This chapter contains a repetition of some former laws, concerning putting unclean persons out of the camp, Num. 5:1–4; making restitution in case of trespass against another, Num. 5:5–8; and of giving the offering of all holy things and all hallowed things to the priests, Num. 5:9, Num.

And the Lord spake unto Moses Jarchi says, what follows was said on the day the tabernacle was erected, but it seems rather to have been delivered after the several camps were formed, and the people numbered, when those that were unclean were ordered to be cast out of them: saying; as follows.

Command the children of Israel Not as from himself, but from the Lord; deliver out the following as a command of his, to which obedience was required of all the children of Israel: that they put out of the camp every leper; there were three camps, Jarchi says, in the time of their encampment;…

Both male and female shall ye put out Whether leprous, or profluvious, or defiled by touching a dead carcass: by this law, Miriam, when leprous, was put out of the camp, (Num. 12:14, Num.

And the children of Israel did so, and put them without the camp Aben Ezra observes, that this was done immediately before they journeyed, and that those that were defiled journeyed between the standard of Ephraim and the standard of Dan; but this, he says, was by way of conjecture, since it is not…

And the Lord spake unto Moses Or continued to speak to him at the same time: saying; as follows.

Speak unto the children of Israel Put them in mind of the following law, that they observe it; and which is here repeated, because of two new things in it, as Jarchi observes, the one relates to confession, teaching that there is no fifth part nor trespass offering by witnesses, till a man…

Then they shall confess their sin which they have done The form of which confession, according to Fagius, was, O Lord, I am guilty of death, I have deserved to be stoned for this sin, or to be strangled for this trespass, or to be burnt for this crime and he shall recompense his trespass with the…

But if a man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass to, &c.] This supposes that if a man should die, against whom the trespass is, before the restitution is made, then it shall be made to his heirs; and if he has none, then it was to be given to the priest, as after directed: the Jews [[6]]…

And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel Of the holy sacrifices brought by them to be offered up; that part of them which is elevated, heaved, or waved, as the heave shoulder and wave breast: which they bring unto the priest, shall be his; what they bring to him to offer…

And every man’s hallowed things shall be his Which he, by a vow or freewill offering, separates to holy uses; these are at his own dispose, to give to what priest he will, or they are the priest’s; for what a man devotes to the Lord is to be given to them, or such things as God has hallowed,…

And the Lord spake unto Moses At the same time, and delivered to him a new law: saying; as follows.

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them It being an affair which concerned them: if any man’s wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him; the sin of adultery, which is a going aside out of the way of virtue and chastity, and a trespass against an husband, a breach of the marriage…

And a man lie with her carnally That is, is suspected that he has so done, not that it is a clear case, for it follows; and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close; so that it is not known by her husband, nor by any other; “she hath hid herself”, so Ainsworth, being in a private…

And the spirit of jealousy come upon him A thought rises up in his mind, a strong suspicion works in him, which he cannot resist and throw off, but it remains with him, and makes him very uneasy, that his wife has defiled his bed, as it follows: and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled;…

Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest Not to the high priest but to a common priest, anyone then officiating in his course; for there was a jealousy offering to be offered up before the Lord upon the altar, which none but a priest might do; and besides, the whole process in this affair…

And the priest shall bring her near Or “offer it”, as the Vulgate Latin version, that is, the offering of jealousy: and set her before the Lord; or “it”, the offering; for which the Tigurine version is more express, “let the priest offer that sacrifice, and set that before the Lord,” for the…

And the priest shall take holy water Out of the laver, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra: in an earthen vessel; which held half a log, and that was but a quarter of a pint, or three egg shells; for no more was assigned, to a suspected woman, according to the Misnah…

And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord In the east of the tabernacle, with her face to the west, where was the holy of holies, so Ben Gersom; but not immediately for they had her from place to place, as Jarchi says, till she was weary, and her mind disturbed, that she might confess; and…

And the priest shall charge her by an oath Or give her her oath: and say unto the woman, if no man hath lain with thee: besides her husband: and thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband; which is but another phrase expressive of the same thing, the sin of…

But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband Gone aside from the paths of modesty and chastity, and betook herself to another man’s bed instead of her husband’s: and if thou be defiled, by committing adultery: and some man hath lain with thee beside thy husband; these phrases are…

Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing An oath which has a curse annexed to it, if taken falsely, which was to be pronounced upon the woman if guilty: and the priest shall say unto the woman; pronouncing the imprecation or curse upon her, she having taken the oath, should…

And this water that causeth the curse Upon the drinking of which the curse follows, if guilty: shall go into thy bowels; and there operate and produce the above effects, which are repeated again to inject terror: to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot; here ends the form of the oath,…

And the priest shall write these curses in a book The above curses imprecated on herself by an oath; the words and the letters of them were written at length, in a scroll of parchment; and, as some say also, her name, but not her double amen to them [[23]]: and he shall blot them out with the…

And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse . Having the curse imprecated upon herself, if guilty, scraped into it; and this she was obliged to drink, whether she would or not; so it is said, if the roll is blotted out, and she says I am defiled, the water is…

Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand Which she was obliged to hold in her hand while the above rites and ceremonies were performed; which was very heavy, being an omer of barley flour, a measure about three quarts, which was put into an Egyptian basket made of…

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,…

And when he hath made her to drink the water For, as before observed, and here by Jarchi again, if she says I will not drink it, after the roll is blotted out, they oblige her, and make her drink it whether she will or not, unless she says I am defiled: then it shall come to pass, that if she be…

And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean If she is not guilty of adultery, but pure from that sin: then she shall be free; from the effects of the bitter water; they shall have no such influence upon her, but she shall be as soured and healthful as ever; nay, the Jewish writers say more so,…

This is the law of jealousies Which was appointed by God to deter wives from adultery, and preserve the people of Israel, the worshippers of him, from having a spurious brood among them; and to keep husbands from being cruel to their wives they might be jealous of, and to protect virtue and…

Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife (See Gill on Num. 5:14); and shall set the woman before the Lord; has carried the matter so far as to bring his wife to the priest or civil magistrate, and declare his suspicion, and the ground of it: and the priest…

Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity Which otherwise he would not, by conniving at her loose way of living, and not reproving her for it, and bringing her either to repentance or punishment; and retaining and encouraging jealousy in his mind, without declaring it, and his reasons for it:…