Numbers 5:19

And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
priest	הַכֹּהֵ֗ן ha.ko.Hen	H3548	literally one officiating · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
oath	וְהִשְׁבִּ֨יעַ ve.hish.Bi.a'	H7650	to seven oneself · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
say	וְאָמַ֤ר ve.'a.Mar	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
woman	הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ ha.'i.Shah	H802	a woman · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
man	אִישׁ֙ 'ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
lain	שָׁכַ֥ב sha.Khav	H7901	to lie down (for rest · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
aside	שָׂטִ֛ית sa.Tit	H7847	to deviate from duty · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person feminine singular
uncleanness	טֻמְאָ֖ה tum.'Ah	H2932	religious impurity · noun, common feminine singular absolute
husband	אִישֵׁ֑ךְ 'i.Shekh	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
free	הִנָּקִ֕י hi.na.Ki	H5352	to be (or make) clean (literally or figuratively) · verb, niphal imperative, 2nd person feminine singular
bitter	הַמָּרִ֥ים ha.ma.Rim	H4751	bitter (literally or figuratively) · definite article + adjective, masculine plural absolute
water	מִמֵּ֛י mi.Mei	H4325	water · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
curse	הַֽמְאָרֲרִ֖ים ham.'a.ra.Rim	H779	to execrate · definite article + verb, piel active participle, masculine plural absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Numbers 5:12 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man’s wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,
Romans 7:2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from…
Matthew 26:63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 5:11–end

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, Num 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, Pro 2:17. It is committing a trespass against the husband, robbing him of his honour, alienating his right, introducing a spurious breed into his family to share with his children in his estate, and violating her covenant with him. It is being defiled; for nothing pollutes the mind and conscience more than this sin does. 2. It is supposed…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 5:17

the priest shall take holy water--Water from the laver, which was to be mixed with dust--an emblem of vileness and misery (Gen 3:14; Psa 22:15). in an earthen vessel--This fragile ware was chosen because, after being used, it was broken in pieces (Lev 6:28; Lev 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 (Co1 11:7) --the bitter potion being put into her hands preparatory to an appeal to God--the solemn adjuration of the priest (Num 5:19-22), all were calculated in no common degree to excite and appall the imagination of a person conscious of guilt.

John Gill on Numbers 5:19

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.

John Calvin on Numbers 5:11–end

Numbers 5:11-31 11. And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, 11. Loquutus est Jehova ad Mosen, dicendo: 12. Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him, 12. Alloquere filios Israel, et dicas illis, Quum diverterit uxor cujuspiam, et praevaricata fuerit praevaricatione: 13. And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and he kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner; 13. Et coierit aliquis cum ea coitu seminis, absconditum autem fuerit ab oculis viri sui et delituerit, ipsaque polluta fuerit: testis vero non fuerit contra…

The Church Fathers

And indeed in the Law we find the practice of adjuring used on several occasions. For in Numbers the Law says that "the priest shall adjure her" (that is, that woman in whose husband there has arisen "a spirit of jealousy"), "and shall say to the woman" (this is, the priest): "if no one has lain with you, and unless you have transgressed so as to be defiled by a man not your own, you shall be innocent of this cursed water of accusation". And after a few words: "and the priest", he says, "shall adjure the woman with the adjurations of this curse". Likewise in the third book of Kingdoms king Ahab says to Micaiah: "Yet twice more do I adjure you, that you speak to me the truth in the name of the Lord". Now the king adjured the prophet, and he adjured not as the priest in Numbers; for the latter did so from the precept of the Law, but the former of his own choice. And now in the present passage the priest adjures Jesus by the living God. But I judge that it is not fitting for a man who wishes to live according to the Gospel to adjure another.
— Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 110

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Adultery — Conjugal infidelity. An adulterer was a man who had illicit intercourse with a married or a betrothed woman, and such a woman was an adulteress. Intercourse between a married man and an unmarried…
Water of jealousy — A phrase employed (not, however, in Scripture) to denote the water used in the solemn ordeal prescribed by the law of Moses (Num. 5:11-31) in cases of “jealousy.”
Adultery · 19:20-22;20:10-12;21:9; — 19:20-22;20:10-12;21:9;
Bitter Water · A ceremonial water used by the priest — A ceremonial water used by the priest
Husband · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Jealousy · Law concerning, when husband is jealous for his wife — Law concerning, when husband is jealous for his wife
Oaths · Used for: Deciding controversies in courts of law — Used for: Deciding controversies in courts of law
Self-Incrimination · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Wife · Unfaithful — Unfaithful
Witness · Qualified by oath — Qualified by oath
Woman · Unfaithfulness of, when married found out by the waters of jealousy — Unfaithfulness of, when married found out by the waters of jealousy
Women · was to be — was to be

Numbers 5:19

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 5:11–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 5:17

John Gill on Numbers 5:19

John Calvin on Numbers 5:11–end

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Numbers 5:19

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 5:11–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 5:17

John Gill on Numbers 5:19

John Calvin on Numbers 5:11–end

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Numbers 5:11–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Numbers 5:17

Rashi on Numbers 5:19