Worthy.Bible » DARBY » Numbers » Chapter 30 » Verse 1

Numbers 30:1 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

1 And Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying, This is what Jehovah hath commanded.

Cross Reference

Numbers 1:4-16 DARBY

And with you there shall be a man for every tribe, a man who is the head of his father's house. And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: for Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; for Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; for Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; for Issachar, Nethaneel the son of Zuar; for Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; for the children of Joseph: for Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; for Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; for Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; for Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; for Asher, Pagiel the son of Ocran; for Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; for Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan. These were those summoned of the assembly, princes of the tribes of their fathers, the heads of the thousands of Israel.

Numbers 34:17-28 DARBY

These are the names of the men who shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land. And these are the names of the men: for the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; and for the tribe of the children of Simeon, Samuel the son of Ammihud; for the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon; and for the tribe of the children of Dan, a prince, Bukki the son of Jogli; for the children of Joseph: for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, a prince, Hanniel the son of Ephod, and for the tribe of the children of Ephraim, a prince, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan; and for the tribe of the children of Zebulun, a prince, Elizaphan the son of Pharnach; and for the tribe of the children of Issachar, a prince, Phaltiel the son of Azzan; and for the tribe of the children of Asher, a prince, Ahihud the son of Shelomi; and for the tribe of the children of Naphtali, a prince, Phedahel the son of Ammihud.

Deuteronomy 1:13-17 DARBY

Provide you wise and understanding and known men, according to your tribes, that I may make them your chiefs. And ye answered me, and said, The thing that thou hast spoken is good [for us] to do. So I took the chiefs of your tribes, wise men and known, and made them chiefs over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers for your tribes. And I commanded your judges at that time, saying, Hear [the causes] between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and him also that sojourneth with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment: ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God's; and the matter that is too hard for you shall ye bring to me, that I may hear it.

Commentary on Numbers 30 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 30

Nu 30:1-16. Vows Are Not to Be Broken.

1. This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded—The subject of this chapter relates to vowing, which seems to have been an ancient usage, allowed by the law to remain, and by which some people declared their intention of offering some gift on the altar or abstaining from particular articles of meat or drink, of observing a private fast, or doing something to the honor or in the service of God, over and above what was authoritatively required. 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.

2. If a man vow a vow unto the Lord—A mere secret purpose of the mind was not enough to constitute a vow; it had to be actually expressed in words; and though a purely voluntary act, yet when once the vow was made, the performance of it, like that of every other promise, became an indispensable duty—all the more because, referring to a sacred thing, it could not be neglected without the guilt of prevarication and unfaithfulness to God.

he shall not break his word—literally, "profane his word"—render it vain and contemptible (Ps 55:20; 89:34). But as it would frequently happen that parties would vow to do things which were neither good in themselves nor in their power to perform, the law ordained that their natural superiors should have the right of judging as to the propriety of those vows, with discretionary power to sanction or interdict their fulfilment. Parents were to determine in the case of their children, and husbands in that of their wives—being, however, allowed only a day for deliberation after the matter became known to them; and their judgment, if unfavorable, released the devotee from all obligation [Nu 30:3-8].

3. If a woman also vow a vow unto the Lord, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth—Girls only are specified; but minors of the other sex, who resided under the parental roof, were included, according to Jewish writers, who also consider the name "father" as comprehending all guardians of youth. We are also told that the age at which young people were deemed capable of vowing was thirteen for boys and twelve for girls. The judgment of a father or guardian on the vow of any under his charge might be given either by an expressed approval or by silence, which was to be construed as approval. But in the case of a husband who, after silence from day to day, should ultimately disapprove or hinder his wife's vow, the sin of non-performance was to be imputed to him and not to her [Nu 30:15].

9. every vow of a widow—In the case of a married woman, who, in the event of a separation from her husband, or of his death, returned, as was not uncommon, to her father's house, a doubt might have been entertained whether she was not, as before, subject to paternal jurisdiction and obliged to act with the paternal consent. The law ordained that the vow was binding if it had been made in her husband's lifetime, and he, on being made aware of it, had not interposed his veto [Nu 30:10, 11]; as, for instance, she might have vowed, when not a widow, that she would assign a portion of her income to pious and charitable uses, of which she might repent when actually a widow; but by this statute she was required to fulfil the obligation, provided her circumstances enabled her to redeem the pledge. The rules laid down must have been exceedingly useful for the prevention or cancelling of rash vows, as well as for giving a proper sanction to such as were legitimate in their nature, and made in a devout, reflecting spirit.