Numbers 5:26

26 And the priest ¹shall take a handful of the grain offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.

Numbers 5:26 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 5:26

And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, [even]
the memorial thereof
For good or evil, according as her works were, as Aben Ezra observes; a memorial for good, if innocent, and a memorial for evil, if guilty:

and burn [it] upon the altar;
as the handful of other meat offerings used to be, ( Leviticus 1:2 ) ;

and afterwards shall cause the woman to drink the water;
oblige her to it; having proceeded thus far, and no confession made, namely, an oath taken, the curses of it written in a scroll and scraped into the waters, and the jealousy offering waved and offered.

Numbers 5:26 In-Context

24 And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain.

25 And the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman's hand and shall wave the grain offering before the LORD and bring it to the altar.

26 And the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.

27 And when he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has broken faith with her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman shall become a curse among her people.

28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children.

Cross References

• 1. Leviticus 2:2, 9; Leviticus 5:12