Cleansing the Camps
These legal matters were to ensure the purity...
These legal matters were to ensure the purity of the Israelites, their priesthood, and the Tabernacle. Such regulations drew constant attention to ancient Israel’s identity as a theocracy of which Moses was the primary spokesman.
These laws concern purity, restitution, and marital faithfulness.
These laws concern purity, restitution, and marital faithfulness.
Modern Western people may find it difficult to...
Modern Western people may find it difficult to understand the Old Testament laws of purity. Today, things like skin diseases, bodily discharges, or contact with a dead body are viewed mainly as health concerns. But in the Old Testament, the main concern was protecting God’s holiness from ceremonial uncleanness (see Leviticus 11–15).
The community had to keep the camp holy. Nothing unclean could touch what belonged to the Lord (Numbers 5:2–3). They had to choose between having God in the camp or allowing a ceremonially polluted person stay. Both could not remain (5:3).
The importance of purity continues from Leviticus and Numbers to the book of Revelation. Nothing ceremonially unclean will enter the New Jerusalem where God lives (see study note on Revelation 21:27). In the New Testament, impurity most often refers to what is morally impure (Acts 10:28; Ephesians 5:5; 1 Thessalonians 2:3; 4:7).
Modern Western people may find it difficult to understand the Old Testament laws of purity. Today, things like skin diseases, bodily discharges, or contact with a dead body are viewed mainly as health concerns. But in the Old Testament, the main concern was protecting God’s holiness from ceremonial uncleanness (see Leviticus 11–15).
The community had to keep the camp holy. Nothing unclean could touch what belonged to the Lord (Numbers 5:2–3). They had to choose between having God in the camp or allowing a ceremonially polluted person stay. Both could not remain (5:3).
The importance of purity continues from Leviticus and Numbers to the book of Revelation. Nothing ceremonially unclean will enter the New Jerusalem where God lives (see study note on Revelation 21:27). In the New Testament, impurity most often refers to what is morally impure (Acts 10:28; Ephesians 5:5; 1 Thessalonians 2:3; 4:7).
1Then the LORD said to Moses, 2“Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone with a skin disease,† anyone who has a bodily discharge, and anyone who is defiled by a dead body. 3You must send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.”
4So the Israelites did this, sending such people outside the camp. They did just as the LORD had instructed Moses.
Confession and Restitution
Guidelines regarding confession and restitution for wrongdoing emphasize...
Guidelines regarding confession and restitution for wrongdoing emphasize the strong Hebrew concern for morality (Lev 6:1–7).
5And the LORD said to Moses, 6“Tell the Israelites that when a man or woman acts unfaithfully against the LORD by committing any sin against another, that person is guilty 7and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution, add a fifth to its value, and give all this to the one he has wronged.
8But if the man has no relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest along with the ram of atonement, by which the atonement is made for him.
Priests supported their families partly by receiving a...
Priests supported their families partly by receiving a share of the sacrifices. In some instances, surplus sacrifices could be sold to provide funds for the priesthood, for maintaining the sanctuary, and for other religious needs (cp. 1 Cor 8:4–13).
9Every sacred contribution the Israelites bring to the priest shall belong to him. 10Each man’s sacred gifts are his own, but whatever he gives to the priest will belong to the priest.”
The Adultery Test
This detailed test for adultery, a “trial by...
This detailed test for adultery, a “trial by ordeal,” is the only such case found in the Old Testament, though trial by ordeal was a common procedure in the ancient Near East. God had a special interest in safeguarding marriage as the foundation of Hebrew society, and the purpose of this ordeal was to promote marital faithfulness. We cannot determine how commonly such ordeals actually occurred. This procedure appealed to God’s own intervention to ensure justice in cases lacking evidence (cp. 1 Cor 5:5).
11Then the LORD said to Moses, 12“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him 13by sleeping with another man, and it is concealed from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she was not caught in the act),
The husband presented his case before the priest,...
The husband presented his case before the priest, and the “ritual law for dealing with suspicion” (5:29) took the husband’s jealousy and suspicion to a higher court.
14and if a feeling of jealousy comes over her husband and he suspects his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he suspects her even though she has not defiled herself— 15then he is to bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring for her an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour.† He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, an offering of memorial as a reminder of iniquity.
16The priest is to bring the wife forward and have her stand before the LORD. 17Then he is to take some holy water in a clay jar and put some of the dust from the tabernacle floor into the water.
18After the priest has the woman stand before the LORD, he is to let down her hair and place in her hands the grain offering of memorial, which is the grain offering for jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse. 19And he is to put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune to this bitter water that brings a curse. 20But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority and have defiled yourself and lain carnally with a man other than your husband’— 21and the priest shall have the woman swear under the oath of the curse—‘then may the LORD make you an attested curse among your people by making your thigh shrivel and your belly swell. 22May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’ Then the woman is to say, ‘Amen, Amen.’
The symbolism of drinking disturbing words is repeated...
The symbolism of drinking disturbing words is repeated in Ezek 2:8–3:3 and Rev 10:8–11.
23And the priest shall write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water. 24He is to have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her and may cause her bitter suffering. 25The priest shall take from her hand the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the LORD, and bring it to the altar. 26Then the priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar; after that he is to have the woman drink the water.
27When he has made her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, her thigh will shrivel, and she will become accursed among her people. 28But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be unaffected and able to conceive children.
As the trial by ordeal is summarized and...
As the trial by ordeal is summarized and justified, it is clear that a husband’s questions about his wife’s guilt or innocence did not burden him with any guilt. We might raise the question of a double standard, but it was very common for ancient laws to draw attention to the woman’s failure in the matter of adultery. However, Israel’s legal system provided for the punishment of both parties to an affair (as in Lev 20:10; Deut 22:21–22).
29This is the law of jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, 30or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he suspects his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the LORD, and the priest is to apply to her this entire law. 31The husband will be free from guilt, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”