Chapter Thirty
When a Man Makes a Vow
30:1 Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the LORD has commanded. 2 If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
Moses, here speaking to the leaders of the tribes, informs them that if a man makes a vow to YHWH or swears any oath that binds them with a pledge, they are not to break their word. They are to do as they said they would do. Even though a vow is voluntary, it is a serious matter to God nonetheless and should not be considered a minor or trivial concern (see also Leviticus chapter 27 and Deuteronomy 23:21-22). Since the Israelites are God’s people, if they fail to keep their promises, it would be a reflection on Him. This is a concept often forgotten by Christians, who may be forgiven by God for their actions, but still represent Jesus to others. All effort should be made by all Christians to keep their promises, especially promises made to unbelievers.
When a Woman Makes a Vow
30:3 “If a woman vows a vow to the LORD and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. And the LORD will forgive her, because her father opposed her.
If a young woman makes a vow before being married, while under the authority of her father, and her father knows about her pledge and says nothing (meaning he approves), then she is responsible to keep that promise. However, when her father hears of the vow he can object if he does not approve of the promise being made. The vow would then no longer be binding and would be forgiven by God.
30:6 “If she marries a husband, while under her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself, 7 and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 8 But if, on the day that her husband comes to hear of it, he opposes her, then he makes void her vow that was on her, and the thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she bound herself. And the LORD will forgive her. 9 (But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.)
After a woman is married and inadvertently makes a promise and her husband learns about it on the day she made the vow and agrees, she is responsible to fulfill the promise. If the husband later hears about the vow, and believes that the vow was carelessly made, he can cancel the promise and remove her from being bound and YHWH would forgive her. But if she is a widow or is divorced, regardless of the nature of her pledge, she is bound to keep that promise.
30:10 And if she vowed in her husband’s house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath, 11 and her husband heard of it and said nothing to her and did not oppose her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself shall not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the LORD will forgive her. 13 Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself, her husband may establish, or her husband may make void. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her pledges that are upon her. He has established them, because he said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them. 15 But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them, then he shall bear her iniquity.”
If a woman who is living with her husband makes a vow, and her husband does not disagree, then every aspect of her promise must be fulfilled. If her husband disagrees when he heard about the pledge, he can null and void the vow and she will not be responsible to keep the promise and God will forgive her. Any promise made by her can either be made binding or be released from the responsibility to fulfill the vow by her husband on the day he heard the vow. But, “If he waits more than a day and then tries to nullify a vow or pledge, he will be punished for her guilt.” (Numbers 30:15, NLT)
30:16 These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses about a man and his wife and about a father and his daughter while she is in her youth within her father’s house.
The text identifies that these statutes regarding vows came from YHWH and were passed along to the people through Moses (see verse one).