Laws about Vows
Vows were an important way to express devotion...
Vows were an important way to express devotion or piety, but were sometimes made in haste and were often forgotten. Voluntary pledges were commonly made on special religious occasions or in times of war. Perhaps the reference to vows and voluntary offerings (29:39) prompted the further discussion here (cp. 15:3; see also 6:1–21; Lev 5:4–5; 27:1–34; Deut 23:21–23). These instructions were applied in the case of Hannah and Elkanah (1 Sam 1:1–28). Such practices, which included fasting, continued into the New Testament period (e.g., Matt 6:16; 15:3–9; Acts 18:18; 21:23). Vows of females—young and unmarried or adult and married—were subject to approval by the responsible male who would be a financial partner in the vow. Nobody, male or female, young or old, should make a vow to God and then neglect it.
Vows included promises to give offerings, like Hannah's...
Vows included promises to give offerings, like Hannah's vow in 1 Samuel 1. It included pledges to abstain from certain things, like the Nazirite vow in Numbers 6. Jesus mentioned the teachings about vows in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:33.
1Then Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel, “This is what the LORD has commanded: 2If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.†
A young woman was under the authority of...
A young woman was under the authority of her father, who was responsible for her actions and her financial obligations.
3And if a woman in her father’s house during her youth makes a vow to the LORD or obligates herself by a pledge, 4and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5But if her father prohibits her on the day he hears about it, then none of the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. The LORD will absolve her because her father has prohibited her.
When a young Hebrew woman married, her husband...
When a young Hebrew woman married, her husband gained authority over her. He could cancel any vow or pledge she made while under her father's authority. This was only true if he canceled it as soon as he heard about it.
6If a woman marries while under a vow or rash promise by which she has bound herself, 7and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her on that day, then the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 8But if her husband prohibits her when he hears of it, he nullifies the vow that binds her or the rash promise she has made, and the LORD will absolve her.
9Every vow a widow or divorced woman pledges to fulfill is binding on her.
A married woman also needed the approval of...
A married woman also needed the approval of her husband to make vows and pledges. Her husband could nullify her religious promise, but he had to make this decision on the day he heard about it. God did not hold the married woman guilty of breaking this promise if her husband cancelled it in the proper manner (cp. 30:5, 8, 12). The self-denial mentioned in 30:13 probably refers to fasting. If he raised no objection, the husband’s silence implied consent. He could not delay in his objection, or he would incur the guilt of a broken vow (cp. Lev 5:4–13).
10If a woman in her husband’s house has made a vow or put herself under an obligation with an oath, 11and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her and does not prohibit her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 12But if her husband nullifies them on the day he hears of them, then nothing that came from her lips, whether her vows or pledges, shall stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the LORD will absolve her.
13Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow or any sworn pledge to deny herself.† 14But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all the vows and pledges that bind her. He has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard about them. 15But if he nullifies them after he hears of them, then he will bear her iniquity.”
16These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the relationship between a man and his wife, and between a father and a young daughter still in his home.