Numbers 30:1

1 Moses spoke with the leaders of the Israelite tribes. He told them these commands from the Lord.

Numbers 30:1 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 30:1

And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes
Or the princes of them, who could more easily be convened, and who used to meet on certain occasions, and on whom it lay to see various laws put in execution:

concerning the children of Israel;
how they ought to conduct and behave in the following case, it being an affair which concerned them all:

saying, this is the thing which the Lord hath commanded;
relating to vows. Aben Ezra is of opinion that this was delivered after the battle with Midian, of which there is an account in the following chapter, and is occasioned by what was said, to the tribes of Gad and Reuben, ( Numbers 32:24 Numbers 32:25 )

do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth;
to which they replied,

thy servants will do as my lord commandeth;
upon which the nature of a vow, and the manner of keeping it, are observed; but the occasion of it rather seems to be what is said towards the close of the foregoing chapter, ( Numbers 29:39 ) , that the various sacrifices there directed were to be offered in their season, besides the vows and freewill offerings; and when these were ratified and confirmed, and when null and void, and to be fulfilled or neglected, is the principal business of this chapter.

Numbers 30:1 In-Context

1 Moses spoke with the leaders of the Israelite tribes. He told them these commands from the Lord.

2 "If a man makes a promise to the Lord or says he will do something special, he must keep his promise. He must do what he said.

3 If a young woman still living at home makes a promise to the Lord or pledges to do something special,

4 and if her father hears about the promise or pledge and says nothing, she must do what she promised. She must keep her pledge.

5 But if her father hears about the promise or pledge and does not allow it, then the promise or pledge does not have to be kept. Her father would not allow it, so the Lord will free her from her promise.