and void.
²²tn Heb whatever proceeds from her lips.”
²³tn The sentence uses the infinitive construct l^e‘annot (tN{u^l=), “to afflict,” which is the same word used in the instructions for the day of atonement in which people are to afflict themselves (their souls). The case here may be that the woman would take a religious vow on such an occasion to humble herself, to mortify her flesh, to abstain from certain things, perhaps even sexual relations within marriage.
²⁴tn Heb “or her husband can nullify.”
²⁵tn The sentence uses the infinitive absolute to strengthen the idea.
²⁶sn In other words, he will pay the penalty for making her break her vows if he makes her stop what she vowed. It will not be her responsibility.
²⁷tn Heb “between.”