Moses receives divine commands about ritual purity using the rare Hebrew verb *shalach* (send away), which appears only here and in Leviticus 14:7 for human exclusion.
Numbers 5
The Exclusion of the Unclean
1The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2“Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever is unclean by a corpse.
3You shall put both male and female outside of the camp so that they don’t defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.”
4The children of Israel did so, and put them outside of the camp; as the LORD spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.
Restitution for Wrongs
5The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
6“Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit, so as to trespass against the LORD, and that soul is guilty,
7then he shall confess his sin which he has done; and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, add to it the fifth part of it, and give it to him in respect of whom he has been guilty.
8But if the man has no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt, the restitution for guilt which is made to the LORD shall be the priest’s, in addition to the ram of the atonement, by which atonement shall be made for him.
9Every heave offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they present to the priest, shall be his.
10Every man’s holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest, it shall be his.’”
The Test for an Unfaithful Wife
11The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
12“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him,
13and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and this is kept concealed, and she is defiled, there is no witness against her, and she isn’t taken in the act;
14and the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife and she is defiled; or if the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife and she isn’t defiled;
15then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring her offering for her: one tenth of an ephah of barley meal. He shall pour no oil on it, nor put frankincense on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to memory.
16The priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD.
17The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and the priest shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.
18The priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and let the hair of the woman’s head go loose, and put the meal offering of memorial in her hands, which is the meal offering of jealousy. The priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that brings a curse.
19The priest shall cause her to take an oath and shall tell the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you haven’t gone aside to uncleanness, being under your husband’s authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings a curse.
20But if you have gone astray, being under your husband’s authority, and if you are defiled, and some man has lain with you besides your husband—”
21then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall tell the woman, “May the LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD allows your thigh to fall away, and your body to swell;
22and this water that brings a curse will go into your bowels, and make your body swell, and your thigh fall away.” The woman shall say, “Amen, Amen.”
23“‘The priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall wipe them into the water of bitterness.
24He shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causes the curse; and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her and become bitter.
25The priest shall take the meal offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the meal offering before the LORD, and bring it to the altar.
26The priest shall take a handful of the meal offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.
27When he has made her drink the water, then it shall happen, if she is defiled and has committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causes the curse will enter into her and become bitter, and her body will swell, and her thigh will fall away; and the woman will be a curse among her people.
28If the woman isn’t defiled, but is clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive offspring.
29“‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goes astray, and is defiled,
30or when the spirit of jealousy comes on a man, and he is jealous of his wife; then he shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute on her all this law.
31The man shall be free from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her iniquity.’”
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Theme
Numbers 5 presents three laws concerning ritual purity and community order in Israel's camp. The chapter begins with commands to exclude those who are ceremonially unclean, then establishes procedures for making restitution when someone wrongs another person. The final and most detailed section describes the controversial ritual of bitter water, a test administered to wives suspected of adultery when no witnesses or evidence exist.
Context
Following the census and tribal arrangements in chapters 1-4, these purity laws establish the moral and ceremonial standards needed to maintain God's presence among the organized community.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-4 Exclusion of the Unclean God commands that those with leprosy, discharges, or corpse contamination be removed from the camp to preserve its holiness.
- 5-10 Laws of Restitution Instructions for making amends when wronging another person, including confession, full restitution plus twenty percent, and provisions for cases without surviving relatives.
- 11-31 The Ordeal of Bitter Water A ritual test for wives suspected of adultery, involving holy water mixed with dust and a curse, designed to reveal guilt or innocence through divine intervention.
The Exclusion of the Unclean
5:1–5:4 law instruction solemn
God commands Moses to exclude from the camp anyone with leprosy, discharge, or corpse contamination to maintain the holiness of the camp where God dwells.
person_contrast
Moses receives divine commands about ritual purity using the rare Hebrew verb *shalach* (send away), which appears only here and in Leviticus 14:7 for human exclusion.
Restitution for Wrongs
5:5–5:10 law instruction solemn
God establishes laws requiring confession and full restitution plus one-fifth for sins against others, with provisions for cases where no kinsman exists to receive restitution.
person_contrast
Moses receives divine instructions linking confession directly to restitution, uniquely combining verbal acknowledgment of sin with mandatory financial compensation plus twenty percent penalty.
The Test for an Unfaithful Wife
5:11–5:31 law instruction solemn
God gives Moses instructions for the ritual test of a wife suspected of adultery, involving a bitter water ordeal administered by the priest. This law addresses marital jealousy and provides a divine means of determining guilt or innocence when adultery cannot be proven by witnesses.
person_contrast
Moses, who typically receives laws about holiness and sacrifice, here uniquely receives legislation addressing marital jealousy—the only divine statute in Scripture designed to resolve suspicion rather than proven guilt.
Insights
Moses receives divine instructions linking confession directly to restitution, uniquely combining verbal acknowledgment of sin with mandatory financial compensation plus twenty percent penalty.
Moses, who typically receives laws about holiness and sacrifice, here uniquely receives legislation addressing marital jealousy—the only divine statute in Scripture designed to resolve suspicion rather than proven guilt.
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Numbers 5:2 1 reference
Numbers 5:3 3 references
Lexicals 3
Leviticus 13:46 Lexical
All the days in which the plague is in him he shall be unclean. He is unclean. He shall dwell alone. His dwelling shall…
Numbers 35:34 Lexical
You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, where I dwell; for I, the LORD, dwell among the children of Israel.’”
Ezekiel 43:7 Lexical
He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell amo…
Numbers 5:6 1 reference
Numbers 5:7 1 reference
Numbers 5:8 3 references
Lexicals 3
Leviticus 5:16 Lexical
He shall make restitution for that which he has done wrong regarding the holy thing, and shall add a fifth part to it, a…
Leviticus 5:18 Lexical
He shall bring a ram without defect from of the flock, according to your estimation, for a trespass offering, to the pri…
Leviticus 19:22 Lexical
The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he has c…
Numbers 5:13 5 references
Lexicals 5
Leviticus 15:18 Lexical
If a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean…
Leviticus 15:16 Lexical
“‘If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall bathe all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the evening.
Leviticus 15:32 Lexical
This is the law of him who has a discharge, and of him who has an emission of semen, so that he is unclean by it;
Leviticus 15:17 Lexical
Every garment and every skin which the semen is on shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the evening.
Leviticus 19:20 Lexical
“‘If a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave girl, pledged to be married to another man, and not ransomed or giv…
Numbers 5:14 1 reference
Numbers 5:15 5 references
Lexicals 5
Leviticus 5:11 Lexical
“‘But if he can’t afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for that in which he…
Leviticus 2:1 Lexical
“‘When anyone offers an offering of a meal offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil…
Numbers 28:5 Lexical
with one tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil.
Leviticus 2:15 Lexical
You shall put oil on it and lay frankincense on it. It is a meal offering.
Isaiah 66:3 Lexical
He who kills an ox is as he who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as he who breaks a dog’s neck; he who offers an o…
Numbers 5:23 3 references
Lexicals 3
2 Chronicles 34:24 Lexical
“The LORD says, ‘Behold, I will bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the curses that are written in…
Exodus 32:32 Lexical
Yet now, if you will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out of your book which you have written.”
Exodus 17:14 Lexical
The LORD said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: that I will utterly…
Numbers 5:26 5 references
Lexicals 5
Leviticus 5:12 Lexical
He shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it as the memorial portion, and burn it on the…
Leviticus 2:2 Lexical
He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. He shall take his handful of its fine flour, and of its oil, with all it…
Leviticus 2:9 Lexical
The priest shall take from the meal offering its memorial, and shall burn it on the altar, an offering made by fire, of…
2 Kings 16:15 Lexical
King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening meal off…
2 Kings 16:13 Lexical
He burned his burnt offering and his meal offering, poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offe…
Numbers 5:28 1 reference
Numbers 5:30 1 reference
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