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Números 30

ARC · Chapter 30/36

1E fallou Moysés aos Cabeças das tribus dos filhos d'Israel, dizendo: Esta é a palavra que o Senhor tem ordenado:

2Quando um homem fizer voto ao Senhor, ou jurar juramento, ligando a sua alma com obrigação, não violará a sua palavra: segundo tudo o que saiu da sua bocca, fará.

3Tambem quando uma mulher fizer voto ao Senhor, e com obrigação se ligar em casa de seu pae na sua mocidade;

4E seu pae ouvir o seu voto e a sua obrigação, com que ligou a sua alma; e seu pae se calar para com ella, todos os seus votos serão valiosos: e toda a obrigação com que ligou a sua alma, será valiosa.

5Mas se seu pae lhe tolher no dia que tal ouvir, todos os seus votos e as suas obrigações, com que tiver ligado a sua alma, não serão valiosos: mas o Senhor lh'o perdoará, porquanto seu pae lh'os tolheu.

6E se ella tiver marido, e fôr obrigada a alguns votos, ou á pronunciação dos seus beiços, com que tiver ligado a sua alma

7E seu marido o ouvir, e se calar para com ella no dia em que o ouvir, os seus votos serão valiosos: e as suas obrigações com que ligou a sua alma, serão valiosas.

8Mas se seu marido lh'o tolher no dia em que o ouvir, e anullar o seu voto a que estava obrigada, como tambem a pronunciação dos seus beiços, com que ligou a sua alma; o Senhor lh'o perdoará.

9No tocante ao voto da viuva, ou da repudiada; tudo com que ligar a sua alma, sobre ella será valioso.

10Porém se fez voto na casa de seu marido, ou ligou a sua alma com obrigação de juramento;

11E seu marido o ouviu, e se calou para com ella, e lh'o não tolheu; todos os seus votos serão valiosos; e toda a obrigação, com que ligou a sua alma, será valiosa.

12Porém se seu marido lh'os annullou no dia em que os ouviu; tudo quanto saiu dos seus beiços, quer dos seus votos, quer da obrigação da sua alma, não será valioso: seu marido lh'os annullou, e o Senhor lh'o perdoará.

13Todo o voto, e todo o juramento d'obrigação, para humilhar a alma, seu marido o confirmará, ou annullará.

14Porém se seu marido de dia em dia se calar inteiramente para com ella; então confirma todos os seus votos e todas as suas obrigações, que estiverem sobre ella: confirmado lh'os tem, porquanto se calou para com ella no dia em que o ouviu.

15Porém se de todo lh'os annullar depois que o ouviu; então elle levará a iniquidade d'ella.

16Estes são os estatutos que o Senhor ordenou a Moysés entre o marido e sua mulher; entre o pae e a sua filha, na sua mocidade, em casa de seu pae.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God establishes laws about vows and oaths, especially regarding the authority of a father or husband to annul the vow of an unmarried daughter or a wife, if they do so immediately upon hearing of it; otherwise, the vow remains valid.

Explanation

This chapter deals with the seriousness of vows made to God ('he shall not break his word'), but also recognizes the family structure of the time, in which unmarried or married women were under the legal authority of their father or husband, who could revoke a vow he considered harmful to the family, as long as he did so on the very day he heard of it. It is important to note that this law protected the woman from severe consequences for an impulsive vow, since she would not be held guilty if the vow was annulled by her legal guardian ('the LORD shall forgive her'). At the same time, widows and divorced women, without this male authority over them, had full responsibility for and validity over their own vows, showing a notable legal independence for these women within the ancient context.

Fun facts

  • This is one of the few chapters of the Law that deals extensively with the specific legal autonomy of women within the Israelite family structure, being cited by modern scholars both as a reflection of the patriarchal limitations of the time and as a genuine legal protection against disproportionate consequences of hasty promises.
  • Jephthah, later in Judges 11, makes a rash vow with tragic consequences involving his own daughter — an episode often read alongside this chapter as a warning about the seriousness of making vows without carefully thinking through their implications.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Números 30:1Moses passes on a new instruction from the LORD to the tribal leaders, this time about the seriousness of vows and oaths.
  2. Números 30:2The general rule for men is straightforward: whoever makes a vow or swears an oath to the LORD must do exactly what he promised, without breaking his word.
  3. Números 30:3If a young woman, still living in her father’s house, made a vow to God, the father had the right to cancel that vow on the same day he heard of it; if he stayed silent, the vow stood. This is a law that reflects the family authority structure of the time, in which fathers and later husbands could validate or cancel certain commitments made by the women of the household.
  4. Números 30:4If the father hears the daughter’s vow and says nothing against it, the vow then stands as normal.
  5. Números 30:5But if the father objects as soon as he hears of the vow, it is annulled, and the daughter is freed from the obligation, since it was her own father who stopped it.
  6. Números 30:6The same logic applied to a husband: if the woman had made a vow before or after marrying, the husband could annul it upon hearing of it, as long as he did so promptly, on the same day. If he stayed silent, the vow remained in force as usual.
  7. Números 30:7In the case of a married woman, if the husband hears her vow and stays silent, the vow stands as normal.
  8. Números 30:8If the husband objects as soon as he hears of it, the vow is annulled, and she is freed from the obligation because of his objection.
  9. Números 30:9For widows or divorced women, however, with no husband or father to annul anything, any vow they made stood in full.
  10. Números 30:10The rule changes slightly when the woman made the vow already married, within her husband’s own household.
  11. Números 30:11If the husband knows of the vow and says nothing, that vow continues to stand as usual.
  12. Números 30:12But if the husband annuls the vow as soon as he hears of it, it no longer stands, and the woman is released from that obligation.
  13. Números 30:13It is up to the husband to decide whether to confirm or annul any vow or oath made by his wife, especially ones that involve some kind of personal sacrifice.
  14. Números 30:14If the husband simply lets the days go by without saying anything, that already counts as silent confirmation of all his wife’s vows.
  15. Números 30:15But if he annuls the vow only after some time has passed, without having spoken up right away, the responsibility for that delay falls on him, not on her.
  16. Números 30:16The chapter closes by summing up these rules: they govern the relationship between husband and wife, and between a father and an unmarried daughter still living at home.

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