2 `Command the sons of Israel, and they send out of the camp every leper, and every one with an issue, and every one defiled by a body;
all the days that the plague `is' in him he is unclean; he `is' unclean, alone he doth dwell, at the outside of the camp `is' his dwelling.
And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Speak unto the priests, sons of Aaron, and thou hast said unto them, For `any' person `a priest' is not defiled among his people,
And there are men who have been defiled by the body of a man, and they have not been able to prepare the passover on that day, and they come near before Moses, and before Aaron, on that day, and those men say unto him, `We are defiled by the body of a man; why are we withheld so as not to bring near the offering of Jehovah in its appointed season, in the midst of the sons of Israel?' And Moses saith unto them, `Stand ye, and I hear what Jehovah hath commanded concerning you.' And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, `Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, Though any man is unclean by a body or in a distant journey (of you or of your generations), yet he hath prepared a passover to Jehovah;
And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `And her father had but spat in her face -- is she not ashamed seven days? she is shut out seven days at the outside of the camp, and afterwards she is gathered.'
`And ye, encamp ye at the outside of the camp seven days -- any who hath slain a person, and any who hath come against a pierced one, ye cleanse yourselves on the third day, and on the seventh day -- ye and your captives;
`Speak unto the sons of Israel, and ye have said unto them, When there is an issue out of the flesh of any man, `for' his issue he `is' unclean; and this is his uncleanness in his issue -- his flesh hath run with his issue, or his flesh hath stopped from his issue; it `is' his uncleanness. `All the bed on which he lieth who hath the issue is unclean, and all the vessel on which he sitteth is unclean; and any one who cometh against his bed doth wash his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening. `And he who is sitting on the vessel on which he sitteth who hath the issue, doth wash his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening. `And he who is coming against the flesh of him who hath the issue, doth wash his garments, and hath bathed with water, and hath been unclean till the evening. `And when he who hath the issue spitteth on him who is clean, then he hath washed his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening. `And all the saddle on which he rideth who hath the issue is unclean; and any one who is coming against anything which is under him is unclean till the evening, and he who is bearing them doth wash his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening. `And anyone against whom he cometh who hath the issue (and his hands hath not rinsed with water) hath even washed his garments, and bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening. `And the earthen vessel which he who hath the issue cometh against is broken; and every wooden vessel is rinsed with water. `And when he who hath the issue is clean from his issue, then he hath numbered to himself seven days for his cleansing, and hath washed his garments, and hath bathed his flesh with running water, and been clean. `And on the eighth day he taketh to himself two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, and hath come in before Jehovah unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and hath given them unto the priest; and the priest hath made them, one a sin-offering, and the one a burnt-offering; and the priest hath made atonement for him before Jehovah, because of his issue. `And when a man's seed of copulation goeth out from him, then he hath bathed with water all his flesh, and been unclean till the evening. `And any garment, or any skin on which there is seed of copulation, hath also been washed with water, and been unclean till the evening. `And a woman with whom a man lieth with seed of copulation, they also have bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening. `And when a woman hath an issue -- blood is her issue in her flesh -- seven days she is in her separation, and any one who is coming against her is unclean till the evening. `And anything on which she lieth in her separation is unclean, and anything on which she sitteth is unclean; and any one who is coming against her bed doth wash his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening. `And any one who is coming against any vessel on which she sitteth doth wash his garments, and hath washed with water, and been unclean till the evening. `And if it `is' on the bed, or on the vessel on which she is sitting, in his coming against it, he is unclean till the evening. `And if a man really lie with her, and her separation is on him, then he hath been unclean seven days, and all the bed on which he lieth is unclean. `And when a woman's issue of blood floweth many days within the time of her separation, or when it floweth over her separation -- all the days of the issue of her uncleanness are as the days of her separation; she `is' unclean. `All the bed on which she lieth all the days of her issue is as the bed of her separation to her, and all the vessel on which she sitteth is unclean as the uncleanness of her separation; and any one who is coming against them is unclean, and hath washed his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening.
`He who is coming against the dead body of any man -- is unclean seven days; he doth cleanse himself for it on the third day, and on the seventh day he is clean; and if he cleanse not himself on the third day, then on the seventh day he is not clean. Any one who is coming against the dead, against the body of man who dieth, and cleanseth not himself -- the tabernacle of Jehovah he hath defiled, and that person hath been cut off from Israel, for water of separation is not sprinkled upon him; he is unclean; his uncleanness `is' still upon him. `This `is' the law, when a man dieth in a tent: every one who is coming in unto the tent, and all that `is' in the tent, is unclean seven days; and every open vessel which hath no covering of thread upon it is unclean. `And every one who cometh, on the face of the field, against the pierced of a sword, or against the dead, or against a bone of man, or against a grave, is unclean seven days;
`Take heed, in the plague of leprosy, to watch greatly, and to do according to all that the priests, the Levites, teach you; as I have commanded them ye observe to do; remember that which Jehovah thy God hath done to Miriam in the way, in your coming out of Egypt.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Numbers 5
Commentary on Numbers 5 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 5
Nu 5:1-4. The Unclean to Be Removed out of the Camp.
2. Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper—The exclusion of leprous persons from the camp in the wilderness, as from cities and villages afterwards, was a sanitary measure taken according to prescribed rules (Le 13:1-14:57). This exclusion of lepers from society has been acted upon ever since; and it affords almost the only instance in which any kind of attention is paid in the East to the prevention of contagion. The usage still more or less prevails in the East among people who do not think the least precaution against the plague or cholera necessary; but judging from personal observation, we think that in Asia the leprosy has now much abated in frequency and virulence. It usually appears in a comparatively mild form in Egypt, Palestine, and other countries where the disorder is, or was, endemic. Small societies of excluded lepers live miserably in paltry huts. Many of them are beggars, going out into the roads to solicit alms, which they receive in a wooden bowl; charitable people also sometimes bring different articles of food, which they leave on the ground at a short distance from the hut of the lepers, for whom it is intended. They are generally obliged to wear a distinctive badge that people may know them at first sight and be warned to avoid them. Other means were adopted among the ancient Jews by putting their hand on their mouth and crying, "Unclean, unclean" [Le 13:45]. But their general treatment, as to exclusion from society, was the same as now described. The association of the lepers, however, in this passage, with those who were subject only to ceremonial uncleanness, shows that one important design in the temporary exile of such persons was to remove all impurities that reflected dishonor on the character and residence of Israel's King. And this vigilant care to maintain external cleanliness in the people was typically designed to teach them the practice of moral purity, or cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. The regulations made for ensuring cleanliness in the camp suggest the adoption of similar means for maintaining purity in the church. And although, in large communities of Christians, it may be often difficult or delicate to do this, the suspension or, in flagrant cases of sin, the total excommunication of the offender from the privileges and communion of the church is an imperative duty, as necessary to the moral purity of the Christian as the exclusion of the leper from the camp was to physical health and ceremonial purity in the Jewish church.
Nu 5:5-10. Restitution Enjoined.
6-8. When a man or a woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the Lord—This is a wrong or injury done by one man to the property of another, and as it is called "a trespass against the Lord," it is implied, in the case supposed, that the offense has been aggravated by prevaricating—by a false oath, or a fraudulent lie in denying it, which is a "trespass" committed against God, who is the sole judge of what is falsely sworn or spoken (Ac 5:3, 4).
and that person be guilty—that is, from the obvious tenor of the passage, conscience-smitten, or brought to a sense and conviction of his evil conduct. (See on Le 6:2). In that case, there must be: first, confession, a penitential acknowledgment of sin; secondly, restitution of the property, or the giving of an equivalent, with the additional fine of a fifth part, both as a compensation to the person defrauded, and as a penalty inflicted on the injurer, to deter others from the commission of similar trespasses. (See on Ex 22:1). The difference between the law recorded in that passage and this is that the one was enacted against flagrant and determined thieves, the other against those whose necessities might have urged them into fraud, and whose consciences were distressed by their sin. This law also supposes the injured party to be dead, in which case, the compensation due to his representatives was to be paid to the priest, who, as God's deputy, received the required satisfaction.
9, 10. every offering … shall be his—Whatever was given in this way, or otherwise, as by freewill offerings, irrevocably belonged to the priest.
Nu 5:11-31. The Trial of Jealousy.
12-15. if any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him—This law was given both as a strong discouragement to conjugal infidelity on the part of a wife, and a sufficient protection of her from the consequences of a hasty and groundless suspicion on the part of the husband. His suspicions, however, were sufficient in the absence of witnesses (Le 20:10) to warrant the trial described; and the course of proceeding to be followed was for the jealous husband to bring his wife unto the priest with an offering of barley meal, because none were allowed to approach the sanctuary empty handed (Ex 23:15). On other occasions, there were mingled with the offering, oil which signified joy, and frankincense which denoted acceptance (Ps 141:2). But on the occasion referred to, both these ingredients were to be excluded, partly because it was a solemn appeal to God in distressing circumstances, and partly because it was a sin offering on the part of the wife, who came before God in the character of a real or suspected offender.
17, 18. the priest shall take holy water—Water from the laver, which was to be mixed with dust—an emblem of vileness and misery (Ge 3:14; Ps 22:15).
in an earthen vessel—This fragile ware was chosen because, after being used, it was broken in pieces (Le 6:28; 11:33). All the circumstances of this awful ceremony—her being placed with her face toward the ark—her uncovered head, a sign of her being deprived of the protection of her husband (1Co 11:7)—the bitter potion being put into her hands preparatory to an appeal to God—the solemn adjuration of the priest (Nu 5:19-22), all were calculated in no common degree to excite and appall the imagination of a person conscious of guilt.
21. The Lord make thee a curse, &c.—a usual form of imprecation (Isa 65:15; Jer 29:22).
22. the woman shall say, Amen, Amen—The Israelites were accustomed, instead of formally repeating the words of an oath merely to say, "Amen," a "so be it" to the imprecations it contained. The reduplication of the word was designed as an evidence of the woman's innocence, and a willingness that God would do to her according to her desert.
23, 24. write these curses in a book—The imprecations, along with her name, were inscribed in some kind of record—on parchment, or more probably on a wooden tablet.
blot them out with the bitter water—If she were innocent, they could be easily erased, and were perfectly harmless; but if guilty, she would experience the fatal effects of the water she had drunk.
29. This is the law of jealousies—Adultery discovered and proved was punished with death. But strongly suspected cases would occur, and this law made provision for the conviction of the guilty person. It was, however, not a trial conducted according to the forms of judicial process, but an ordeal through which a suspected adulteress was made to go—the ceremony being of that terrifying nature, that, on the known principles of human nature, guilt or innocence could not fail to appear. From the earliest times, the jealousy of Eastern people has established ordeals for the detection and punishment of suspected unchastity in wives. The practice was deep-rooted as well as universal. And it has been thought, that the Israelites being strongly biassed in favor of such usages, this law of jealousies "was incorporated among the other institutions of the Mosaic economy, in order to free it from the idolatrous rites which the heathens had blended with it." Viewed in this light, its sanction by divine authority in a corrected and improved form exhibits a proof at once of the wisdom and condescension of God.