And the priest shall bring her near ,.... Or "offer it", as the Vulgate Latin version, that is, the offering of jealousy: and set her before the Lord ; or "it", the offering; for which the Tigurine version is more express,"let the priest offer that sacrifice, and set that before the Lord,'for the setting of the woman before the Lord is spoken of in Numbers 5:18 . read more
And the priest shall take holy water ,.... Out of the laver, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra: in an earthen vessel ; which held half a log, and that was but a quarter of a pint, or three egg shells; for no more was assigned, to a suspected woman, according to the Misnah F18 Sotah, c. 2. sect. 2. Menachot, c. 9. sect. 3. . Some say only a fourth part: an earthen vessel was made use of, as everything vile and mean was in this affair: and of the... read more
And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord ,.... In the east of the tabernacle, with her face to the west, where was the holy of holies, so Ben Gersom; but not immediately for they had her from place to place, as Jarchi says, till she was weary, and her mind disturbed, that she might confess; and if she said, I am defiled, she rent the writing of her dowry, and went out; but if she said, I am pure, they brought her to the eastern gate, the gate of Nicanor, for there they made women... read more
And the priest shall charge her by an oath ,.... Or give her her oath: and say unto the woman, if no man hath lain with thee : besides her husband: and thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband ; which is but another phrase expressive of the same thing, the sin of adultery: be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse ; if this is the case, it shall produce no bitter effects, or bring any curse upon thee. read more
But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband ,.... Gone aside from the paths of modesty and chastity, and betook herself to another man's bed instead of her husband's: and if thou be defiled , by committing adultery: and some man hath lain with thee beside thy husband ; these phrases are all synonymous, and a heap of words are made use of to express the sin, and that there might be no evasion of it, and that it might be clear what was intended, this being said on... read more
Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing ,.... An oath which has a curse annexed to it, if taken falsely, which was to be pronounced upon the woman if guilty: and the priest shall say unto the woman ; pronouncing the imprecation or curse upon her, she having taken the oath, should she be guilty of the crime suspected of, and she had swore concerning: the Lord make thee a curse, and an oath among the people ; accursed according to the oath taken; or let this be... read more
Holy water - Water out of the laver, called holy because consecrated to sacred uses. This is the most ancient case of the trial by ordeal. See at Numbers 5:31 ; (note). In an earthen vessel - Supposed by the Jews to be such as had never been previously used. Dust that is in the floor - Probably intended to point out the baseness of the crime of which she was accused. read more
Uncover the woman's head - To take off a woman's veil, and expose her to the sight of men, would be considered a very great degradation in the East. To this St. Paul appears to allude, 1 Corinthians 11:5 , 1 Corinthians 11:6 , 1 Corinthians 11:10 . read more
The Lord make thee a curse and an oath - Let thy name and punishment be remembered and mentioned as an example and terror to all others. Like that mentioned Jeremiah 29:22 , Jeremiah 29:23 ; : "The Lord make thee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire, because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives." - Ainsworth. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Numbers 5:11-31
We have here the law concerning the solemn trial of a wife whose husband was jealous of her. Observe, I. What was the case supposed: That a man had some reason to suspect his wife to have committed adultery, Luke 5:12-14. Here, 1. The sin of adultery is justly represented as an exceedingly sinful sin; it is going aside from God and virtue, and the good way, Prov. 2:17. It is committing a trespass against the husband, robbing him of his honour, alienating his right, introducing a spurious breed... read more