Numbers 5

Various instructions for life in the camp

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the children of Israel to send away from the camp every leper, and everyone who has a discharge, and whoever is defiled by the dead . 3 You are to send out both male and female. You shall send them outside the camp so that they do not defile the camp where I dwell among them”. 4 And the children of Israel did so, and sent them outside the camp. The children of Israel did just as the LORD told Moses.

5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Tell the children of Israel that when a man or woman commits any sin that men commit, trespassing against the LORD, and that person is guilty, 7 then he must confess his sin which he has done. And he shall make restitution in full for his trespass and add to it a fifth part of it, and give it to the one whom he trespassed against.

5:7 If the sin involved the possibility of restitution, as, for example, in the case of theft, then mere confession was not enough. Restitution also was commanded (Ex 22:1; Lev 6:4-5; 24:18, 21; 2 Sam 12:6; Luke 19:8). God will not accept a confession when there is no attempt at restitution.⚜

8 But if the man has no relative to whom restitution for the trespass can be made, the restitution for the trespass is to go to the LORD for the priest, in addition to the ram for atonement, with which atonement shall be made for him.

5:8 Restitution must be made even when the person against whom the offense was committed is no longer alive.⚜

9 And each offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest shall become his. 10 And every thing a person consecrates shall become his; whatever any one gives to the priest, it becomes his”.

11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, If any man’s wife goes astray and commits a trespass against him, 13 and another man has intercourse with her, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and is undetected, and she is defiled and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act, 14 and the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he becomes jealous of his wife, and she is defiled, or if the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife, even if she is not defiled, 15 then the man is to bring his wife to the priest, and bring her offering for her, a tenth of an ephah of barley flour, pouring no oil on it and putting no frankincense on it. For it is an offering of jealousy, a reminder offering that brings wickedness to remembrance.

16 “And the priest shall bring her near and have her stand before the LORD. 17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware jar and the priest shall take some dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle, and put it in the water; 18 and the priest shall have the woman stand before the LORD, and uncover the woman’s head, and put the reminder offering, which is the jealousy offering, in her hands, and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse. 19 And the priest shall have her take an oath and say to the woman, ‘If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to impurity with another man instead of your husband, be free from this bitter water that brings a curse. 20 But if you have gone astray to another man instead of your husband, and if you are defiled, and some man other than your husband has lain with you’ – 21 then the priest shall have the woman take the oath of the curse, and the priest shall say to the woman – ‘the LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people by the LORD’s making your thigh decay and your abdomen swell. 22 And this water that brings a curse will go into your stomach to make your abdomen swell and your thigh decay.’ And the woman is to say, ‘Amen, amen.’

5:21-22 The last phrases of each of these verses (also v 27) could mean barrenness and a miscarrying womb.⚜

23 “And the priest shall write these curses in a book and wash them off into the water of bitterness, 24 and shall have the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings a curse. And the water that brings a curse will go into her and become bitter. 25 Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand and wave the offering in the presence of the LORD, and offer it on the altar; 26 and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, its memorial, and burn it on the altar, and afterwards have the woman drink the water. 27 And when he has made her drink the water, if she is defiled and has trespassed against her husband, it will come about that the water that brings a curse will go into her and become bitter, and her abdomen will swell, and her thigh will decay. And the woman will become a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman is not defiled, but is clean, then she will be free, and conceive children.

29 “This is the law of jealousy, when a wife goes astray to another man instead of her husband, and is defiled, 30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife, and has the woman stand before the LORD. And the priest shall apply all this law to her. 31 Then the man will be innocent of any wickedness and the woman will bear her wickedness”.

5:11-31 In the whole Old Testament there is no record of any man ever using this means to determine the guilt or innocence of his wife. Perhaps some did so. In any case, God’s principal purpose in giving this method of testing may have been to create a fear to commit such sin. Any woman should have been afraid to commit adultery if there was an infallible way of finding her out. “Tenth of an ephah” (v 15) – probably about 2 liters.⚜