Numbers 5 Footnotes

5:1-4 This section of community purification laws deals with diseases that render a person unclean or unfit to take part in the worship of the holy community of faith. In some ancient cultures a person with these kinds of diseases could be relegated for life to a lower social class, limiting his or her associations with the upper classes or access to governmental resources and protection. Ancient Israel allowed no such class, or caste, system. While persons with various “skin diseases” were restricted from access to the sanctuary through the camp, this was for the purpose of preventing the contamination of the holy place. The unclean were not driven away from the community; they were quarantined on the perimeter of the camp, presumably close to the area in which their families were encamped. Lv 13–14 details the manner of dealing with these diseases and the process of purification whereby such individuals may be restored to the camp of the holy.

5:5-10 The second section of camp purity regulations addresses interpersonal relationships in accordance with the ’asham (guilt offering) legislation of Lv 6:1-7. Damage to property, fraud, or false statements affect the well-being of the community of faith and must be dealt with forthrightly. Following the confession of the sinful individual, the value of whatever he had taken from another had to be restored to the owner, plus a twenty percent penalty. The restitution of value and the maintenance of human relationships were essential to the harmony and holiness of the community. The offender’s relation to the Lord was also in view, signified in the guilt offering of a ram. If the judgment were enacted after the death of the wronged individual and that person had no kinsman redeemer to receive it, the full amount of restitution was presented to the priests.

5:11-31 The third matter of community purity relates to the family and to potential marital fidelity in the case of a wife suspected of unfaithfulness (sotah). If a woman were apprehended in the act of adultery, both she and her adulterous male partner were subject to the death penalty (Lv 20:10). The ritual outlined here put the matter of a suspected, but not apprehended, adulterer in the hands of God, the only reliable witness. These provisions ensured that a woman found to be innocent would be preserved from stoning by a mob. Throughout the book of Numbers special attention is given to matters related to women, including women’s property rights (27:1-11; 36:1-12) and women’s vows (31:1-16; see note on 6:1-2).